Educating preschool children with autism: A parent's perspective

Abstract

Iam the mother of a beautiful, healthy, robust, rewarding, and loving six-year-old boy whose favourite activities are hockey, skiing, boating, Yu-Gi-Oh! and X Box. Together, these qualities and interests, along with many others, make up who he is as an individual. It is Eric’s autism however, and the recommended treatment of intensive early intervention, that has impacted his life and our lives so very much since his diagnosis at three years of age. Note that ‘intensive intervention’ means education, education and more education in, most often, a very strict and deliberate way. This brings me to why I am writing this article. I was asked by Dr Susan Bryson, Autism Chair, Dalhousie University (Halifax, Nova Scotia), to write an article about educating preschool children with autism from a parent’s perspective. It is widely known by most parents and professionals that the recommended treatment for autism is a minimum 20 h to 40 h per week of intensive intervention (structured learning, applied behavioural analysis [ABA], intensive behavioural intervention [IBI]). As expected, Eric has benefited tremendously from this therapy – it is well documented that ABA/IBI therapy has proven results. I had no idea that Eric would progress from being a nearly nonverbal child with many behavioural problems to the nearly fluent, generally cooperative, social, athletic boy that he has become. The success of this type of therapy is already well documented and widely publicized. However, as a parent, I know for a fact that Eric’s progress is not due to ABA/IBI therapy alone. Therefore, it is these other elements of success that I would like to share with you in this article. First, a little history about Eric. Eric was diagnosed with autism at the age of three. The medical profession told us that Eric needed intensive early intervention. We had no idea what that looked like, who to go to for help, or how to deliver it. Very anxious about the ‘early’ in ‘early intervention’, we hastily slapped together a home program that, not surprisingly, delivered mediocre results. We got better with time and experience, but were very relieved when Eric was accepted into a specialized program for children with autism at Mount Saint Vincent University (Halifax, Nova Scotia). The results of this program, combined with his ongoing home program and other factors, were phenomenal. I believe that the medical community could offer better advice to parents than simply recommending 20 h to 40 h of intensive intervention. That is a crucial piece of advice (and a daunting task for parents) but the message is consistently delivered without giving families HOPE. Doctors must understand and confidently communicate to parents that all children, regardless of level, have real potential to learn, develop and improve. When Eric was three, one doctor stated to us that autism looks at its worst at three and that things would get significantly better over the next few years. I hung on to those words – the only hopeful words spoken to us by any professional. Guess what, HE WAS RIGHT!!! I understand that doctors cannot predict outcome. However, they can assure parents that things will improve and that parents themselves can facilitate learning by incorporating strategies into their daily routine and by advocating for their child. The following are some of those strategies that have worked for us.