Toastmasters Speech #6- Vocal Variety
Elizabeth
This is my niece Elizabeth… (show picture). She is going to be 3 years old this July. Isn’t she adorable? ;) I took these pictures of her when I was visiting my sister a few weeks ago. Elizabeth is bright-eyed and chatty, loves to sing songs and read books like any almost 3 year old. Elizabeth also may have autism (pause). Someone asked me recently what that was exactly and I had a hard time articulating what autism is and had to look it up. So, I would like to share with you a little bit about what this disorder is, how it is treated and what the implications are for Elizabeth in the years to come.
Wikipedia, where I have gotten all the information I’m talking about today, describes autism as “a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old.” Well, that is a mouthful! :) So, it’s a brain disorder. I also found out it is hereditary, which I did not know. So, it is something you are born with, not something that you become. This is important for parents to know and remember when they think they may have done something wrong. Next, it says the disorder impairs social interaction and communication. Autistic children respond less to their environment than the normal child- they smile less often and don’t respond to their name as well. This was apparent in Elizabeth a little after she turned 2 years old. We had a family gathering and she just would not listen or look at anyone calling her name. She ran by my dad and he called her name over and over, “E-LIZ-A-BETH” and she just ran on by. We actually feared she had a hearing loss at the time, but it turned out she does not. Also, about a third to half of people with autism are not able to develop enough speech to be able to have regular communication in their life. This was also a sign that Elizabeth exhibited, when at 1 yr old she wasn’t speaking much yet and at 2 years old she was still only saying words and not phrases yet. Another thing that could be a sign of a communication issue is that she is not yet switching around her questions or pronouns to indicate what she wants. For instance when she is hungry, she says to her mother, “Do you want some oranges?” rather than saying “I want some oranges,” because that is what her mother usually says to her. Finally, the description describes the impairment as causing “restricted and repetitive behavior.” This would be things like compulsive behavior or following rules to the letter and getting very upset when something isn’t followed EXACTLY the same way each time. There are also physical symptoms like hand flapping or rocking, which you might be familiar with from the character in the movie “Rain Main.” Elizabeth exhibits some of these types of behaviors also, such as repeating something EXACTLY the way it was taught to her and at 1 and 2 yrs old, she would get upset if you interrupted her doing something she had made a routine out of, such as turning the page of a book. So, autism is a combination of these things: a brain disorder, social and communication impairment and restricted and repetitive behaviors. It is also significant to note that all these characteristics can be exhibited independently in a child or person and not be a sign of a disorder…I mean, I am anti-social sometimes, I know people that seem a bit compulsive at times, but that doesn’t make you autistic- it is the combination of these signs that autism represents.
Now that we know what it is- How is it treated? Well, there is no cure. It is a disorder that has a lot of questions and it is not understood exactly what gene mutations cause it. I was surprised to learn that over half of children diagnosed with autism are given medication, since this is not the case with my niece. However, the biggest form of treatment is early childhood intervention programs. These are intensive, sustained education programs that cover speech therapy, behavior and social skills therapy and occupational therapy, which is focused on basic living skills, such as eating and dressing and involves other life or job skills as a child gets older. Elizabeth receives all of these therapies- speech and behavior therapy once a week and occupational therapy every other week. She has been in the program for about 6 months and she has made GREAT strides. For instance, in my visit this weekend, I found Elizabeth to be very social- a night and day difference from the family gathering I described earlier, which was not even a year ago. She doesn’t see me or her grandparents very often since we all live about 2 hours away. But, she warmed right up to all of us, even more quickly than I have seen many shy children who do not have disorders. She came up and climbed right into my lap and said “Aunt Becky read book?” As you can see from the pictures, she smiles a lot and is very expressive. I would sing “If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands!” and she would get a big smile on her face and clap her hands. This is a picture of her doing that part of the song that says, “If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.” Her speech has also really improved. She loves to sing songs. I would sing, “The Wheels on the Bus go…” and she would finish it “round and round!” She also seems to be better about not having to do things exactly in the same way or sing only those songs. We were able to teach her a new song “Take me out to the ball game” while and she now knows the correct response to “Root Root Root for the …. “ is “Cubbies!”. She does have some areas that they are working on with her that they would like to see more improvement in. She still exhibits what they call scripting, which is repeating what others say and “echolalia” which is copying the inflections in others voices. This was actually weird to experience. My sister had given me some tea as a present and it had 6 types of tea in it. I just read them aloud when I opened it- they were Apple Chai, Blackberry, Pear, Apricot Vanilla, Vanilla and Ginger Mango. How many of you can repeat those back to me? I was absolutely amazed that Elizabeth, sitting next to me, repeated the entire list! Adn in the exact same inflection of voice that I used! It was like having an echo. That is actually not normal for a less than three year old to be able to do. This demonstrates that Elizabeth still exhibits signs of autism, even though she has made a lot of progress with the speech therapy, behavior and social skills therapy and occupational therapy. Autism isn’t something that goes away or a child grows out of, unfortunately.
So, what is the prognosis for Elizabeth? And what does the future hold? One study found that 12 % of autistic children with IQ above 50 grew up to lead a highly independent lifestyle. Another 10% were mostly independent, but needed some support and 19% had some independence but needed considerable support.
I hope I have informed you a bit about what autism is, how it is treated and what happens to children who have autism. We can only wait to see how Elizabeth develops and if she will be able to fit into mainstream society. Personally, I think that she will. She has a very sweet nature and has improved so much, plus she is getting the treatment she needs.
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