We were invited, by the wonderful people at the University Of Texas Autism Program to attend a workshop yesterday. They invited all the teacher's, therapists and autism specialists at AISD that have anything to do with our children. They also invited all of our family and friends.
This was done after the program at UT discovered our family through Extreme Makeover.
We attended from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. They provided breakfast and lunch.
Then we began.
All 6 children were led to the gymnasium and introduced to about 20 of the most amazing college student's alive. These young men and women are making autism and the education of autistic children their lives.
The kids took to them immediately and into the classroom the adults went.
I spent the next 2 hours listening intently on the way play therapy, incorporated in the home and in the classroom, is essential for ALL children. But, mostly for Autistic children.
This wonderful instructor introduced the program and implemintations as a therapy, not a "cure". I liked her right off of the bat.
After the lecture, we were taken into the gym, where we were put with the children at different stations.
I know, I am annoying when it comes to talking about my children.....BUT, my children are AMAZING. Not one of them had a temper tantrum, breakdown, meltdown or any behavioral problems at all. They were giggly, happy and compliant.
After completing the day, I was asked to be interviewed by 2 local television stations that were there recording the day's events with my children.
Being the media "whore" that I am ( or so I am told that I am called ), I was interviewed. I must admit, I love the camera. The reporters asked me about the day, the program and my children.
Then they asked the big question, "What about the new data of 1:150 autistic children"?
I asked them if they wanted my "honest" opinion or what I really thought?
They said, "Go for It"...
I told them that I believe the good people who really want to get autism correct will go back to the drawing board. They will start where Leo Kanner started.....classic autism. They need to shut the PDD umbrella and make a new autism diagnosis criteria.
Why does every disorder have to sit under the "autism" umbrella? That just makes no sense.
I hope that Pam and Jody, the women who run the UT program get National exposure. I hope the world learns about their approach to teaching autistic children.
I wish every educator, parent, family member, and friend of an autistic child could take this course. These 2 women could change the way autistic children are treated in the school systems and at home.
They take sensory integration and incorporate it into the home and classroom.
The week before we attended the program, they had a major setback. The gymnasium where they kept their equipment was flooded and they lost most of their therapy equipment. The University will not replace it....they need donations.
We are working on a fundraiser for this amazing program...any ideas out there????
About Me
- Mom26children
- I am the proud mother of 6 children. 5 of our children have autism. We do not feel our world has ended, but just begun. We do not chelate, intervene biochemically, give shots of any kind, practice ABA, etc. We treat them as we treat any humanbeing. We treat them with kindness and respect and expect the same from them. They are exceptional children.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
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1 comment:
But at least we have an 'umbrella' from which to work under. I agree we need to 'divide and conquer' and subclassify, but if you think about it, we've gone from killing the autistics in the 1800's for being weird; to locking them up in the early 1900's; to institutionalizing them in the mid 1900's, to classifying them as mentally retarted in the late 1900's to 'autistic' in the 21st Century. We're heading in the right direction...
It's so hard to do the subclassifying though, you can cause all kinds of compartmentalizing and denials of services if you head down that road. But, I thing that IS the next step...
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