Right Under My Nose

This is just an example of how perception is just another word for habitual thinking.


I have been taught for so long by therapists and people working in the field of sensory disorders and autism about the philosophy and techniques of getting a child to communicate, that I have missed an important part of the whole thing: That would be the fact that my child IS indeed communicating and has been for some time.

This is where someone bangs on my forehead as in the V8 commercials. Hello! Anyone home?!

It took both of my sisters, one a deaf edcuator and the other a speech therapist to point out the obvious: That the reason I am having difficulty with pictures or sign at home is because Liberty has moved beyond that!

How hilarious is that?

It's so true. My dear sisters spent the afternoon with us yesterday observing. Liberty said, "Ow" to go out, so my sisters let him go outside. He indicated he wanted to go to the car, so, my sister promptly let him get in her car. He indicated he wanted bacon, even shaking his head for yes. I wasn't sure, but my sister was, and damned if she wasn't right. He was starving for bacon. They see the gestures better than I do because I am looking for more precise communication.

Har-dee-har-har.

This morning he brought a bag of graham crackers to me and said, "Cacuh." Intense total eye contact. Emotional connection. Happy. Hug and a kiss. Off he goes. The other day he brought his cup and a bottle of water to me from the refrigerator. He was having trouble twisting the top off. And, that sound that sounds like, "do,"...sit tight folks...actually means, you guessed it, "Do!"

I just didn't get the fact that the pictures and the signs are mere props for "communication," and that includes non-verbal communication. I've just been on the same kind of regimen since Lib was 20 months old when the therapists began to troupe in and out of our house.

And, indeed, Liberty's speech is emerging now. The eye contact, the pointing, doing everything he can to get his needs met, and trying to repeat words. Apparently, I thought I was not having success if the child did not hand me a picture, look me directly in the eye and say the word. Or sign each time he wanted something. The fact is, if he was not signing, he was SAYING something. And, that's what we want, right? I was so intent on Lib saying a word correctly that I just missed the point of the whole protocol.

Toddlers don't start out saying words correctly. "Excuse, me mother dear, may I have a cracker, please?" They get parts of words or something that sounds like it. And, what do adults do? They just keep repeating the word correctly and one day the child gets it.

Yep, he might be 5 and a half, but he's in his toddler phase "at this moment in time," and I am loving it!

I sure wish I could tell other parents what it took to get here. That it was a particular supplement, or a doctor, or a teacher, or a shot, or something. What I believe is that, everything we have done has all come together to help kick-start his body's own ability to heal itself. This is what I believe is called "synergy!"

I also do not underestimate the power of therapeutic listening. Since Liberty started back on on his listening program, almost all of the supposed OCD symptoms are gone. If you look up autism and CAPD (central auditory processing disorder) you will find that so often these two go hand in hand. I first learned about this through a book called, Awakening Ashley by Sharon Ruben. Sharon used the Tomatis Method. After looking around, I found Vital Links and the therapeutic listening program in my town administered by only two certified occupational therapists. We saw almost instant changes in attention.

There is a book called, "Like Sound Through Water," by Karen Foli, whose child was diagnosed with autism but actually had auditory processing disorder. The child passed hearing tests, but the brain was unable to process sounds correctly. This can affect the reaching of milestones. He began to speak and understand after he later "retrained his brain" with a program called Fast Forward. He later told his mother that everything sounded to him like it was underwater. Fascinating.

My oldest sister, Bev, the speech therapist, handed me that book after observing Liberty for a time. She is now retired, but she was responsible for bringing Fast Forward into the county's school system. I am so proud of her for that. And, there is "good science" behind it, to boot. And I think it is kind of an eery thing, that she would do that before we knew Liberty was having problems. It was almost meant to be. Lib will be using Fast Forward eventually.

Liberty is a very different child than who he was last year. We were in Dr. Bock's office last July and he was really withdrawn. He was hyper in the motel room. He was not communicating. What a difference a year makes.

Am I still frustrated at times? Yes! Is he still frustrated at times, you bet! But, out of frustation, many times, comes success.

Yeah, I know.

Duh.