on 'interventions' - know whats 'wrong' before you 'fix' it

[Guest guest]

From: Autism Today Autism Tomorrow

How Can You " Fix It " If You Don't Know What is Wrong?

The thing about autism is you don't know what's wrong until you finally accept

your child as is, and enter their world. This is when things move, and you

notice changes that not only make your day, but your life. Here's a funny story

that shows what I mean.

Acknowledged by his fellow speaking professionals as " America's Number One

Humorous Speaker, " Dr. W. Jarvis, DDS, tells this story about a man

going to a pet store to buy a bird.

A man goes into the pet store to buy a pet bird. He sees dozens of caged birds

with tiny price tags dangling from their little legs. He scans each price tag

one by one: $5, $5, $5, $50! " Hmmm, " he wonders. " This $50 bird looks like all

of the others. What could be so special about this one? " He asks the store

clerk. The clerk replies that this one is very special because it can talk. The

shopper is impressed enough that he buys this special talking bird and takes it

home.

The very next day he returns, disappointed. " The bird didn't talk. " The clerk

asks, " Did he look in his little mirror? " " Little mirror? I didn't buy a mirror.

Does he need a mirror? "

" Of course, " replies the clerk. " He looks in his little mirror and sees another

bird in there. He thinks he's not alone and starts to sing, starts to talk.

You've got to have a mirror. " This sounds reasonable, so the customer buys a

mirror and leaves.

The next day he is back again, disgruntled. " The bird looked in his little

mirror, but he still didn't talk. " " Well, " ponders the clerk, " did he run up and

down his little ladder? " " Does he need a ladder? "

" Of course, " replies the clerk. " Don't you feel better after you exercise? When

your little bird runs up and down his little ladder, those endorphins start

pumping in his little brain. Makes him want to sing. Makes him want to talk. Got

to have a ladder. "

" How much as a ladder? " " It's $12.95. " " Give me a ladder. " And off goes the

customer. The next day he is back with a scowl on his face. " The bird walked up

and down his little ladder. He looked in his little mirror. But he still didn't

talk. "

The clerk listens to the angry customer and then asks, " Did he swing on his

little swing? You see, when the bird swings, it makes him think he's back in

nature. Makes him want to sing. Makes him want to talk. "

" How much is a swing? " The customer grudgingly buys the swing and leaves. But

the very next day he is back again, angrier than ever. " The bird swung on his

little swing. He ran up and down his little ladder. He looked in his little

mirror. But he still didn't sing and he still didn't talk. "

Hmm, thinks the clerk. " Did he tinkle his little bell? " The customer doesn't

even wait for an explanation. Determined to see this out to its conclusion, he

grabs a little bell, throws some money on the counter and storms off.

You guessed it. The very next day he is back again. " The bird's dead! " he

exclaims. " Dead? " " Yup, dead! His little feet stick up in the air. He got up

this morning healthy as could be. He looked in his little mirror. He tinkled his

little bell. He ran up and down his little ladder. He swung on his little swing.

And then, just before he keeled over and died, he looked over at me, a little

tear forming in his little eye, and he finally spoke to me. The little bird

asked, 'Didn't they sell birdseed?' "

Okay, so our children don't need bells, ladders or mirrors, but they do need

many things " typical children " don't need to manage their daily lives.

The point of this story is that without really knowing what our child needs, we

can throw money, programs, training, ideas, concepts, doctors and more programs

at them, to say nothing about the time it takes to do all these things. We can't

" fix it " if we don't know what is wrong. We can't decide who is best to treat

autism if we don't know who the experts are to help us. We can't figure out how

to work with schools and other professionals, determine our family's needs, or

weave our way through the always looming financial demands of this thing called

autism, unless we empower ourselves with knowledge and support.

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