I recently accepted a position as a line therapist providing behavior modification therapy to autistic children in their homes. As a highly sensitive and empathetic person, this is both an incredibly rewarding and completely heartbreaking position. I have developed a special connection with the kiddos on my teams and it's become very apparent that I was gifted with the ability to intuitively sense how to reach into their private world and gently draw them out. They respond well to my peaceful demeanor and positive energy by becoming quite calm, frequently seeking physical comfort and maintaining eye contact for extended periods of time.
During my very first session with a child that was labeled low functioning on the autistic spectrum, I watched while a veteran therapist enthusiastically tried to engage him in play becoming more and more animated, speaking louder and louder, which only increased his agitation. I sat quietly on the floor observing the struggle. Within minutes, the child came over and sat on my lap and reached up to stroke my face. The other therapist was amazed when he then turned around, looked into my eyes for several moments and leaned forward rubbing his cheek against mine. For several weeks during my training period, this therapist and I provided therapy together. She continued to try to engage him with her excitement, singing loudly over his cries of frustration, which eventually led to the child behaving increasingly aggressive towards her, pushing, shoving, throwing stimuli and becoming non-compliant. He'd push her away and turn me burying his face in my stomach seeking peace. Mind you, she'd been on this case since the child started the program 9 months ago. Completely new to the position, I hesitated to intervene though every instinct in my entire body was begging her to stop. Soon my spirit had had enough and I subtly started taking over the sessions. While she sang "London Bridges", I'd join in but at a whisper. My new friend would immediately be at my side. Any physical contact would have to be initiated by him, as I understood that additional stimulation was not what he needed at that moment. Thankfully, a few sessions later my training was complete and I was providing therapy on my own. Notably, there has never been an incident of physical aggression towards me during a session. Even when extremely frustrated, he's maintained control.
This child talks and sings constantly though it's not always clear what is being said. He doesn't actually converse; he may mimic words and phrases but typically not when prompted. Sadly, his main interaction with the world outside of therapy is with the television which leads to some interesting comments. Once when I asked him to, "Come on" he responded with, "Come on down! You are the next contestant on The Price is Right!" There was a period when "dry, scaly feet" was a favorite and "You're under arrest!" One day someone somewhere received a "$1,000.00 consolation prize. It wasn't me. When presented with a new body sock, he crawled inside and I inquired, "Where are you?" From inside the sock I hear, "Scooby Scooby Doo, where are you?" sung exactly in tune. That right there is the kind of moment that keep me doing this.
We use a lot of food reinforcement with this kiddo which the family is to provide. Even I got sick of giving him goldfish crackers and brought in some Apple Jacks and marshmallows, both of which turned out to be big hits. "Apple Jacks" was easy for him and lead to "Cinnamon Cheerios, Corn Pops, yummy, yummy in my bowl." (I have no idea on that one.)
A couple days later, the senior therapist was sitting in on a session and neither of us could figure out why he kept saying, "more shows, more shows". Duh...marshmallows. How could we not figure that out?
There's a list of songs we sing and recently he's starting joining in. He'll sing a line, we will sing the next, he the next and so on. Sometimes we even make it through a complete song. "Twinkle Twinkle", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are favorites. My son made me sing "You Are My Sunshine" to him every night before bed so I've been singing it during sessions too. It's not on the list so it's not being sung by the other therapists on the team, it's sort of ours alone. The senior was observing again the other day when out of the blue we hear, "Please don't take my sunshine away." I thought I'd cry but he had more, "how much I love you." That did it. I know he was only mimicking the song and not actually saying "I love you" but he certainly showed me he does in the only way he knows how at this point.
I told the senior about a technique I use with him to provide additional positive reinforcement. Very, very slowly and gently, barely touching his skin, I run the tips of my fingers up and down his bare arms, over his head and cheeks. He'll raise his arms for more while he looks me in the eye, getting this completely dreamy look on his face. For those few minutes, he's utterly at peace and completely connected to another person. It's pretty incredible to see. After our demonstration, the senior commented on the relationship he has with me and that I really should market my healing services to autistic children.
