Moving on from early intervention
When did you feel early intervention had run its course and you needed to move on? Why?
S-Ish - He was 7 years old, getting educated and trained in different things, but we did not know what next for him. School was not working. What next in life, in academics, in leisure skills etc. were new questions that popped up. COVID hit and for 2 years he was taking online therapy. Simultaneously the learning community space opened and some parents I know were already a part of it. Since we were getting full time parent training there, we also decided to join the community learning space.
HM- We kept trying different things throughout but I realized that I am unable to be consistent at home. Managing household chores and M was becoming overwhelming. The consistency was limited only to the therapy center. COVID hit and that’s when the realization hit as well. We realized that we can’t homeschool him like we planned while joining ABA. There has to be something else. This learning community space opened and we thought that would be the next best option.
SS -Through the 8 years we were constantly in the lookout for something better as we were not satisfied with what was being offered in the US. That’s when we got to know of this therapy center and we had our initial discussion with the founders of the center.
SG - He was 6 years old and I felt like he was still not picking any skills. He was still dependent on us for a lot of things. He wasn’t even potty trained. So all of these were concerning and I started looking out for other options when I landed at this therapy center through a friend.
After early intervention
What were your next steps? What have you been doing over the last few years? How has your journey been?
S-Ish- It was not until I moved to the community learning space that I realized how prompt dependent Ish had been. Even with things I thought he was independent, I realized he is prompt dependent and not really independent. With being in such a space full time, came more awareness and knowledge. I had revised my goals for him by now. I wanted him to be able to express his feelings, have leisure skills where he is independent and that he should be able to manage himself even if I am not around. He should be able to work and be with other teachers/ therapists/ parents. I realized that each autistic kid is different and each of them are good at something of their own. We should provide the space to enhance those skills and encourage them. My journey has been full of learning that way and I feel like I am on my right path. When I look back, I feel hopeful. I have been able to achieve goals I had for myself and I see that Ish is also going there. An advice that has stuck with me is that we should have set goals for another 5 years and then we can work towards that. This advice has made me rethink the beliefs I had.
HM- We joined the community learning space and his food intervention continued in full swing. I figured that I am able to be much more consistent here and also bring in new ideas and goals as I interact with others and work with other kids. M also improved a great deal. He started to explore more food items. With that, he also became more open to other things. He started to pick up new skills like cycling, gardening etc. It has been a great learning journey for the both of us. We have new goals as he progresses. I also have the space to work on myself and set things in my own life.
SS - We booked our tickets to India after knowing about this therapy center. Unfortunately COVID hit and we had to wait for another 3 years before we moved to India. S was taking therapy at the early intervention center in order to be prepared to move into the community learning space. We were just waiting to know that he was ready. My youngest kid was also becoming a picky eater so I sought food intervention alone for him and now he is also here with us at the learning community. It is working well for us that way except that our oldest kid misses on the time he would get to spend with us. But he also sees the point of this now and he is okay. The siblings spend their time together during the weekends. I see a great deal of improvement in S and I am very happy I am here.
SG - We started ABA and there was no going back, It took 1 year for him to be potty trained by following schedules. The structured program in the center was very helpful. I could see a lot of changes in him within that 1 year. He already had some sitting tolerance and he used to follow instructions. But things improved with ABA and the introduction of AVAZ. The 3 mantras I would say that has worked wonderfully with G are structure, schedule and consistency. I also got the opportunity to be trained as an RBT and it has been a good experience for me. Getting to work with other children was rewarding and at the same time provided hope to work with my child. When you see the fruit for the work you put in, it is highly motivating. After ABA I tried group therapy for G for 1 year in between, but it wasn’t very effective. Then COVID hit and we were working online and I was working with him at home. We are now a part of this homeschooling community where again I get to work with other kids and I am learning new things. G also gets to learn in a group and with new challenges, comes new learnings for the both of us.