Autism and EI Goals: A Follow-up

Several years ago I received a new middle school student with severe cerebral palsy.  He was non-verbal and the background of his previous therapies included the use of sign and pictures and most recently a voice output device.  He didn't seem to care too much for the device and his sign was "unusual" due to physical disabilites.  But the device had been very expensive so I spent hours re-programming it with a young male voice (previously the female SLP had done the recordings) and entered several typical phrases middle school students would say.  As a team we felt this would be his best bet for communicating with others...especially those less familiar.  His parents reported that at home they generally knew what he wanted through his very limited sign and vocalizations. He still did not seem to want to "buy in" to the device and the family was less than interested because they did not want to force a new communication mode in the home environment.  Finally the SpEd teacher and a wonderful interpreter for the deaf on our staff suggested we look at increasing his use of sign with the interpreter working with him directly.  It took off and this guy loved it.  The downside was that generally only those who knew him best understood him best but he began expressing himself more than ever and even his mother was finding out more about her son's feelings and needs  than what she had realized. So...never say never and be open to ANYTHING and everything the child may be able to use functionally.  Kids will pick up on what best serves their purposes.  A variety of methods and means should be presented from very early .  The family's input and comfort level with different systems is also important to consider.

an additional thought...the current service providers should be invited to the transition IEP...for our input...we need to help the parents be their child's advocate. Any goals and objectives should be created at the iep...if produced beforehand, the parents must know that these are suggested goals and objectives and are subject to the parents agreement...the parents have the right to continue the iep if things are not being  completed to their satisfaction. They have the right to postpone signature to a later date (1 week, even) so they can reread the proposed iep and make sure it fits their child's needs. The parents must know about advocates (they can request anyone they want who has interest in this child to the meeting)who understand special education law but cannot make recommendations for the specific child. (this can even be by telephone conference). Most importantly as the childs most recent provider, if the early interventionist does not agree with the iep they can sign descenting opinion on the iep paperwork. This may not make for easy relationships with the district, but you have to weigh the value of the disagreement with your professionalism.

I have had a child of my own receiving special education services for adhd and have had to apply some of my own rules to his meetings.

also remember that the parent is entitled to a copy of the iep at the end of the meeting...it does not have to be given or mailed to them at a later date! A copy of the parents rights and responsibilities should also be offered at every meeting (whether the parents accept it or not)

I am glad the family woke up and asked some questions. Unfortunately, many parents don't. They trust their school District and give them the benefit of the doubt. It usually comes back to bite them in the butt. In this case, the formative years of their child would have been SEVERELY compromised if they had stayed with things as "status quo." I hope that parents and therapists alike will learn from this situation. PARENTS:  ASK QUESTIONS, DON'T BE PASSIVE. SPEECH PATHOLOGISTS: DON'T THINK THAT YOU ARE SUPER THERAPISTS BECAUSE YOU HAVE A MASTER'S DEGREE! The purpose of a staffing is to learn from each other. I can see that as much as things change, they remain the same.

For the 21 years I have worked with special needs students/adults, I have preferred to consider all modes of communication rather than limiting options to one...I like to consider this as Total Communication...what ever it takes to get the point across...the optimal goal is verbal communication to express wants and needs and to initiate and participate in conversation with peers and adults...eliminating frustration on the part of the 'client/student' and conversational partners. Especially at an early age, forming hands into ASL hand shapes and required finger isolation is very difficult...resulting in approximations or home signs...sign language seperate from or unsupported by other modes of communication can lead to continued frustration for the conversation partners

Based on our last ten years of user comments, I'm surprised to see no mention of the use of HearFones with this student.  Not only do they seem to have positive affect on the person's interpersonal skills, but they also are research-proven to spontaneously/intuitively improve one's verbal production.

This well may be a case where the quiet, introverted autist is drawn out of her shell by the new way of hearing themselves.  It has happened before.  <www.hearfones.com> or The Speech Bin