I am a single mom raising a son with autism. 21 years ago, I read "Autism: a permanent developmental disability requiring lifelong care for which there is no known cause or cure". In that moment my world shifted. Today more than 3.5 million readers have shared in our journey through this blog as I have detailed our 21-year journey of grief, joy, disappointments, successes, lessons, strategies, personal challenges, frustrations, fears all as they unfolded- day by day.
Showing posts with label Successful Autism Therapies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Successful Autism Therapies. Show all posts
There is nothing better than the days when your children - who what we want most is for them to grow up to be healthy, happy and as good people - show you how amazing they are and how much they love you! This birthday was that for me. My wonderful brilliant Evyn with whom I have the most amazing and sometimes challenging relationship ever, was so kind, supportive and loving all week and she topped off my birthday with taking me to dinner, and giving me a gift card to treat myself to a mani-pedi! She spent $100 on me, which had been gifted to her, quite a big deal for my unemployed daughter.
Then came Nick, who played and sang Happy Birthday to me on the piano. He only recently began taking lessons, and I don't know which of us was prouder as he played for mom!
This is why we never give up, we live for days like this. Thank you God!!!
Today Nick did something so simple, but miraculous in our ASD world. He took my breath away and got me thinking. Instead of viewing the cure as a destination, today I'm thinking of autism as a journey where every good day, every success IS the MIRACLE and the CURE. And, if one day one of those miracles comes in the form magic bullet...bring it on! But today "Cure" means me knowing that when every miracle is chained together we will be where we are supposed to be, watching Nick become the best man he can be!
It's the little things we do day in and day out - almost like robots to teach our kids - which we hope will stick. We push, push and push believing in what could be, and out of no where, it all pays off when you get moments like the one I had today that took my breath away!!!
Nick takes the bus to school every morning. As part of our daily routine I have to get Nick's attention, tell him the bus is here, corral him, then walk him to the door, where I begin prompting him "Stop repeating, calm body, go down the stairs, yes your can earn free-time, get on the bus".
Today, I was standing in the kitchen and I said what I always say "Nick the bus is here, grab your lunch and go get on the bus". And that was it!!! He grabbed his lunch, went out the door and got on the the bus....on this day, for the first time ever that was all it took. I was just standing there and it hit me,, I didn't do anything! It was all Nick, and I was like "WOW", like really wow, like what just happened, WOW.
Then it got me thinking I needed to change my perspective when it comes to a cure for Autism. Maybe the cure isn't ever going to come in the form of immediate gratification, maybe there's no "Ta Da You're Cured". Maybe this is it. Maybe the cure happens over the course of a lifetime, maybe it's just all the progress chained together that creates the best human our kids can be.
I am a big fan of both Dr. Koegel and PRT - and I am frustrated that it is so hard to find agencies who provide behavior services who have staff with good training in this intervention. Any idea's for this LA mom? Anyone working with an agency who's nailed this? Please let me know via email at autismdaybyday@gmail.com! Thanks in advance :)
KOEGEL AUTISM PRT
Study co-authored by Lynn Koegel of the Koegel Autism Center at UC Santa Barbara shows effectiveness of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT)®
Friends and Colleagues,
We have some exciting news to share with you! A study in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders co-authored by Lynn Koegel, Clinic Director of the Koegel Autism Clinic at UC Santa Barbara, offers findings that contribute to the overall body of literature supporting Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT). Appearing in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, the paper, co-authored with Fereshteh Mohammadzaheri and Mohammad Rezaee, from the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences and Health Services, Hamadan, Iran, and Seyeed Majid Rafiee from the Institute for Cognitive Science Studies, Teheran, Iran, is entitled “A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparison Between Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) and Structured Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Intervention for Children with Autism.”
Thirty children diagnosed with autism, 18 boys and 12 girls, ranging in age from 6 to 11 years, participated in this study. The children were randomly paired and assigned to either a group where they were treated with traditional applied behavior analysis (ABA) methods or with pivotal response treatment. After three months of intervention, the data showed that the PRT approach was significantly more effective in improving targeted and untargeted areas. The children in the PRT group saw greater gains in social communication skills, as well as overall gains in pragmatic skills, including inappropriate initiation, coherence, stereotyped language, use of context, and rapport.
“With large numbers of children being diagnosed with autism, intervention procedures that are more efficient are both time and cost effective,” the paper concludes. “As well, procedures that speed up the habilitation process are important for children with ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorders], particularly if they produce widespread gains beyond the specific treatment goals.”
There is nothing better than the days when your children - who what we want most is for them to grow up to be healthy, happy and as good people - show you how amazing they are and how much they love you! This birthday was that for me. My wonderful brilliant Evyn with whom I have the most amazing and sometimes challenging relationship ever, was so kind, supportive and loving all week and she topped off my birthday with taking me to dinner, and giving me a gift card to treat myself to a mani-pedi! She spent $100 on me, which had been gifted to her, quite a big deal for my unemployed daughter.
