This morning I made the time to sit and practice Dave’s therapy with him. We started an amazing ‘new’ therapy, called “Spelling to Communicate” (S2C), almost 2 years ago. The data on this new therapy has been mind boggling. We have all been under the incorrect assumption that Autism is a cognitive disorder. We never knew if Dave could understand the things we were saying to him. The doctors who created this therapy say we got it all wrong. They believe this isn’t a cognitive disorder … it’s a motor planning disorder. And the result of this new therapy is proving that to be true. If they are correct, Dave not only understands some things we say to him, he understands EVERYTHING (that both frightened and exhilarated me at the same time).
The S2C founders believe the problem in Autism lies in communication. They said the kids have apraxia and they know what they want to say but they just can’t get the words out. Can you imagine? Being trapped in a world where you understand everything that is said around you. And yet you have no way to communicate to others. Talk about maddening. No wonder these poor kids have anxiety. This world they are trapped in has to be so frustrating. I can’t even fathom.
S2C doctors say there are three types of those afflicted;
-Unreliable speakers (they can clearly speak but the words coming out of their mouths are not what they want to say)
-Limited speakers (this is Dave although he is also an unreliable speaker and when you repeat back something he says he will get irritated and say, “NO”)
-Non-speakers
We have been doing this therapy with Dave for almost two years now. It takes time. I read a paragraph of information to Dave. Then I ask questions related to what I just read. The S2C learner uses their hand to spell out the words (their answers) on the board. It’s a huge motor planning task. And it is incredibly hard for them. Dave’s eyes get so tired trying to track to the correct letter and then use his finger to find the letter he wants. He has trouble even doing a full hour. But with repetitive practice and motion, new neural pathways are formed and solidified. So we will keep moving forward until the thoughts in my son’s head can finally be unlocked, after 21 years in captivity.
So this morning we sat down to do S2C. The lesson was about animals in Hawaii. They were talking about the ‘Happy Face’ spider on the big island. I read the paragraph to Dave and then asked the questions. When you start with S2C, you start with just asking specific questions that are literally in the paragraph you just read. When they are ready to progress to the next level, you ask multiple answer questions. These are questions where there is more than one possible answer. For example, ‘where does the Happy Face spider live?’ The paragraph mentioned that they live on Kauai, Maui and the big island, Hawaii. So any of the three islands would be a correct answer. The next level of progression, (where we finally are), is KNOWN questions. These are questions that are usually general knowledge. They would be things you may have learned in school or just in life. These are the questions that really give us insight into what Dave actually already knows. The next step will be open ended questions. This is the information I am desperate to know. I want to know what is inside that beautiful head of his. What are his thoughts, hopes and dreams? I’m dying to get there. For now, I have to be patient and keep practicing so those pathways become strong. This morning, however, I got a tiny little glimpse into the extraordinary mind of my child. And I get goosebumps just writing about it.
So, this morning, I read the paragraph and asked Dave the known questions. Then I asked the multiple answer questions. I got to the general knowledge questions and thought to myself, there is no way Dave could answer this. Even if I thought Dave KNEW the answer, this is a really hard word to even SPELL. But I went ahead and asked it.
“Dave, what is the FEAR of spiders called?”
I put the board in front of him and he started to point to letters. He pointed to A and I thought to myself lucky guess.
Then he moved to the R and proceeded back to A. I was thinking, what the !@#$%^&*, does he actually know this?
He kept on going C, H, N, O, P, H, O, B, I, A.
I was dumbfounded. I had to actually go and look at the answer as even I was unsure at the spelling (and I’m a pretty damn good speller, if I do say so myself).
He spelled it correctly, Arachnophobia. What in the actual, WHAT????
Not only did he know what the fear of spiders WAS. He knew how to spell it. Without hesitation. I was blown away. And then tears rolled down my eyes as I realized I had just seen a glimpse into the extraordinary and beautiful mind of my beloved Dave. I can’t wait to see what is next …