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Part I: My Son Sees A Different World
Part II: My Son Sees A Different World

It was confirmed: my son had learning difficulties, specifically, autism and sensory integration dysfunction. On one hand, I cringed at the new labels. After all, Michael was the same little boy he’d always been. On the other hand, I felt relieved that we could finally get the help he needed. The next step of the process was finding therapists who would help him.

Our social worker gave me a list of possible therapists. Jennifer advised me on the intricacies of selecting ones for Michael. He needed speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Speech was the priority; we agreed on twice a week. Occupational therapy was just as important, so that was also slated at twice a week. That was a lot for a little boy to handle, so we decided to delay physical therapy for the moment.

There were many other factors to consider. Was I willing to drive Michael to therapy or should we do it in a familiar environment, i.e. home? What time of day was he most likely to be responsive? Which ones would take our insurance? Could we get financial assistance? Would the therapist be able to handle Michael’s particular “issues”? It was enough to make my head spin. I spent a lot of time assessing prospects and wrangling with the insurance company. The insurance company agreed to pay for a certain number of therapy sessions a year. Unfortunately, with the amount of therapy Michael needed, we’d reach that limit very quickly.

Finally, we settled on a play therapist, a speech therapist and an occupational therapist. Play therapy uses imaginative play to teach all kinds of skills (motor and social, among others). Laverne, the play therapist, was an enthusiastic woman who had twenty years’ experience in her field. During our first session, Michael cried for forty of the forty-five minutes. I forced myself to sit on my hands; he would have to adjust, but it was hard, very hard. Eventually, Michael got used to Laverne’s visits to the point where he was willing to share his toys. Laverne helped him stack blocks and push abacus beads. We discovered he was more receptive if we incorporated singing and movement. His favorite was the “If You’re Happy and You Know It” song.

Kathy, the speech therapist, also used songs, stories and rhymes. Michael loved bubbles and learned how to make non-verbal requests (by putting his hand on Kathy’s and directing her to the bubble wand). She also introduced sign language; Michael learned the hand sign for “more” and even began to say “mo” for “more”.

Janice used a Swiss exercise ball for her occupational therapy. She rocked and bounced Michael on it, which he loved. Michael craved sensory stimulation: we put him in my office chair and spun him around and around. Janice showed me how to brush his skin and use deep joint compression to calm him down. She also helped him put beads in a cylinder and chips in a tissue box. Slowly but surely, Michael discovered how to coordinate his body.

The year passed quickly. Michael’s head-banging tantrums lessened as he learned how to show me what he wanted. He used to lead me into the kitchen and expect me to read his mind, and when I couldn’t figure out what he wanted, he would completely lose it. Now he brought me his bottle when he was thirsty and his shoes when he wanted to go out. He loved to draw, once he discovered that crayons were meant for more than eating. The walls blossomed with his artwork. He danced to the Wiggles, fingerpainted more masterpieces, banged on my keyboard. Yes, there were the bad days, but there were many more good days.

Soon Michael would turn three years old, and he would “age out” of the Carlton-Watkins Program. It was time to transition him into the Preschool Program with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. We had a meeting with all of his therapists and with Jennifer, our social worker, to assess his progress and talk about the next step: preschool for Michael.

Links:

Play therapy:
http://www.parentguide.com/parents/parenting/PlayTherapy.html
What is it?

occupational therapy:
http://www.musc.edu/chp/ot/
(From the Medical College of South Carolina)

speech therapy:
http://speechtx.com/
Speech therapy activities

[tags]autism, diagnosis, sensory integration dysfunction, special needs, moderate to severe autism, sensory integration issues, speech therapy, play therapy, occupational therapy[/tags]

Thanks to Miguel Gomez for the use of his Creative Commons photo.