California Workshop Days

It's not magic, and it's not rocket science, but PRT is definitely a new way of thinking.  Our final two days in Santa Barbara, California last month were where the rubber hit the road.  Alex had been tested and assessed, and they found the areas that we needed to work on.  These areas were:

• What it means to be On-topic
• On-topic commenting
• On-topic questions
• Conversation
• Following Directions
• Being Flexible
• Academic success

Specifically addressed items beyond or within the initial areas were:

• Reading
• Handwriting
• Resistance to outings
• Limited food selections
• Eye contact
• Screen time
• Conversation with kids
• What parents should do when acting out
• Stimming
• How to apply PRT at home
• Maintenance vs. Acquisition Tasks
• Priming

We have been working ad-hoc on these areas since we got home, while we await the final report.  The report will also go over all the testing and findings.  They told us that in general his IQ scores have been rising in many areas.  There are still serious deficits, but once we have them pinpointed we can work to use his strengths to fill in the gaps.  "Alex has plenty of intelligence."  This is a direct quote from the clinicians.  That is what we have always suspected, and the mode we have operated in, but bringing that intelligence out is the trick.  I find it very interesting that the very first thing presented in his school testing was the IQ test.  In kindergarten he tested very low in IQ, and I wonder how many of the professionals who have worked with Alex looked at that result and made a whole cascade of decisions based on an assumption that the score meant low intelligence in general.  Maybe none.  Maybe only a few.  Maybe some.  I will never know.  But it chaps my hide to think that any decisions have been made on that basis, and that I have fallen into that trap too.  I do not know what the solution is.  I do not think we should throw out all testing.  But I also think we need better measures, especially where communication dysfunction is concerned.  Alex is not a native speaker of English, and he is not a native speaker of Non-Verbal.  He has learned, and learned pretty well, but it is still a foreign tongue that overlays every aspect of his interactions with people.  And perhaps causes people to question his intelligence.

I saw this first hand with another kiddo this week.  I worked very closely with an ASD child at work.  I found this child to be quite intelligent, and versed in getting needs met.  I felt very at home working with this child, and teaching the parents about some of the seemingly mysterious aspects of ASD.  It is all about communication.  Unusual communication, paired with a-typical language useage, but communication all the same.  This child learned and progressed quite a bit in just a short time on the unit, at least as far as what I saw.  Then I read an official report.  Another person of standing on the unit started and ended with "Low Intelligence".  It was heart breaking, and I hope the parents never see that particular in house report.  It could prompt them to give up, when this kiddo has a lot of potential for learning.  One thing I am learning is that intelligence and language are not the same thing, but many people make that assumption.

So, we have our work cut out for us.  The trip to California was not an end point, but another beginning.  Each question answered leads to many more questions and loads of work to be done, but that is okay.  That is what life is all about, right?  Problems, problems solving, celebration, and starting all over at the next level.  The final report will be in soon, and then we can begin our monthly consultations with the Keogel Autism Center, and continue on our way.  Problems, celebrations, and all.