DT

The New Developmental Therapist came today. I think it went well, but I am left feeling a bit confused too. Each therapist has their own style. Each therapist has their own opinions. I am getting confused because I want to trust them all & I also want to make sure the people we have coming to do therapy are qualified and a good match for our son. But when they disagree on things and say things that seem contrary to what another therapist believes, it is very hard for ME to distinguish between minor differences and vital beliefs. I will stick it out. I will give this new therapist and all the others some time. I will seek the opinion of our coordinator. I will learn new things about Autism, beef up on my knowledge, and try to be a better advocate for him. On to the Therapy session... I was very happy with the way Mary came in and greeted our son. When a new person (not just someone else...but someone brand new to him) enters his environment his atypical behavior escalates. Now, I don't mean to get off subject... but when someone who knows him says that they don't see anything wrong - THESE are the things that THEY dont get to see. So, she came in, watched and talked with him. She didn't jump right into THERAPY, she wanted to get to know him. What a wonderful strategy. She asked him if he had a favorite toy or book & played to get a feel for him. She also worked hard to ask me questions so that she would understand better - because of course she won't get the full picture in an hour session. She seemed like she just wants to take this slow and know as much as she can about him before jumping into 'therapy'. She seems very down to earth and also has some personal experience. She said that she was relying not only on her experience with Development, but also on experience with her nephew who has been diagnosed with Aspergers recently. She told me that she can't believe how similar they are (I think he is 10 or 11 now, but she is comparing them when her nephew was 2ish). My hope is that she doesn't rely TOO heavily on her experience with her nephew and just assume that what our son needs is the same as what her nephew needs. However, I have suspected Aspergers or PDD-NOS from the beginning, so that is ONE MORE clue that leads me back to the same suspicion. From what she saw today, she thinks one thing we can work at is helping him to understand that the other people in his environment are there to interact with, to ask for help, to play with, etc... This is one of those skills that rather than acquiring on his own, he is having to be taught. As for typical autism traits... this is one of those things that steers me towards Aspergers. With classic Autism, a child may not want to be touched, or not speak, or not make eye contact. In our case he doesn't really have trouble with those things. AutismSpeaks.org says "Many parents wind up with a multi-pronged approach to treating Asperger's Syndrome, choosing regimens and strategies that address their children's main challenge: inability to connect with others." Now, for him... it is more that he has a hard time with connecting to others - UNLESS he is very familiar with them. I don't know if this is the case with most Aspergers... but I have heard that they tend to really connect to their family members, so I think so. One example: We drop him off for Sunday School & when I go back to teach the second hour, he is not usually participating at all. He is either staring at the CD player, sitting alone reading, or doing something else off by himself. The first time I interact with him and show him to share with someone or help him understand what to do... he opens right up and at least makes an attempt at playing with the other children. What is Developmental Therapy all about?? Mary is taking the approach that in order for us to help his Development, we will need to look at every detail of our normal routine. Where does he participate? What is he participating with? What opportunities are there to help him participate more? Example: He loves to go 'bye-bye car'. We go bye-bye to the store, or to the mall, or to the park a lot. So, if we focus in on the grocery store... usually he rides in the cart. He enjoys singing or talking about fruits and veggies for a little while - and then he's not so interested anymore. We usually give him his calculator or other coping tool and allow him to do what he loves and cool off. So what can we do different to pull him OUT of his world of comfort with the calculator and actually enjoy the social experience more fully? We will have to come up with strategies that USE his STRENGTHS to make his experiences more involving of others. In the store, I can give him his own list. He loves letters and spelling. So, I can make HIM a list of things he can find on the shelves - and as I go down my list, we can talk about those things. This will allow his eyes to focus on something OUTSIDE of his cart. We will be in conversation and he will be 'helping'. Also, when we get to the checkout, he can help pass things to the cashier. We can greet the cashier and ask how her day is going. Etc.. Sounds like she will have some great real-life examples for us!