Pretty amazing Autism intervention/case

[Rivi]

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[futurepsych0]

This was an amazing clip thank you for sharing! I was really astonished at how articulate she was. I am sure everyone was just blown away at just how mentally capable she was considering her other behaviors.

 

[Kiara15]

I saw this video a while back, and it really is inspiring. I work as a behavioral therapist for children with ASD, and it's always surprising how MUCH they know. I think it's important to keep in mind that having Autism doesn't mean stupid. They understand more than we think. Thanks for posting the vid!

 

[syzergy]

Wow, that was really great. Thanks for sharing.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Maybe I'm cynical, but this video actually left me sort of sad. It's wonderful she's able to communicate finally (yay for AAC 🙂 ), but it seems so unlikely she'll ever get to really do something with her intelligence, even though she can now communicate. In general, a "normal" body and communication means is required to get a job, participate in the general community, and be treated as a credible and and valued member of society overall. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but in general having disability, perhaps especially a visible and/or communication disability*, makes the road a long and hard one, all the more when one is fully aware of their capabilities, but others can't/don't see them or their strengths can't compensate for the effects of the disability. While it's wonderful that she's able to communicate now, I hate to see this used as "inspiration porn" that ignores all the very real barriers she'll likely face.

I'll go duck tomatoes now.

*Of course, invisible and other disabilities come with very significant challenges and social stigma as well--just different ones.

 

[futurepsych0]

I see you didn't have to duck any tomatoes, lol. I think you bring up some very valid points that many people wouldn't consider when watching this clip. I guess viewed from a societal perspective, yes, she will always be a "burden" to her caregivers because she has no control of her body. And yes the road will be very difficult for her and her family. However, if viewed from her parents perspective I think being able to finally get reciprocal affection with communication is priceless to them. The clip also stated her behavior improved since she has been able to communicate with the people around her. I agree that this should not be looked at as "inspirational porn" but I still find it inspiring and a great achievement to everyone who worked with her. I will also agree it is also a very sad situation, but even though she will never be "normal" her quality of life is vastly improved by the communication. The only question I have now is, would she have still had that same cognitive ability if her parents didn't give her early intervention with such a rigorous treatment schedule? I guess it would be hard to pinpoint exactly how much of a role her therapy played on her ability to learn to communicate to the degree she is now.

 

[Ollie123]

Very interesting, though I will take it a step further than futureapp regarding being a downer. I actually remain mildly skeptical as it may have been "holly-wooded" up a little bit. I worry a lot about how this will be used though. Facilitated Communication, while disturbingly popular with parent of autistic children, has largely been debunked as a completely BS intervention. Some (apparently this girl) can clearly learn to communicate using a computer, but we also need to be very, very careful in how this is done. A virtually immeasurable amount of harm has already been done to autistic children and their parents by psychologists and others "teaching" them to communicate through computers and similar technology, so we need to be careful not to assume this is appropriate/possible for everyone.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Very interesting, though I will take it a step further than futureapp regarding being a downer. I actually remain mildly skeptical as it may have been "holly-wooded" up a little bit. I worry a lot about how this will be used though. Facilitated Communication, while disturbingly popular with parent of autistic children, has largely been debunked as a completely BS intervention. Some (apparently this girl) can clearly learn to communicate using a computer, but we also need to be very, very careful in how this is done. A virtually immeasurable amount of harm has already been done to autistic children and their parents by psychologists and others "teaching" them to communicate through computers and similar technology, so we need to be careful not to assume this is appropriate/possible for everyone.

I thought of facilitated communication, too (used to do AAC research) and was actually pleased the story didn't go there and that the girl was clearly typing independently, and even the verbal prompts didn't seem to include any prompting re: content. Still, it did seem like something FC advocates (ugh) could misuse.

 

[Ollie123]

Was she? I don't recall them outright saying so in the video and I was slightly concerned what we were seeing was not really how things worked. Its hard to tell with the editing - then again, I've just come to distrust all media. Certainly some folks with autism can do so independently, which the pro-FC crowd has pushed for some time as justification for what they do.

But yes...regardless of whether she was typing independently, this inevitably opens up the door for gradations of intervention that include more than just "Here's a computer, type on it if you want something" and verbal prompts/reinforcement. Which isn't inherently bad, but I worry folks with the best of intentions (or not) may easily turn towards "helping" them type, and we'll add another great shame to the field.