Re: I am going to lose it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest guest]

Self-protection due to hypersensitive hearing is what I suspected which is why I

wrote out the questions rather than asking them aloud.

S S

I am new here and I have a daughter that has ASD, probably milder than most of

you here, but I treat patients from a wide spectrum as a chiropractor.  In

reading between the lines here, we may be seeing something about autistic people

that we can relate to in a different way.  I see a young man who says that he

does not want to hear voices because it is painful, so he mumbles to avoid

hearing voices.  This is really what I see in other areas that are not as

complex...perhaps some form of antalgia.  To avoid pain, you avoid the

stimulus.  If people do not talk to you, and you do not feel that pain, then why

on earth would you want to do anythng to encourage them to talk to you?  It may

not be a lack of motivation as much as a self-defense mechanism to deal with

this syndrome in the only way possible.  My daughter does well with voices, but

loud sounds scare GREATLY.  We live far away from the city and the highway due

to this very reason.  Horses calm her, and they help her

gait by encouraging balance.  So she has a pony.  I do not want to presume

anything about a person I do not know or have not examined, but it is possible

that this is not a lack of motivation as much as self-protection. 

Jeff Cunningham, DC

 

_______________________________________________

Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

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[Guest guest]

I prepared her by telling her what AIT is for and then doing social stories,

adding the AIT reminders to her visual schedule and talking to her about it

nightly, for two weeks. We even had a coundown to AIT. At the clinic, they

put a really tight headband around the forehead area to keep the headphones

on, and they kept her busy, up to her neck in toys. In a lot of cases, the

toughest battles are dealing with the transition issues.

Rima

On 11/29/05, robbie_cullen <cullenr@...> wrote:

>

>

>

> > ,

> >

> > He sounds like my daughter before AIT. Berard AIT changed her life.

> >

>

> ,

>

> How did you get your daughter to wear the headphones? I've heard such

> great things about this program, but can't imagine getting my daughter to

> wear

> headphone or for the length of time required.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Robbie

>

>

>

>

>

> =======================================================

>

[Guest guest]

The thing is my son has never done anything to indicate a sensitivy

to noise. When I run the vacuume he comes in and looks to see what

is going on, he doesn't run away crying. Same with household

appliances that are loud. Also, he makes very loud noises with his

voice. There was a period of about a YEAR that he made this high

pitched squeals that were so loud I thought I would go crazy. I am

definitely sensitive to noise!!! He craves sensory input of all

kinds so I would be very surprised if he actually was sensitive to

noise.

>

> I'm with Mandi on this one. Unless a child with autism is

apraxic or

> has some other physical impediment, not speaking almost

invariably

> seems to be related to a lack of MOTIVATION.

>

> When my little guy--also 4 and also very communicative in non-

verbal

> ways--is highly motivated to get something (and doesn't get it

right

> away), he produces perfect spontaneous words. But when we try to

get

> him to imitate a word or a sound without a reward system, just

like

> your guy, he says b for m, t for d, w for y (he's good with

vowels

> though).

>

> Communication is " More Than Words, " which is also the title by a

> wonderful speech manual by Fern Sussman based on the Hanen

method. I

> recommend it. It is a great synthesis of ABA, floortime, and

> traditional speech parctices. Kaufman Echoics is a good idea

too, as

> Kenny suggested, but I think SLPs need to parctice it.

>

> Also remember: Stanley Greenspan (creator of the DIR/floortime

> method) writes that a child has to be able to complete about

> 15 " circles of communication " consecutively before they can

start

> verbalizing. So there is an element of INTERACTION there as

well.

> Learning to interact. Being motivated to interact.

>

> Whether we like it or not, our children with autism are very

> utilitarian: " What's in it for me? " as Mandi put it succintly.

> And just like Mandi, I am not worried, as long as my child

> communicates in other ways. He will eventually verbalize, I have

no

> doubt about it. If your child is also communicating in other

ways,

> he will most likely talk eventually. Age 4 is not that late.

>

> Finally, intensive practice with blends of vowels and consonants

> (babababa, bee beee, boo boo boo, dadada, deedeedee, doodoodoo)

in

> an ABA format with a reward system helped my child transfer that

> stuff into babbling. Ever since they've been doing blends his

vocal

> play and babbling has increased significantly.

>

> We're in the same boat. I wish you good luck and much patience.

