As mentioned in my previous post, Nick was not an effective communicator, he was only capable of getting across his wants and needs. He also didn't have an interest in his environment and he certainly wasn't motivated to share his experience of what was happening around him - except to express his extreme anxiety (oh boy, the anxiety!).
Over time we (parent's!!) realised that Nick had missed out on a whole chunk of his development. (It is a parent process you understand - takes time to come to terms with having a special needs kid!!) His communication skills were so far behind - the foundation for future development in this area had not been addressed (by the parents!). Anyway, no point in beating myself up over it - such is life - and it is never to late to start!!!
The following clip has an example of a child who is on the correct development path and a child who is in the danger zone for autism. That 2nd child could be Nick!! The clip is probably a bit long for many of you to sit through! I am sure if you fast forward here and there you will get the drift of the difference between the two children. I wonder how many of you will now look at babies and toddlers in a new light!! I am always checking them out - can't help it!! :)
(I stole this clip from Zoe but have permission to use it from Brendan at Learning Together http://www.learning-together.info Thanks Zoe and Brendan x )
I had a look at the clips and see so much of Ethan in the second clip but as time goes on and as I work with him he has made good going, all it takes is time and patience, he needed to be shown how to play and I had to learn how to teach him to play, the best part is now I can sit and build blocks with him and we both get to play. Thanks Di for the intersting blog, love it! Donna Van Vuuren
ReplyDeleteVery interesting, Di. I am thoroughly enjoying your blog and look forward to the next installment!
ReplyDeleteComing to terms with the fact that your child has special needs - yep, that's a difficult one for sure. Speaking personally, it also took me a long time to really understand my son's condition (autism). I think that was partly because as parents you suffer from post-diagnostic stress disorder (or something like that) and your brain can't really process anything about the disability properly for a while :( But we get there eventually!
ReplyDeletePeople need this tattooed on their brain: **Anyway, no point in beating myself up over it - such is life - and it is never to late to start!!!**
ReplyDeletePart of our problem is that therapies and information DID NOT EXIST. The ones that did (the association method) had not been connected to autism.
It is never too late to start, and Pamela is evidence of that. Had we started earlier, she would have been farther along today. But, then maybe not. If ABA had been available, I know I would have done it. So, not having access was a blessing in disguise . . .