Sammy

Sammy’s parents contacted ABA Academy in the fall of 2006 because they could not attend church together and their son was unable to focus for more than a few seconds at a time. One of the parents always ended up “on call” because Sammy could not stay in the Sunday school classroom. Where ever Sammy was, he was a whirlwind, diving under the table, constantly bumping into other kids and hitting and kicking the peers. He hated music and screamed and hid in the bathroom when it was music time.

In November 2006, Sammy began attending ABA Academy a few hours a week. The first session was very difficult. His mom told me she cried when she met her husband afterwards. The realization of how much help Sammy needed was even more evident in the therapeutic surrounding. They were facing the fact that he probably wouldn’t go to kindergarten in the fall and they often found themselves exhausted. He screamed and cried when numbers or letters were talked about and he could not sit still or listen to the teachers. He refused to hold anything with which to write. A family history of autism and institutionalization was looming in their minds and hearts. We identified that Sammy could not listen to a simple sentence and then answer any questions about it, even though he had good expressive language skills.

Sammy attended therapy 3 times a week including both individual and group sessions. He made consistent progress in the structured environment at ABA Academy and by the following summer was ready to begin kindergarten in a charter school where his brother attended. He had learned all his letter sounds and names, could count and recognize numbers to 20 and knew a few sight words. He had also begun to blend sounds to make words and could write all of his letters and numbers. The biggest change for Sammy and his family has been his behavior. His kindergarten teacher says he is one of the brightest, most verbal and politest kids in the class! His parents are now able to work in the ESL ministry in their church because Sammy can now stay in the kids classes without hurting others. His parents often hear compliments for Sammy’s manners. He completed kindergarten in May of 2008. Congratulations to Sammy and his family for working together to learn new techniques to help him learn.

Cam
Nancy began consulting with Cam in March 2005, just before his third birthday. Living his early life in Russia with his missionary family, he had received exposure to heavy metals and was developmentally delayed. Returning to the states, his parents had him tested by Early Childhood Services where he received a diagnosis on the Autism spectrum. Eye contact was brief and fleeting, language was limited to 8 words, and play behavior did not exist. Arm flapping and seeking visual stimulation were his main activities.

ABA services provided in his home began with identifying reinforcers and using PECS to teach the function of language. Providing fun activities and developmentally appropriate discrete trial training blended with natural environment and incidental teaching, Cameron made rapid progress. Today Cameron is 5, speaks in 5-10 word sentences with appropriate grammar and inflection, He asks many questions, plays games and make believe, loves Blues Clues and books. He started kindergarten this fall and is ahead of most of the class in phonics and math. Congratulations Cam!