Hmmm...Now there's an idea I think I need to explore.
During my very first session with a child that was labeled low functioning on the autistic spectrum, I watched while a veteran therapist enthusiastically tried to engage him in play becoming more and more animated, speaking louder and louder, which only increased his agitation. I sat quietly on the floor observing the struggle. Within minutes, the child came over and sat on my lap and reached up to stroke my face. The other therapist was amazed when he then turned around, looked into my eyes for several moments and leaned forward rubbing his cheek against mine. For several weeks during my training period, this therapist and I provided therapy together. She continued to try to engage him with her excitement, singing loudly over his cries of frustration, which eventually led to the child behaving increasingly aggressive towards her, pushing, shoving, throwing stimuli and becoming non-compliant. He'd push her away and turn me burying his face in my stomach seeking peace. Mind you, she'd been on this case since the child started the program 9 months ago. Completely new to the position, I hesitated to intervene though every instinct in my entire body was begging her to stop. Soon my spirit had had enough and I subtly started taking over the sessions. While she sang "London Bridges", I'd join in but at a whisper. My new friend would immediately be at my side. Any physical contact would have to be initiated by him, as I understood that additional stimulation was not what he needed at that moment. Thankfully, a few sessions later my training was complete and I was providing therapy on my own. Notably, there has never been an incident of physical aggression towards me during a session. Even when extremely frustrated, he's maintained control.
This child talks and sings constantly though it's not always clear what is being said. He doesn't actually converse; he may mimic words and phrases but typically not when prompted. Sadly, his main interaction with the world outside of therapy is with the television which leads to some interesting comments. Once when I asked him to, "Come on" he responded with, "Come on down! You are the next contestant on The Price is Right!" There was a period when "dry, scaly feet" was a favorite and "You're under arrest!" One day someone somewhere received a "$1,000.00 consolation prize. It wasn't me. When presented with a new body sock, he crawled inside and I inquired, "Where are you?" From inside the sock I hear, "Scooby Scooby Doo, where are you?" sung exactly in tune. That right there is the kind of moment that keep me doing this.
We use a lot of food reinforcement with this kiddo which the family is to provide. Even I got sick of giving him goldfish crackers and brought in some Apple Jacks and marshmallows, both of which turned out to be big hits. "Apple Jacks" was easy for him and lead to "Cinnamon Cheerios, Corn Pops, yummy, yummy in my bowl." (I have no idea on that one.)
A couple days later, the senior therapist was sitting in on a session and neither of us could figure out why he kept saying, "more shows, more shows". Duh...marshmallows. How could we not figure that out?
There's a list of songs we sing and recently he's starting joining in. He'll sing a line, we will sing the next, he the next and so on. Sometimes we even make it through a complete song. "Twinkle Twinkle", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and "It's Raining, It's Pouring" are favorites. My son made me sing "You Are My Sunshine" to him every night before bed so I've been singing it during sessions too. It's not on the list so it's not being sung by the other therapists on the team, it's sort of ours alone. The senior was observing again the other day when out of the blue we hear, "Please don't take my sunshine away." I thought I'd cry but he had more, "how much I love you." That did it. I know he was only mimicking the song and not actually saying "I love you" but he certainly showed me he does in the only way he knows how at this point.
I told the senior about a technique I use with him to provide additional positive reinforcement. Very, very slowly and gently, barely touching his skin, I run the tips of my fingers up and down his bare arms, over his head and cheeks. He'll raise his arms for more while he looks me in the eye, getting this completely dreamy look on his face. For those few minutes, he's utterly at peace and completely connected to another person. It's pretty incredible to see. After our demonstration, the senior commented on the relationship he has with me and that I really should market my healing services to autistic children.
Hmmm...Now there's an idea I think I need to explore.
