How the autistic brain works? Online video of Tito Mukhopadhyay
July 14, 2006 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay is a young autistic man and the author of the books The Mind Tree and The Gold of the Sunbeams and other stories. He is often described as having “severe autism“; he is minimally verbal and writes about how he perceives the world in prose and poetry. I have always been curious about Mukhopadhyay because it is clear to my husband and me that Charlie, while not able to speak too well or too much, has plenty going on in his mind (some of my thoughts about Mukhopadhyay are here, in a paper on autism and language; we have begun to explore augmentative forms of communication for Charlie as well as continuing to encourage him to talk and teaching him to read and write.)
To see Mukhopadhyay writing out responses to questions from others, you can watch this video, How the autistic brain works. You can also read a transcript of the video and find out more about the other participants in the video:
- Eric Courchesne, Ph.D. Professor of Neuroscience, UC San Diego
- Portia Iversen, Cure Autism Now
- Erin Schuman, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biology, Caltech
- Terrence Sejnowski, Ph.D., Director of Computational Biology Lab, Salk Institute
(And for a critical analysis of Mukhopadhyay and of CAN and of the promotional copy on the cover of Mukhopadhyay’s book by Amanda Baggs, go here.)
While it is clear that Mukhopadhyay is writing with a pencil on a tablet, the camera does not clearly show what he is writing (at least in the Quicktime version I watched). Mukhopadhyay’s mother, Soma Mukhopadhyay (who originated the Rapid Prompting Method) stands or sit right next to Mukhopadhyay and reads what he writes, and sometimes starts to speak before her son has finished writing.
Watch the video and let me know what you think.
That is not a critical analysis of Tito Mukhopadhyay, just to clarify. It’s a critical analysis of the people who wrote the book cover, and the people at CAN! who engaged in deceptive promotional techniques, etc.
Correction duly noted.
We had an ST try the “rapid response” method with Sam. It didn’t work very well with him.
Repetition and exercises using things he’s interested in work much better with him. Right now, mostly he just likes to count. I liked to count when I was little, as well.
Hehe, I saw video of Soma doing the method, and I thought that if she tried it with JE, she’d go flying across the room in about two seconds.
He doesn’t tolerate being touched if he doesn’t want to be touched.
Interesting—-was the ST trained by Soma Mukhopadhyay?
The ST had not been trained by Soma, but had been at a conference where the technique was discussed, and maybe presented by Soma.
But additionally, the ST was not good at “reading” Sam. The OT he had at the time was much better at that, and the STs he’s had since then have been better. However, even taking that into account, I don’t think it’s the right method for working with Sam anyway.
Yep. Soma is definitely speaking before Tito writes in many cases. I did not notice that on the one typing clip and it seemed in some cases that he was ready to respond before she handed him the pencil.
The ST that attempted RPM ,was not certified in RPM so for her or anyone to try “RPM” on a professional level is erroneous.There is a certification process available for those that qualify and currently Soma is the only provider.It truely is not something one can learn and implement by simply watching a dvd or attending a seminar,Soma has been doing this for over 15yrs and it has been a work in progress.Not only that but she holds a degree in Education as well as Chemistry so she,in my opinion ,is a very academic individual..she loves to learn and teach.
Also,you’d be surprised at just what she can do even with the most “challenging” behaviors that our kids have.Mine being one of them.We attended a 4day camp and I knew and expected my son’s behaviors to be an issue but not more than what Soma is used to or can handle(scratching,biting,pinching etc)Within 20 min she was able to adapt to my son’s needs and modulate her voice ,her body positioning as opposed to his and from that point able to carry out very productive sessions with my son for 3more days.I wouldn’t under estimate the positive outcomes for many individuals young and old.
Dear Stacey,
Thanks so much for this information; have you been able to do follow-up with Soma after the camp? Hope he is doing well.
I’m sorry, but I found this video to be a bit disturbing. The over-arching impression that I got was that of Tito being dissected like a lab rat.
It seemed to me that Tito was very uncomfortable early on in the converstaion with being put on display, like a subject in a laboratory for the sole purpose of speculative discussion. His facial expressions and his leaving the scene many times, only being forced back by his mother, seem to indicate to me that this was not something he participated in of his own free will.
Of course, I could be wrong. I don’t really know what he was actually thinking and feeling, no more than I can claim to actually know what my autistic daughter is thinking and feeling at any given moment.
