Before January 2011, we had never gotten Jackson to repeat a word after we had said it (Jack is five now). It was so frustrating. We knew he wasn't deaf because we had had his hearing tested (plus, he'd come running when the opening theme to Sponge Bob was playing or when I yelled "french fries"). He had only said a handful of words, and only on his terms. After a thorough evaluation, we were told he might be nonverbal and he might never speak, but he could learn to communicate in other ways. I knew this was wrong because I could see in his eyes how smart he is and his every action indicated he wanted to talk to us.
Jackson has been attending a private autism center where he has been receiving Applied Behavioral Analysis for about eight months now. Research shows that if you can get these children to compile about 15 or so signs (mands) and get them to use them to ask for the things that they want, that speech will follow. In other words, you're not trying to teach them a vocabulary of signs; you're merely using signs as a step towards verbal speech. This past fall, the therapists there were responsible for his successful potty training (finally!) so we knew good things were sure to come. Sure enough, one day about three weeks ago, Jackson started using words instead of signs to ask for things he wanted like tea, french fry, open and bye-bye. Within a two-day period, he was repeating every single word we asked him to say - we're talking 50 or more words. He has kept this up for three weeks now. His behavior is better too, and it's probably because he's not as frustrated. Speech has opened so many doors for him. He has also talked to his dad on the phone for the first time ("hi, daddy") and used two words together in basic sentences. In three weeks.
ABA IS EVERYTHING IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE!!! I know it's expensive, but it works! It works now to teach speech and it will work later to teach social skills and eliminate problem behavior. It will give your child the tools he or she needs to adapt. I would borrow the money or mortgage my house if I had to now that I've seen what is in store for Jackson. I would be happy to answer any questions about ABA. And remember, ABA is just one piece of the puzzle. We had to do a few other things, too to get Jack ready for ABA. But that's for another thread...
Monday, February 7, 2011
AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH!
When parents first discover their child is on the Autism Spectrum, they often think "I would do anything to help my child return to our world. I would climb the highest mountain..." What many of us mean is, we would climb the highest mountain to get that pill that we could give our children to cure them. Trouble is, there is no pill - but there are many different methods to move these children towards recovery, mainly different forms of therapy, along with good nutrition and vitamin therapy to build up their immune systems. The trick is, you have to climb that mountain everyday. It's such a rocky expedition. Most days, it's just exhausting. On those rare, wonderful days, however, it's life-changing. On those days, autism is the greatest gift in the world. I hope you'll come with us on our journey.
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