In order to fully understand the steps and the process that Pat and Dan went through in deciding what school is best for Eli I needed to start at the beginning. I asked about Eli’s diagnosis. Pat told me that after Eli’s first 1-2.5 years he didn’t notice when people were around him one way or the other. By his 2nd year, Eli still did not respond to name his name, so Pat knew something was wrong.
When Eli was about 2.5 years old Pat and Dan had him evaluated to see if he had a disability. This evaluation is official the beginning of this families interaction with the support system (public services) provided by Hamilton County. Though administered by the county, the organization is federally run. It is called “Help Me Grow” and provides services for children from birth until they turn three. According to Pat, parents refer themselves through their county and report that their child could be at risk. Then the appropriate professionals come to your house to evaluate your child. Pat told me that the evaluation service of “Help Me Grow” was very efficient. Within a month of contacting Hamilton County, the evaluation had taken place.
Pat said that part of the evaluation seemed to be determining if she and her husband were providing a good home for their son, which they knew they were. The other parts of the test were things that surprised Pat. Since Eli was her first child she did not realize that he wasn’t doing things that other children do naturally. One of the tests was giving Eli and picnic basket full of the appropriate accessories. Eli would look at the plates and say, “circle” instead of setting up for a picnic. Another test was giving Eli a baby doll and care-giving items. At the time Pat felt that since she had never given Eli a doll to play with it made sense that he did not know what to do with it. Now that Pat has had parental experience with a typically developing child, she realizes her naivety. She told me that she knows Sally, her second child, would easily know what to do with a truck, for instance, even though she had never been given a truck to play with.
After the evaluation it was determined that Eli could not communicate his wants and needs, a symptom of autism. Pat said that up until this point they just anticipated what they thought Eli wanted. Pat sees now how odd it was now that Eli never said “no” or refused to do anything. Eli was supposed to receive 1 on1 speech therapy right away. Instead Eli was placed on an 8mo. waiting list for the time being.
I was reading what you said about Eli's parents not realizing that he wasn't doing that other children do naturally. I think that would be normal, since he was their first child. I read a lot of blogs, where parents talk about how their child was so different from their older brothers and sisters, that they knew there was something the matter with them. I think that a lot of children get into the school system, and as teachers we see so many children, that sometimes it's almost obvious to us, that there is something wrong with a particular child, but as a parent, sometimes all the experience they have is with this one child. It used to be that in past, very few people would just have one child. It's really become common now a days for people to have only one child, because a lot of people wait until later in life, after college and getting a good job, and then finding someone to marry, that a lot of couples are alot older when they have their first child. Some people also do it, because they want to provide the best life they can for just that one child. If this child then has something wrong with them, a parent might not be able to spot it as easily, because they just don't have that kind of experience to back up their ideas, about how a 'normal' child should act. You say that Eli was placed on a 8 month waiting list. I wonder can you tell the reasons for this, I'm sure I can guess. I also wonder if his parents are doing anythig in the meantime to help him out, or are they exploring other options?
ReplyDeleteThe reason for the waiting list was not enough therapists or as Pat put it "the money ran out for that year ". Eli is 4 now. My blog will continue covering his parents process of find the right school for him.
ReplyDeleteThe part of the evaluation that dealt with playing with the picnic basket and baby made me think of something I saw during preschool practicum.
ReplyDeleteThe preschool staff had a meeting, and one of the topics was using a video that helped teach children with autism how to use symbolic play. In the video, they had different toys available, and the person in the video would act out how a person would pretend play with the toys. For example, there was a dinosaur, toothbrush, and toothpaste. The narrator would say something like, "I'm brushing the dinosaur's teeth," while pretending to brush it's teeth.
I did not realize that some children really don't know how to use symbolic play. After that meeting, I spent some time with one of the teachers while she took a boy with autism to a resource room(?) to play. She had different toys for him to play with. During that time, she asked him to feed the dinosaur. He didn't really respond to that though. So, watching those videos might actually help him. They were said to have a fairly good success rate. I just don't remember what they were called, but it's good to know that it is available out there for the children who need it.
Those videos sound like they might be helpful. I personally feel that it would be much more beneficial and meaningful to children to actually interact with a therapist or parent when learning about play. It's always easier to remember physically doing something as opposed to watching someone else do it.
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