He’s Right Here With Me (Big Head and All)
December 17, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
More than a few readers noted that “big heads” run in their families (and more than few noted that this is not the case, too). A CNN video contains interviews with Dr. Eric Courchesne and Dr. Karen Pierce of UC San Diego, with brain scans of young autistic children in contrast to “typical” children. Dr. Pierce reports on a study in which parents of very young children are asked to fill out a questionnaire (one of the questions is “do you know if your child is happy?”); children who seem “at risk” for developmental delays will have their brains scanned, with the hope of detecting autism earlier in a child and starting Early Intervention. Reference is made to an autistic child being in a “deep, dark hole” and to pulling him out to the “other side.”
While I’m glad my son started “Early Intervention” when he was just turning two years old, I also think it’s important that parents not think that they have to “hurry, hurry, hurry” and try every possible intervention and treatment (especially those that are “alternative“) possible. My son is one among many other autistic children who have done better as he has gotten older; I do know that not all parents fell this to be the case). Charlie continues to need a lot of special education services and other supports; he would not have done so well (what child would?) had we simply “left him alone.” He needed to be taught and he has been and his education continues, and mine too: Growing up with Charlie has enabled me to learn with him, to try to see the world through his eyes: He’s not at all on any “other side,” but right here with me.
We have known our boys had autism since they were 18 months old (although the diagnosis came at 22 months). We did homemade therapy for a long time (floortime with Verbal Behavior), and now have added OT, speech and some ABA.
What amazes me daily is that what they learn seems to have so little to do with what they are working on in formal “therapy”. Both have learned a LOT from DVD’s and from singing, (at one point almost all of their communication was thanks to Signing Time DVD’s). I do think the therapy helps, especially because they are forming relationships with a variety of warm, caring people. But they seem to learn what they choose to learn, when they choose to learn it.
And they were never, ever in a deep dark hole!
We have had the best luck with creating a home atmosphere that helps Maizie learn at her own pace. I squeezed lots of therapy into her life early on. We paid for it all out of pocket, got into a lot of debt doing so and I truly do not think she benefited from most of it. We were able to read and learn how to do a lot of the sensory techniques and other thearpies on our own. The biggest area we need help with is learning math and when she was learning how to read. I totally agree with the comment above. Maizie will go at her own pace. When she is forced her ability to control her behavior drops and we lead a very stressed life. It is also possible though that some parents may not have the time to read and do much of the work on their own. I just know for us we had little choice. The more appointments and pushing we did the more irritable, sensitive and aggressive she would become.