> Beti

>

>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

>

>

>

>

> =======================================================

>

[Guest guest]

On 11/29/05, dannenedrummond <dannenedrummond@...> wrote:

>

> The thing is my son has never done anything to indicate a sensitivy

> to noise. When I run the vacuume he comes in and looks to see what

> is going on, he doesn't run away crying. Same with household

> appliances that are loud. Also, he makes very loud noises with his

> voice. There was a period of about a YEAR that he made this high

> pitched squeals that were so loud I thought I would go crazy. I am

> definitely sensitive to noise!!! He craves sensory input of all

> kinds so I would be very surprised if he actually was sensitive to

> noise.

Different kids react differently to noise. Some kids react by covering it

with noise of their own. Others react only to certain pitches and

frequencies. Others seek the noise all the time. Everyone's different. The

thing to watch is how he behaves when it's quiet around him and contrast

that to how he is when it is noisy. Contrast his performance with work of

any type under either set of conditions.

--

Rima Regas

Mom to Leah, age 7 (AS, DSI and APD)

http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

[Guest guest]

Same here. My son also has shown no reason over the years to suspect

hypersensitivity to sound. He handles crowded and noisy situations

fairly well. He stims the least in a shopping mall! Maybe he is

HYPOsensitive and all that noise and light give him the input he

needs. Hypo or hyper, it's likely that there are some auditory

processing issues involved with our kiddos.

Although human and other sounds don't seem to bother my son, do I

think he is bothered by people talking to him too fast, asking him

long, abstract questions, telling him to do this, do that? You bet!

I certainly am intrigued by the self-protection explanation in that

respect.

But for children who don't seem to have severe sensory issues where

does the problem lie? I don't expect my son to string together

sentences, he is waay far from that at this point. But I certainly

expect him to ask for simple things verbally

like " up, " " juice, " " go, " and so on. He is capable of that, we know,

but often won't do it, even in the privacy and comfort of his home.

WHY? I wish I knew.

I can only speculate that for him it takes more effort to talk than

use gestures to communicate. Maybe there are some auditory

processing issues involved, which make verbalization a more

demanding job. But, when he's highly motivated, that motivation

makes him take that extra mile and say " juice " or " eat " or " go "

or " cookie " or " cracker " perfectly. But under normal circumstances,

when he can go without the preferred item or activity, he'd rather

elope (mostly with a big grin on his face, lol) than make the effort

to say the word.

I have yet to hear a convincing explanation as to why my son doesn't

yet talk. But I do know that some adult autists (who haven't

undergone the therapies that our kiddos undergoing today) indeed

describe their difficulty in terms of " self-protection " from

unpleasant sensory stimuli.

BTW, I did want to give AIT (Berard, Tomatis, Samonas, whatever is

available in this town) a try (and still do), but couldn't convince

my spouse, who started looking at me funny every time I suggest a

new/different treatment approach.

If it were solely up to me, and if I had the finances, I would try

everything non-invasive on the face of the planet to get things

moving faster.

Beti

> >

> > I'm with Mandi on this one. Unless a child with autism is

> apraxic or

> > has some other physical impediment, not speaking almost

> invariably

> > seems to be related to a lack of MOTIVATION.

> >

> > When my little guy--also 4 and also very communicative in non-

> verbal

> > ways--is highly motivated to get something (and doesn't get it

> right

> > away), he produces perfect spontaneous words. But when we try

to

> get

> > him to imitate a word or a sound without a reward system, just

> like

> > your guy, he says b for m, t for d, w for y (he's good with

> vowels

> > though).

> >

> > Communication is " More Than Words, " which is also the title by

a

> > wonderful speech manual by Fern Sussman based on the Hanen

> method. I

> > recommend it. It is a great synthesis of ABA, floortime, and

> > traditional speech parctices. Kaufman Echoics is a good idea

> too, as

> > Kenny suggested, but I think SLPs need to parctice it.

> >

> > Also remember: Stanley Greenspan (creator of the DIR/floortime

> > method) writes that a child has to be able to complete about

> > 15 " circles of communication " consecutively before they can

> start

> > verbalizing. So there is an element of INTERACTION there as

> well.

> > Learning to interact. Being motivated to interact.

> >

> > Whether we like it or not, our children with autism are very

> > utilitarian: " What's in it for me? " as Mandi put it succintly.

> > And just like Mandi, I am not worried, as long as my child

> > communicates in other ways. He will eventually verbalize, I

have

> no

> > doubt about it. If your child is also communicating in other

> ways,

> > he will most likely talk eventually. Age 4 is not that late.

