Small Stories of Success on the Autism Spectrum - Will You Share Yours?
Thursday March 27, 2008
Charlie Hoover of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, is the father of nine-year-old Lenny. Lenny was diagnosed with with classic regressive autism at the age of two, but today his dad quotes a neuropsychologist as saying ""Lenny does not have any symptoms of autism." Not long ago, Lenny won a silver medal at a taekwondo competition, and his dad shared the story for inclusion on this site.
Charlie's not alone in his feelings of pride. Other moms and dads have shared their children's success stories - small tales of great moments in the lives of families living with autism.
These days, there's so much controversy over autism that we sometimes forget to cherish those small moments. Do you have a success story to share? Please comment or write me directly, so I can add it to this site!
Comments
I worked one on one with an adult student who was diagnosed with severe autism and was non-verbal for 1.5 years. Each Monday, our class would walk a dog as part of our job skills and healthy exercise program. My student would go on the walks, but showed no interest in the dog…emphasis on SHOWED NO INTEREST…well that was in my eyes, how I saw the situation. So, one day, I thought, “Let’s just assume, he does have an interest in this dog even if he doesn’t SHOW an interest.” I showed him how to hold the leash and he still “showed” no interest, but loosely held on. Then we started walking and although it looked like he was barely holding the leash, he grasped it tighter when the dog took off. Long story short, he walked that dog most of the walk and then back to school and down the hall of the school. We passed by all his old aides and teachers and was all SMILES!
Later I wondered, “Does he have a dog at home?” So, I wrote a quick note detailing our adventure to his mom and asking if he already had this skill. Note that this boy is 22 years old! She wrote back that he had never walked a dog in his life and was excited by this new skill he so easily developed.
It all goes back to a philosophy William Stillman (autism advocate and individual with autism)emphasizes…PRESUME INTELLECT. I also add…ASSUME INTEREST in an activity even if the individual with autism might “show” no interest, they might actually have interest especially if we take our time to introduce the new skill to them.
Thanks for the opportunity to share.
Joanna K-V
www.AisForAutism.net