Feb. 22
Sometimes at the end of the day, I marvel at the fact that I have hair left on my head. As if having four kids, a husband, and two cats aren’t enough, let’s add the fact my 12-year-old communicates on the same level as his 4-year-old sister. I love Andy so much, but I wonder sometimes if the other kids feel shorted because I spend so much time with Andy. I tell the other kids that I love them, and I know that they understand me. With Andy, I never know if he understands. I have to be so firm with him. He needs so much more structure than the other kids. I wonder if he knows that I only do it to try and help him. I think he hates me sometimes because I just won’t leave him alone.

The SLP wants to spend more time with Andy during the day. I told her that was fine. I pretty much say “OK” to whatever his therapists ask. He’s not getting any worse, which frankly, is something to be thankful for. He has had some improvement over the years. He responds more when you talk to him. He’s easier to handle. He’s started to ask for things instead of yelling. All of these improvements have been small. Some parents look for a miracle cure for Autism. They try every new drug or treatment that comes along. The rest of us just accept, despite the small improvements, the fact that our children will never be the same as other children. There are things they will never do or say. Once I realized this, I felt free to love Andy just the way he was. That doesn’t mean he still can’t irritate me from time to time, ok, that doesn’t mean he still can’t irritate me on a daily basis. Regardless of anything he does or doesn’t do, he’s still my son and I still love him.

March 22.
Another day finished! I have stopped trying to plan anything in advance, or even thinking about next month, next week, or even just tomorrow. It’s too much. I just try to take care of today. Today was a great day. The weather is starting to warm up and become Spring-like. We went to visit the grandparents today. It’s only an hour car ride, but still. I was so nervous, but Andy was great! He usually goes crazy when we go up to their farm. Last time we went, two years ago, he threw a tantrum and cried the whole time. This time he was a lot calmer. He didn’t cry at all. He still refused to go pet the horses with the other kids, but that’s ok, I think the horses scare him. Instead of eating inside, we had a picnic in their yard. He really liked that because he didn’t have to sit in a hard chair the whole time. He could rock and shift and wiggle without disturbing anyone. I thought my Mom was going to choke when Andy asked her to pass the pitcher of water. Ok, so he said, "water, please." But that's still pretty amazing.

I love days like this, when nobody fights or cries. It’s just nice when I can be a mom instead of a referee. With four of them running around, it rarely happens, but it’s nice when it does. The older Andy gets, the more I can't help but imagine the very worst. Yet, I am constantly surprised and pleased on days when the whole family clicks. I think Andy's therapy is starting to show.

Proceed to Lesson Plans from Andy's therapist

Table of Contents

In preparation for an upcoming Speech-Language conference, Jackie Masters has prepared a presentation on therapyapproachesforautism

(application/octet-stream, 124 KB)

. This presentation will be part of workshop on Autism. This piece contains information related to a specific client. The information was gathered from their therapy sessions, the parents, and peers.

Proceed to a poem written by one of Andy's peers

Table of Contents

Client: Andy
Clinician: Jackie Masters
Date: February 18, 2002

Objectives:
Andy will use appropriate words to ask for a toy 10 times during a 20 min therapy session.

Procedures:
Clinician will present desired items and model appropriate ways to ask for the toy while reinforcing on a 1:1 fixed ratio.

Materials:
various toys

Results and Observations:
Andy’s attention is improving. He seems to enjoy coming to therapy more. He is more cooperative. Changing from food to toys in our activity has helped tremendously. He actually wants to ask for the toys. He especially likes the brown rabbit. Previously, Andy would scream and grab for the rabbit instead of asking. He only tried to grab the toy out my hands twice in this session. He is now using words or phrases, such as "Please" and "hand me" to request the toy. Andy appropriately asked for the toy 10/15 times. He did meet his goal. This is slight progress over last week in which he only appropriately asked 7/15 times. Last week, he grabbed for the toy five times. He is starting to exercise more self-control, which is a big step. Andy’s attention is also improving, so I will try to start keeping him longer in therapy. This way we will can have more time and can try more attempts. Andy's progress is slow but steady. One of the things we are working on is for Andy to be more vocal. I want him to use speech to fill his needs more than gestures or grunts. He is really starting learn that he gets what he wants quicker if he talks.

--------------------------------

Client: Andy
Clinician: Jackie Masters
Date: February 19, 2002

Objectives:
Andy will use appropriate words to ask for a toy 15 times during a 25 min therapy session.

Procedures:
Clinician will present desired items and model appropriate ways to ask for the toy while reinforcing on a 1:1 fixed ratio.

Materials:
various toys

Results and Observations:
Andy had a little difficulty towards the end of the session. He was not used to staying so long. He had trouble paying attention and staying on task. His behavior did not become a problem, he is still manageable, but his production broke down during the final five minutes of the session. Andy did try to grab the toy out of my hands twice today, same as last session. However, both grabs occurred during the last five minutes of the session. I think he was tired and frustrated, which lead to this behavior. When he became fatigued, he reverted back to simplier form of achieving his means, i.e. grabbing. Andy appropriately asked for a toy 10/18 times. This is not progress. He responded correctly the same amount as yesterday, but percentage wise, he has regressed. I think this is because of the addition of time to the session. It was a little confusing for him. I want to continue having 25 minute sessions so that he will get accustom to being in therapy longer. Another thing Andy needs to work on is adjusting to change. This one is so hard for some kids, but I am confident that Andy can do it. He is still doing well. We just need to spend more time together.

--------------------------------------

Client: Andy
Clinician: Jackie Masters
Date: February 20, 2002

Objectives:
Andy will use appropriate words to ask for a toy 15 times during a 25 min therapy session.

Procedures:
Clinician will present desired items and model appropriate ways to ask for the toy while reinforcing on a 1:1 fixed ratio.

Materials:
various toys

Results and Observations:
Andy was still distracted during the last five minutes of the session, however, it affected his performance less today. He only tried to take the toy from me once today. Andy correctly asked for a toy 12/18 times. Andy has not met his goal but is improving slightly from yesterday. I plan on continuing with the extended session and with the same goal for the next session. The time addition was tough for Andy, but it did not effect his performance that much. If Andy continues to improve over the next few months, I may consider adding another five minutes to his sessions. Also, I received permission from Mr. & Mrs. Everstan to use Andy in my presentation at the Autism Workshop in May.

Proceed to Jackie Master's presentation

Table of Contents