Just look at that happy face.Miracles do happen here and will continue to happen.
I am full of emotion today. I am tired of people coming into my house and telling me things I don't want to hear or need to hear. We have worked so hard. In August of this year Taylor had lost almost all her words. Pretty much silence. In 4 months she is requesting her favorite foods with words, saying hi/bye/night night appropriately, doing puzzles, building with blocks, swinging, sliding, climbing on the balance beam, laughing, tolerating playdoh for a minute or so, responding much better to (quiet) strangers entering her safe house, playing Mr. Potato Head, crafting with foam stickers, etc. Not to mention she knows most of her ABCs, numbers 1-10, colors, approximately 30 animals and has every book in this house memorized. I can give her 2 or 3 puzzles at once, dump out all the pieces and she will sort through and do them all. She is also acquiring labels naturally- without being formally taught each one through discrete trial. In formal terms this is called generalization and she is very capable of doing this. We didn't have to teach generalization which means she is slowly moving to learning the way "typical" kids learn. Socialization with other children is still one of our toughest obstacles but she is still very young. She can't stand loud kids. Well, I'm not very good at that either so we have something in common.
So these therapists come into my home and tell me Taylor's delays will always be with her. WHAT?!!! She is so on-target if not ahead academically. Yes, we have social things and communication to work on but come on people. They talk of group homes, etc. They have NO idea where we started and what road we have taken. I try to explain and they look at me like I'm talking a foreign language. They don't believe me. I'm in the process of making them a movie of what Taylor was doing 4 months ago. I feel compelled to prove it to them. I tell them the puzzle completion started with me doing one piece (my hand over hers) and then rewarding her with an M&M after each piece. Yes, it was hard at first. Yes, she screamed, hit me, and threw herself around like a wild animal. BUT, guess what?! Her puzzles are now one of her very favorite things. And it was really never about the puzzles. It was all about getting her to focus long enough to complete something - focus long enough to learn. Some days I think we have a little ADHD mixed in all this but that's okay too. The typical therapists have no idea how ABA works but seem to not want to learn. The key is ABA needs to be done properly in order to work. There were days we did formal sitdown sessions on and off ALL DAY LONG. That's what the professionals mean when they say intense 1:1 therapy. They don't mean do a couple things and then let her stim for 15 minutes. We do no stimming around here. It is ALL redirected. ALL OF IT. Yes, I'm tired but my kid needs saved. Who the hell else is going to do it?
Basically it's going to work like this. With direction from our ABA therapist Taylor WILL be saved. ABA is what gave her a strong foundation to learn. If any person involved in her life doesn't want to jump on board well then back off----my little girl and I will run you over.
Peace.