I also was uneasy with his mother’s “prompting” towards his illegible handwritten communication. I don’t want to say that Tito isn’t actually the author of his books…but still.
Even though Tito responds that scientific research towards a cure could only help matters, I’m not so sure that those are his words. The most strongest exit he displayed from the table of discussion occured when the particpants began talking about a cure for his condition.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed having the opportunity to get to see Tito, (I am very much interested in reading his books), but I also couldn’t help but feel pity for him being possibly coerced by his mother and those scientists into being there as their lab rat.
There is also the suspicion that this film was actually nothing more than curbie propaganda dressed up as an attempt to reach out and understand Tito and his autistic brain.
I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
I am Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay.
I volunteered for the tests.
I did not feel like a lab rat at all.
I was curious about my own sensory experiences and wanted to validate them through the tests.
I need a prompt to ‘initiate’ my actions, be it writing, be it speech because I can mentally ‘wish’ to do an act, but cannot actually ‘do’ it. Hence people can hear a ‘keep going’ or ‘come on’ verbal prompt from mother.
When I write my own poems or passages, I do not need such prompts.
But when I am answering to a question, specially when there are distractions like a room full of people and their eyes watching, I need to be ‘on track’ and hence there is mother’s or my aide’s verbal prompt reminders. They know that I cannot proceed otherwise.
I have no shame in being prompt dependent.
‘Initiation’ is a trouble with me and I am sure many others like me face it, specially when there is a sensory overwhelming experience.
About the film: I am sure the purpose of the producer was good. Yes, I feel uncomfortable watching it too.
The real me, writing, composing is featured in the BBC documentary, Tito’s Story (2000).
I am prepared to clarify any doubt.
Regards to one and all,
-Tito RajarshiMukhopadhyay
P.S……….
Not understanding my writing:
My hand-writing is improving, so is my speech. Hand-writing and speech both need a lot of effort and I am sorry I could not satisfy the viewer who commented on it.
Many of my friends can read my hand-writing now. I am sorry I could not produce a better hand-writing before, not because I did not ‘want’ to or ‘try’, but because I was ‘unable’ to. I shall try to improve it even when I turn 50. And I shall be questioned even when I am 50.
That is the ‘fun’ of having Autism.
I am fortunate that neuro-scientists understood it. And I am fortunate that the people who assessed me, Dr.Wing and Dr.Gould understood it.
Perhaps they saw it happen in 3-dimension or simply I was ‘lucky’.
I was assessed at the National Autistic Society (UK) before they considered to publish my book. The tests are recorded in ‘Tito’s Story’ (the BBC documentary).
Whether mother’s method would work on someone or not: Mother never forces her method to people who do not want it. Mother serves those who ‘wants’ it.
And those who wanted it did not regret.
-
Regards to one and all,
Tito Rajarshi Mukhopadhyay
Mr. Mukhopadhyay, Thank you so much for commenting here—-it is really great to hear your voice.
We have upcoming sessions with Soma and try to look at everything with optimisim. ur son is older and has no speech. It has been hard and any thing that may help he and I or he and the world communicate is worth a try.
We just returned from Austin this evening after two sessions with Soma. My 10 year old son is severely autistic and is non verbal. Soma began working with him and amazed us with what our child knows. you have to truly see it in person to believe what she does. She sends each client home with a DVD of the sessions, so she has nothing to hide. I appreciate that Soma is willing to do this work…it is going to change our life!
@Christi Jensen,
Thank you for telling us about your son—hope he continues to make progress. If I may ask, will you be returning for more sessions with her? Very best—
I am considering joining her site to get access to the forums. It costs $25.00. A parent in one of my groups took her grandson last week for second visit and says she was amazed.
Bonnie,
I hope that you decided to look into RPM and joined the member forum. I dont know if anyone still reads this thread but I have since continued with rpm for my son and he is a completely different child. I am a different parent. This is something that anyone ..parent or professional should take the time to look into themselves. More importantly this method is taught to parents as well as professionals which I feel empowers us as parents to be self reliant .therapists come and go but we are here with our children forever.Also,Cornell is currently conducting research on RPM and had a poster at IMFAR a few weeks ago
http://imfar.confex.com/imfar/2009/webprogram/Paper4620.html