Finding a school for Faraday..

[groundhogy]

Hi Everyone,
I am writing for Faraday, my 5 year old autistic daughter.
She isn't talking so much. I would desperately like to talk to her. There are so many things I could find out about her and so many things she needs to learn to have a happy and successful life.

What schools do you know of that are really effective and good?
Did you go to a really good school that helped you to talk?

We are willing and ready to relocate anywhere.
groundhogy

 

[Major Tom]

Speech therapy is something I can recommend if you can afford it. You can also watch videos about it on YouTube and do it yourself at home. But really, as far as I know. No special school will enable your daughter to speak more. It's something she will develop hopefully through speech therapy and on her own.

I have a 7 year old non-verbal son and I can understand how you feel.

 

[PastelPetals]

It is so good that you want to communicate and help your child. Sadly there is no school that will make your child talk. Speech therapy can help but nothing is magic and things may take time. I would recommend speech therapy and also connecting in ways that don't need speech. Even just being around and being accepting can help. If your daughter has a special interest/obsession try engaging with her in it as for many of us (including me) our obsessions are the easiest way to connect as it brings a lot of joy and comfort. I know it can be hard not being able to connect with your daughter the way you would connect and if it gets in the way of getting needs met that can be even more frustrating. I used picture cards and some asl when I was a kid I ended up not needing speech (I just took a bit to talk) but I was in PT and OT and they helped work with my jaw and things that speech would do too. Based on what you said speech might help more. I think in the end the most important thing is to continue to love her and it seems you are doing that!

 

[menander]

Do you have a special autism center where you live?

 

[groundhogy]

It is hard for me to wrap myself around that one school makes no difference over another.

 

[Fino]

What could a school do that would enable her to talk more?

 

[Major Tom]

It is hard for me to wrap myself around that one school makes no difference over another.

Some schools are better than others...

What could a school do that would enable her to talk more?

As a parent with autism and also an autistic child we often "

It is hard for me to wrap myself around that one school makes no difference over another.

Some schools are better than others, I think what people are getting at is that there is no magical anything that will make your daughter speak more. She needs to do it on her own terms and the ONLY thing that currently helps I am aware of is speech therapy.

 

[Ezra]

Speech therapy is something I can recommend if you can afford it. You can also watch videos about it on YouTube and do it yourself at home. But really, as far as I know. No special school will enable your daughter to speak more. It's something she will develop hopefully through speech therapy and on her own.

I have a 7 year old non-verbal son and I can understand how you feel.

I agree with this completely. I was in good special ed schools for autistic kids, but the teachers were there to teach a curriculum to a classroom.

 

[Ezra]

I'll also add that even after good schools and lots of speech therapy, I still don't talk really and I'm almost 20. I can say things. But talking just is not my thing. It's not something that comes naturally. But I know of others with a similar history to me that at some point (often seems starting around 8 years old) became fluent talkers.

 

[groundhogy]

“Speech Therapy” has been mentioned several times. Can you explain further what is the best form or type of speech therapy so I know what to look for?

 

[Ezra]

“Speech Therapy” has been mentioned several times. Can you explain further what is the best form or type of speech therapy so I know what to look for?

I would say simply a speech therapist that works with nonverbal autistic kids. You might want to start out with consulting your child's pediatrician for a referral.

 

[ZebraAutismo]

Some special schools employ speech therapist. This might help her ability to communicate.

 

[Matthias]

Hi Everyone,
I am writing for Faraday, my 5 year old autistic daughter.
She isn't talking so much. I would desperately like to talk to her. There are so many things I could find out about her and so many things she needs to learn to have a happy and successful life.

What schools do you know of that are really effective and good?
Did you go to a really good school that helped you to talk?

We are willing and ready to relocate anywhere.
groundhogy

I used to be completely mute when I was younger because I was depressed. Studies have shown that even toddlers can get depressed. Just because she's autistic doesn't mean her lack of speech is due to autism. She could also be depressed like I was (I was autistic and depressed).

Here are symptoms of depression in toddlers and young children:
withdrawn
lethargic
irritable
not interested in activities
lack of enthusiasm or motivation
withdrawal from family, friends and activities
major developmental delays such as not talking or expressing self

As far as why a 5 year old would be depressed, I can only speak for myself. In my case, I think I misinterpreted my parent' stress, frustration, and disappointment as rejection and become depressed as a result of it. I coped by creating a world of my own inside my mind to escape the real world that I saw as an awful place. I used to avoid saying or doing anything that might cause people to think there was something wrong with me (since that's why I felt I was rejected) to avoid emotions associated with feeling rejected.

One sign that indicates that what I described may be a problem is being overly sensitive to criticism. When people feel rejected, they become sensitive to criticism because it brings back the painful emotions they experienced when they felt rejected.

 

[groundhogy]

Matthias I hope you have worked throgh the depression thing and are feeling better.

 

[Matthias]

Matthias I hope you have worked throgh the depression thing and are feeling better.

I overcame my life long depression last year and posted how I did it today on a thread titled "Misunderstandings" on the General Autism Discussion part of the forum.

 

[groundhogy]

Aren’t speech therapists pretty much required by most states special education rules?

They say that ABA therapy is very helpful. But many times it is 1 on 1 therapy and therefore pricey.
Any school districts that can provide say 20-30 hours a week of this?

As for Faraday, she always gives the impression of almost being there. She seems close to breaking through. It makes me think if I could find her a lot of hours of good intense therapy for a while we could get her jump started.

 

[Major Tom]

Aren’t speech therapists pretty much required by most states special education rules?

They say that ABA therapy is very helpful. But many times it is 1 on 1 therapy and therefore pricey.
Any school districts that can provide say 20-30 hours a week of this?

As for Faraday, she always gives the impression of almost being there. She seems close to breaking through. It makes me think if I could find her a lot of hours of good intense therapy for a while we could get her jump started.

ABA therapy is very similar to training a dog, but it works for some people I guess. Others it's like torture. Speech therapy is not mandated anywhere that I am aware of. You normally have to go to one outside of school and many times out of pocket too. If anything schools will provide speech therapy 1-4 times a month, which is not going to do much of anything for most. It needs to be done every day, every chance you get and not only by the therapist, parents, family, and friends can help too.

 

[ZebraAutismo]

Where are you based? I know a lot about the UK school SEN system. From personal experience and have a sister who was a school based occupational therapist. Basically in the UK if it’s written into her EHCP she will get it. I had speech, physio (for my physical issues not autism) and OT written in so if the school hadn’t of provided it we could of took them to court.

 

[groundhogy]

Hi Zebra, it’s similar in the usa. Im still learning but i think its called an IEP ( individual education plan). Where they write down what they plan to do and how they plan to get there. Also most/all of the states have mandated minimum services that a kid will get.

What i’m searching for is the best public schools for autistics in the usa. Or even the best private schools.

Which schools have been most effective on moving an autistic child to speaking and then on to learning stuff. Lots of stuff.

 

[Matthias]

ABA therapy is very similar to training a dog, but it works for some people I guess.

It can work but caution is definitely needed unless parents want their child to act like a pet who obeys on command without any regard to how she feels.