Shattering Myths – Part 3 of 4

One-sided conversations

Since I was the only one talking, we never really had a conversation at all. Most of the time all I got was that blank stare. I continued to constantly talk for both of us, even though my son lacked the communication skills to respond or nod his head in understanding. And I hadn’t yet realized the profound and positive effect this one-sided interaction had on my son’s future development.

Some parents stop talking to their children because they think the lights are out and nobody’s home. I thought that too at first. It was only later after he recovered, that I came to see he had been in there all along listening to every word.

Slowly but surely

When Ryan entered kindergarten at almost six years of age, he was in trouble developmentally and we were in trouble as a family trying to cope with his intense and confusing behavior. He was in the third percentile for speech and language, and that was just one of his many developmental problems.

After medical treatment, supported by behavioral and educational interventions, Ryan tested in the eighty-fifth percentile for speech and language by the fourth grade. By fifth grade, he seemed to do well academically, but he was still different and “weird”. To get kids to notice him he repeatedly poked them. He still spoke in scripts about the same thing over and over again until all of us wanted to scream.

He wanted friends, but didn’t know how to make them. Any social situation Ryan hadn’t been specifically taught was confusing to him. And it was impossible to follow him around and teach him every circumstance he needed to learn. Although my kid no longer looked severely autistic and was ahead academically, he still wasn’t typical. Ryan loved to repeat obscure facts about sharks, electricity, and airplanes over and over again. He had no idea how to decipher social situations, and he was the perfect victim for any bully.

 

 

Marcia Hinds wrote ‘I Know You’re In There: winning our war against autism’. This inspirational book is the story of her son’s recovery. Ryan is now an engineer at a major aerospace company. Marcia has degrees in sociology and psychology from UCLA and is a credentialed teacher. But Marcia’s most impressive credential for writing this book is that she is Ryan’s mother and their family survived the autism diagnosis.

Preview the book on Amazon or on her website.

All profits from Marcia’s book go to spread the word that AUTISM IS TREATABLE.

Marcia is available for speaking engagements, media appearances, and interviews.

Phone: 805 497-8202

Mobile: 805 796-8213   

Email: marcia@autismandtreatment.com

Media Kit: http://www.autism-and-treatment.com/media-kit/