A True Story: O says hello

"O," a young boy with autism, came to me for AIT because he seemed to be lost in his own world, listening to something only he could hear. Communication is so difficult for him... he has to REALLY want something before he'll use the language he's learned. We did the AIT without having any idea what would come of it. For me, I always wonder, 'Will I get to see the changes? Or will I be gone before they manifest in his language or behaviour?'

I watched O get dropped off at school each morning, and his father would say goodbye to him, then wait for O to say, "Goodbye, Daddy." "Goodbye" generally came quickly enough, although it would be said without looking at his father. "Daddy" was much less likely to come. He'd guess a name at random. Then he'd wait for a prompt. When his father would say, "D...," he'd try a familiar name that began with "D," then another, until he finally guessed "Daddy." The same routine would take place again in the afternoon, when his father came to pick him up and waited for the greeting of, "Hi, Daddy." This was heart-breaking to watch, since I knew the family had worked with him on his greetings for years already!

On our 9th day of AIT, his father came in, and O immediately greeted him with "Hi!" as he looked at his father. When he was prompted, "Hi, who?" he thought a moment, then answered, "Daddy." When he was told to say goodbye to us all, he looked straight at me and said, "Goodbye." Again, a prompt was given: "D..." He quickly said, "Dena." No guesses, no waiting for minutes at a time until he answered, and no talking to the table/wall/door. He answered quickly, easily, and looked straight at me. WOW! Did I imagine that?

No, I didn't. The next day, I got laughter and joy from him all day long -- much different from the sad, disconnected boy I had been seeing the previous days. And when he said goodbye to me, it was with a quick turn to look at me, an easy, "Goodbye, Dena," a big smile, and then he turned and skipped away.

Does my heart good.