> >

> > Finally, intensive practice with blends of vowels and

consonants

> > (babababa, bee beee, boo boo boo, dadada, deedeedee,

doodoodoo)

> in

> > an ABA format with a reward system helped my child transfer

that

> > stuff into babbling. Ever since they've been doing blends his

> vocal

> > play and babbling has increased significantly.

> >

> > We're in the same boat. I wish you good luck and much

patience.

> > Beti

> >

> >

> >

> > _______________________________________________

> > Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> > The most personalized portal on the Web!

> >

> >

> >

> >

> > =======================================================

> >

[Guest guest]

On 11/29/05, Beti <mbdpargun@...> wrote:

>

> If it were solely up to me, and if I had the finances, I would try

> everything non-invasive on the face of the planet to get things

> moving faster.

>

> Beti

>

> Beti,

If you can, try borrowing The Listening Program discs from someone you know?

Rent them from a private OT? They're $350 new, plus the cost of a good pair

of headphones. If he responds to that, maybe your husband will agree to try

the heavier duty AITs?

Just a thought...

--

Rima Regas

Mom to Leah, age 7 (AS, DSI and APD)

http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

[Guest guest]

Thanks Rima, that's certainly a thought. The headphones are around

$500 if I remember correctly. I still have the brochure somewhere

that our former OT gave us about the best one to purchase. If I can

find it I'll post it.

I assume the home treatment that you mention is the " therapeutic

listening. " Have you had good results with that, before going into

Berard or did you start with Berard right away?

At this point I'm pretty sure that he will be able to tolerate the

head phones.

Thanks

Beti

> >

> > If it were solely up to me, and if I had the finances, I would

try

> > everything non-invasive on the face of the planet to get things

> > moving faster.

> >

> > Beti

> >

> > Beti,

>

> If you can, try borrowing The Listening Program discs from someone

you know?

> Rent them from a private OT? They're $350 new, plus the cost of a

good pair

> of headphones. If he responds to that, maybe your husband will

agree to try

> the heavier duty AITs?

>

> Just a thought...

>

> --

> Rima Regas

> Mom to Leah, age 7 (AS, DSI and APD)

> http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

We went straight to Berard. I know quite a few people who did The Listening

Program and were happy with the results.

Headphones should cost around $100 - not 500. Eek! Here is the official site

for TLP. www.advancedbrain.com A lot of people refer to it as therapeutic

listening.

Rima

On 11/29/05, Beti <mbdpargun@...> wrote:

>

> Thanks Rima, that's certainly a thought. The headphones are around

> $500 if I remember correctly. I still have the brochure somewhere

> that our former OT gave us about the best one to purchase. If I can

> find it I'll post it.

> I assume the home treatment that you mention is the " therapeutic

> listening. " Have you had good results with that, before going into

> Berard or did you start with Berard right away?

> At this point I'm pretty sure that he will be able to tolerate the

> head phones.

> Thanks

> Beti

>

>

> > >

> > > If it were solely up to me, and if I had the finances, I would

> try

> > > everything non-invasive on the face of the planet to get things

> > > moving faster.

> > >

> > > Beti

> > >

> > > Beti,

> >

> > If you can, try borrowing The Listening Program discs from someone

> you know?

> > Rent them from a private OT? They're $350 new, plus the cost of a

> good pair

> > of headphones. If he responds to that, maybe your husband will

> agree to try

> > the heavier duty AITs?

> >

> > Just a thought...

> >

> > --

> > Rima Regas

> > Mom to Leah, age 7 (AS, DSI and APD)

> > http://www.sensoryintegrationhelp.com

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

>

> After almost 2 years of speech therapy my son STILL can only say N, D

> and T sounds. He has had different therapists too. I am going to

> lose it! I say, " Say 'p'uh and he say t " I say " Say 'm'uh and he says

> nuh " It has been this way for 2 years! will he never be able to

> speak????

Speech therapy never really helped my son. He said his first

word-approximation at age 4. He did not really start speaking until

biomedical interventions. On this page I wrote everything that helped

him with speech.

http://www.danasview.net/issues.htm

For my son, anti-virals are critical. A few months ago he got a cold

and the virus went right into his brain, and he lost all his speech

until I started back with the anti-virals.

He is 9-1/2 now, and speech is still coming in, much faster now that

the anti-virals are back in place. He talks like a 2-3yo child.

Dana