August 19, 2004

Day Thirty - The Review

So today we finished Chandler's last treatment, and today he called La La and Po by their given names.

So the final review on the Sensory Learning Center is that it was a big help to Chandler and well worth the time and money invested. By no means is it a cure for autism, but it has made life a lot better for Chandler and for the rest of the family.

Chandler is a happier little boy, he takes direction most of the time where as he almost never responded before, his speech has improved and he babbles much more, he is calmer and more compliant (I can get him dressed and change his diapers with out a fight now), he is more alert and taking in much more of the world, his sensory symptoms have been dramatically decreased and in some cases gone completely (no more flapping, he answers to his name about half the time, and his eye contact has improved dramatically.

I want to be clear that it has not made him "all better". He still has tantrums, but now they are like a tenth of the intensity and duration as before. He still likes to take off running in random directions when we are in public, but three out of four times now when I yell "stop", he does. He still likes to do the things he is not allowed to do, like climb up on the kitchen counter, but now it is obvious that he KNOWS that he is not allowed to do them, and acts guilty when he is caught, where as before he just kept right on doing things seemingly oblivious to our wishes.

This just seems to have lifted a large veil from him. He is happier and interacts with us more. He is just more present. I am really grateful that we found this program and took the risk.

From what I understand, the changes that Chandler has made are not unusual for the program, but are perhaps on the higher end of typical. I have not heard any parents give it a bad review, but I know that, as with all treatments for autistic kids, some responses are much better than others. I hope that keeping this blog is helpful to parents who are trying to figure out if the program is for them.

I also hear that some parents report continued improvements in their children up to three and four months after the program is over. I certainly hope that is the case with Chandler, but I won't be able to report anything objectively as we are jumping right into another treatment from here.

Next up Nystatin....

UPDATE:

Saw this article today and thought I would pass it along.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

have you tried neurofeedback? or the Dr. Tomatis Method (Auditory/Vestibular treatment?

Anonymous said...

Hi. I just wanted to say thanks for your sensory learning therapy journal. We leave on Sunday to start the same thing with our son who has severe language delays and sensory integration dysfunction. I will keep a journal myself. I hope it goes as well as yours. I would like to say though, it would be easier to read yours if you could find a way to get them to come up from day 1 to day 30. I will recommend this to our therapists to see how things went for someone else. Thanks!!! Good luck with Chan.

Ginger Taylor said...

Cal,

I have not tried it. It was presented alongside the Sensory Leaning center at a confrence I went to, and it seemed that you had to do one or the other because of the differences in approach. I chose to try this one.

Amy,

It know it is awkward to read this backward, but I am not sure how to format this so it is easier to read with out building some other page for it. I may get around to that if people really want it.

I would love to know how it goes for you and your little guy.

Ginger

Ginger Taylor said...

Elnora,

I am so, so sorry to hear about your daughter and your difficult dilemma. It is just heartbreaking.

I could not contact you through your blog page. Please email me directly at incoming@adventuresinautism.com

Ginger

Ang. said...

Hello, I know this post is old, but I am wondering if the improvements you noted for your son were permanent Thank you for your review. We are considering this treatment for our daughter