It’s never too late to learn as we grow
by Matt
One of my favorite things about living in San Francisco (other than the weather — sorry East Coasters!) is the people that make up our city. Our population is made up of dynamic, intelligent and progressive thinking individuals. It’s my pleasure to introduce to you one of those people … and today’s guest blogger, Laura Shumaker. Laura is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, mother of a young man living with autism and author of a book called “A Regular Guy: Growing Up with Autism.” Laura has become a great friend of Easter Seals Bay Area — enjoy reading!
Learning as we grow
by Laura Shumaker
When my husband and I suspected that our 3-year-old son Matthew might have autism, we believed we could “nip it in the bud,” but we had no idea how. Our pediatrician didn’t have a clear idea, either, so we bombarded Matthew with speech therapy, play therapy, auditory training therapy (because it cured that girl on Oprah), and countless other therapies that didn’t make any sense. We felt like we had to do something in a hurry before Matthew was ready to start school and real autism “set in.” By the time Matthew was 5 years old, though, we could see that we hadn’t done enough.
I was reminded of our cockeyed view of autism when I attended the Easter Seals Bay Area Autism Community Forum in Oakland last month. The message of the forum — that people with autism of all ages are capable of making significant progress through the lifespan — was an epiphany for me. Matthew is 23 years old now and making progress, but until I went to the Autism Community Forum last month, I still believed early intervention was the only real time treatment that mattered.
In her keynote, the wonderful Patricia Wright, National Director of Autism Services for Easter Seals, told me just how wrong I was about that. In her speech, Dr. Wright talked about her passion for providing evidence-based treatment for individuals with autism through the lifespan. She said that families, educators and service providers can be bombarded by a massive amount of confusing and sometimes conflicting information about the countless treatments available.
Amen!
Patricia told us that the National Autism Center had recently completed an unprecedented multi-year project — the National Standards Project — to establish a set of standards for effective, research-validated educational and behavioral interventions for children on the spectrum. These standards identify treatments that effectively target the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorders.
I could have used the results of this project all those years ago. I remember feeling guilty when I didn’t try every single treatment that came along. Now parents have a reference point that they can trust. The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders is another organization that promotes the use of evidence-based practice for children and adolescents with autism spectrum. They provide professional development to teachers and practitioners who serve individuals with autism from birth to age 22.
It’s hard to teach a tired and brainwashed mom new tricks. All these resources and I still couldn’t help but wonder what the best treatment for autism is. “When we talk about treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorders through the lifespan, we’re not just talking about therapy treatments,” Dr. Wright said, shaking me by the shoulders (not really, but I’m sure she would have liked to). Patricia explained that “lifespan” includes providing job supports and development as treatment. Building social skills and assisting with appropriate interaction in the break room is treatment. Anything that helps individuals lead fulfilling lives is a necessary component of treatment.
I get it now. Thank you, Easter Seals!
March 8th, 2010 at 9:11 am
Thank you for sharing your story~ it is always wonderful to hear from someone about their experiences and you did it with such insightfulness and compassion!
March 7th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Excellent advice from a woman who knows…I’ve read her book and consider her an expert. I think that her insights into the every day dealings with a child with autism is a “must read” for families dealing with the same issues and for those, like me, who know families dealing with these issues. It is an eye-opener to what goes on behind closed doors, and I applaud Ms. Shumaker for sharing her story with us.