I love that the expectation is that he has an opinion, wants to learn, and we just haven’t figured out all the best ways to help him communicate. It is comforting to know that they meet him where he is, but demand much of him.
Tag: nonverbal
Carol Greenburg, Shannon Des Roches Rosa, and Jennifer Byde Myers www.ThinkingAutismGuide.com Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism editors Carol, Shannon, and Jennifer recently attended an event celebrating the work of Kate Winslet. Kate has a new autism awareness and fundraising book coming out next month called The Golden Hat: Talking Back to Autism. We were told the book is meant to shine “a light on a world very few people understand […] about people with profound autism and the challenges they and their families face every day, as well as all the ‘beautiful potential’ of people with autism.” The event was hosted by Ladies’ Home Journal, and featured Margret Ericsdottir, whose son Keli is the inspiration for The Golden Hat Foundation. (Kate is currently on the cover of LHJ, talking about how she was inspired to create The Golden Hat book and foundation with Margret; Margret is the foundation’s President and…
This session was introduced by Geri Dawson, and included a number of presenters, whose work I am only summarizing briefly. Again, any omissions or errors are my doing. -SR Chair: Geri Dawson, Chief Science Officer for Autism Speaks Why a specific focus on nonverbal kids with autism? Because they’re often not included in research — such kids can be difficult to test, especially when so many evaluation paradigms include verbal testing. As a result, little is known about why some kids with autism don’t develop spoken language, or even what best approaches are. Biggest challenge: Evaluating cognitive abilities! Lots of kids who appear to have intellectual disability do not, at least not to degree perceived. In 2008, Autism Speaks launched a special initiative focused on nonverbal autism, and in April 2010, NIH sponsored a workshop to address what we do know, and gaps in knowledge. We need understand that nonverbal…