Dream of Recovery

Dream of Recovery

My son’s trajectory has been remarkable.
From a non-verbal, tantrum-prone toddler who had lost most of his pivotal skills, he has developed into a social, curious, compassionate, athletic, and well-mannered ten-year-old. What is truly precious for any parent of an ASD child – and most likely taken for granted by parents of typical children – is that my son is now capable of learning naturally from his environment through discovery, just like typical kids.  The child who had to be coached for two full years before he was able to spontaneously ask a simple who/what/when/where/why question, now asks dozens of questions a day, and will not quit until he really understands the point.  He pays close attention to what is happening around him, is learning to draw his own conclusions, and enjoys doing the research projects that are an integral part of the Montessori education.  He displays a surprisingly mature work ethic and strives for perfection.  He dreams about the future, frequently revising his plans for adult profession or place of residence, and talks at length about his future family.  As for autistic traits, David still shows some weaknesses in executive functioning and theory of mind.  He also has one remaining “stim” (which he carefully controls at school), occasional perseveration, and some remaining language and reading comprehension deficits.

In the fall of 2012 David moved up to an Upper Elementary classroom in his school.  He made this major transition more smoothly than we could have anticipated, particularly since we elected not to make use of a dedicated aide this year.  However, as learning material became more complex and abstract midway through the year, David experienced increased anxiety regarding both academics and social interactions.  This change was likely due to his growing self awareness and perhaps the onset of puberty.  In response, we refined tools for planning, self-monitoring and self-accountability, and got him some additional help during school hours (stay tuned for an update on adolescence).