I recently had the opportunity to listen to a wide variety of topics in the special needs space at an international summit. It included renowned names from the industry worldwide.
After listening to them I felt a certain joy; joy that more and more specialists were coming onboard with what methodology truly works for an autistic child. Far away from ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis).
I also noted that there was a certain order/stages to Autism intervention which worked. Only when these blocks (stages) were placed in the right order and position, the recovery was natural and irreversible.
The 7 Stages of Natural Intervention
Each stage mentioned below is hierarchical until a baseline is achieved, then we add the next stage.
Socialisation
Understanding who they are. Eye contact. Observation.
Imitation
Inculcating self esteem.
Communication
Non verbal primarily. NOT Speech and language. Connecting to others.
Occupational Therapy
Understanding their physical body. Becoming confident in using them.
Rhythm
Bringing in rhythm to build the faculties mentioned above. Left and Right exercises. Plasticity.
Speech
Encouragement for speech once child is confidently engaging with the family members.
Behaviour Therapy
Preparing for school environment by teaching social behaviours missed in stage 1. This is the only place for traditional ABA. ABA is inefficient in raising a natural child.
How do you know when to move? A parent will know it if he is truthful to himself. No doctor can guide, as it is only the parent who knows the true ability of the child.
The Gap
Though developmental paediatricians advocate the above, they still refer the child to a regular therapy center on their list. Predominantly centers still have the ABA mindset to create robots who would listen to others instructions with no faith in the child's ability.
There is a large gap when it comes to practising these stages at home or on the therapy floor. The "How" is unknown and hence the gap.
Guiding parents to move across these stages is the key job of an interventionist. Find a good interventionist with knowledge and experience who has the time to guide you daily/weekly. Your ship will transform and sail smoothly.
Launch your Graphy