|
Roberto's Dream to Help his Special Needs Child
Realized through MAP Computer Program.
Arturo Prada was a healthy and happy baby-- laughing, crying, gurgling, wanting to be
held, playing peek-a-boo, and bonding with his family, just as his older brother had as
an infant. However, as he grew from an infant to a toddler, Arturo suddenly stopped
looking into his father's eyes and reaching out for his mother's arms. Roberto and
Mary, Arturo's parents, saw gin begin to slip from the world around him.
The family began to search for answers. Roberto took his son from one specialist to
the next and received differing diagnoses and treatment suggestions. The family
began sacrificing their income and savings, yet saw little progress for their child.
One neurologist declared that Arturo was developmentally delayed. A doctor in
Florida told Roberto point blank that his son would due of a condition called
epileptic syndrome. Every doctor prescribed something different. None of the
treatments worked, in fact, Arturo just got worse. Eventually, he was diagnosed with
Autism.
Once the received this diagnosis, Roberto and Mary wasted no time. They began
researching treatment options. They tried speech therapy. They tried occupational
therapy. They consulted learning specialists and investigated treatment programs
around the world. The bills mounted and Arturo's progress was limited.
The family grew more and more frustrated, and very scared.
One evening, from the computer in his living room, Roberto logged on to the
Internet and searched the World Wide Web. His search led him to National
Speech/Language Therapy Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Intrigued by the spectrum
of programs described by the website for special need children, he called National
Speech. "I talked to the Executive Director of National Speech, Sabra (Gelfond
Ingall), over the phone and via email and fax before coming here," he said. Soon
after, Roberto made plans to travel to Bethesda, Maryland.
In May 1999, Roberto, Mary and Arturo arrived at National Speech ready to begin
what they hoped would be the first step on the road to progress. There they
received a program to work with Arturo in their home. They trained with the
therapists at National Speech for one full week to learn how to teach their son. They
returned home and continued the treatment.
Long distance, Roberto and Mary worked with Sabra and her staff to continue
developing specific goals for both Arturo and the family. While the program
provided specific goals for Arturo, it also trained the family on how to successfully
implement therapy and even to train other therapists to work with him.
Later, surrounded by loving people and the comforts of his own home, Arturo was
making progress, This made Roberto and Mary more driven that ever to help their
son.
Roberto and Mary wanted to ensure that they too were continuing to learn along with
Arturo. It was difficult to remember all they had been taught. Were they giving
Arturo too many clues, or not enough? Was Arturo being rewarded at the right time?
Should the rewards change? Did they use the right tone of voice? Were they
following the programs in the right sequence? Each day they had new questions on
how to make their program even better. In an effort to continue fine-tuning their
skills, Roberto and Mary sought support locally. While various local specialists tried
to offer helpful advice, Roberto and Mary were not comfortable that it was
consistent with the system from National Speech that had thus far worked so well-
and far better than any other.
After several months of helping Arturo from home, Roberto and Mary wanted to
come back to Maryland for more training. From their experience with their National
Speech program, they knew that their son's ability to learn depended on their ability
to teach well. They recognized that they spent more time with their son that any
possible combination of therapists; and that how well they were able to assist their
son was imperative to his progress. They wanted to ensure that this continued.
In March 2000, Roberto took a three-month leave of absence from his job to
continue treatment for Arturo at National Speech. The therapists saw that Arturo
had made gains in every part of the program since they last saw him and they were
determined to build on that progress.
Roberto sat in on therapy sessions in the mornings to observe teaching techniques,
and then applied them in the afternoon when he worked with Arturo at home.
Roberto was able to see the strengths and weaknesses of his own implementation of
the program, through observation of the therapist working with Arturo. The therapist
also viewed Roberto working with Arturo to give him feedback on his technique.
"While watching Roberto teach, I noticed that he sometimes over-prompted. In
other words, he gave Arturo more clues than he should have," said a National
Speech therapist. "This is one of the most common mistakes parents make because
everybody wants to help their child succeed. Helping too much can actually impede
progress though. It is like working at a gym with a partner who spots you. If that
partner helps too much, your muscles will never strengthen on their own."
Still, Arturo's progress was astonishing. When he first came to National Speech, he
couldn't sit still, pay attention or follow simple commands with any consistency.
"Now," notes his father, "he can follow direction and sit still long enough to learn.
He can identify many objects accurately and is beginning to deliberately make
specific sounds. The program even helped him begin to learn self-help skills. It was
great to see him take off his shoes and socks! Arturo is doing much better. He is a
different child thanks to the National Speech program."
Soon they will be returning home again, but this time Roberto has extra guidance and
support. He has MAP!
|
