Special Instruction

 

I have the privilege of providing early intervention to this wonderful little boy each week.  He was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  ASDs begin before the age of 3 and last throughout a person's life, although symptoms may improve over time. Some children with an ASD show hints of future problems within the first few months of life. In others, symptoms might not show up until 24 months or later. Some children with an ASD seem to develop normally until around 18 to 24 months of age and then they stop gaining new skills, or they lose the skills they once had http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html. 

In the video, I am working with this child on several of his goals.  I am working on gaining joint attention.  This happens when the child is engaged interacting with the adult or another child.  In this case, I am following his interest to gain his attention and engagement.  He absolutely loves play dough.  I label and describe different features of the activity.  The more joint-attention-activity games you play with the child, the more he will start to initiate play and attempt to include you in the play activity. Any attempt on the part of the child is an opportunity to use words to describe and label the actions of the play. 

In this video you will see this child learning to take turns, attempt to say "ball" and "snake", follow directions "give me five", make eye contact, and imitating what I do.  This child was not able to do any of this just 2 months ago, but with weekly sessions and parent follow through, he is on the way to full engagement and talking.  It's exciting!


Norma Honeycutt, Infant Toddler Family Specialist