The Experts are Teaching the Professionals!

It is such a pleasure to be taught by the real experts.  The real experts are individuals with autism who are giving us first hand accounts about what types of treatment work and what kinds can actually cause suffering. One example of treatment missing the mark is when non-verbal children are assumed to know less then they actually do. For many non-verbal individuals with autism, simple things such as pointing to “correct” answers are unreliable markers for their true capacities.  For example, if children who can’t motor plan sufficiently to show us what they know, why do we use motor behavioral markers (like pointing) to track progress?  It simply doesn’t make sense.  Experts like Ido Kedar tell us the painful truth about how frustrating that can be. Years of ABA therapy left him wondering if anyone on his treatment team truly understood him, as his motor abilities to show what he knew hid his true levels of excellent comprehension. Thankfully, his devoted mother and Soma Mukhopadhyay helped him communicate so that we can all share in his wisdom gleaned from lived experience.  Professionals have much to learn from this expert! Check out Ido’s advice at http://idoinautismland.blogspot.com.