My Autism Insights

Do audio books help individuals with auditory processing disorders to strengthen their listening and processing skills?  It would seem that they do.  According to Christie Berry, Ed. D., in her essay “Reading with your Ears ,” “Listening to unabridged audio books while following along in the book improves language skills, auditory processing, and contributes to an increase in overall cognitive abilities.” This was heartening to find as it validated 2 things I’ve been thinking about.  First, I’m noticing that Gus has a greater ability to focus on something auditory when he’s being read a story and following along (as opposed to listening if I’m asking him or giving an instruction).  So I started wondering if audio books might start to increase the length of time that he can sustain listening. This question was brought about by a second observation I recently made,  this one about myself.

I have terrible listening skills - always have.  Unless I’m very interested in what someone is saying, I zone out pretty quickly.  You can see how that might have been a problem in school since I often didn’t pay attention to what my teachers were saying (except the especially interesting one).  Fortunately, I’m a much more visual learner and a combination of reading and writing things down allowed me to excel, at least through high school.  College was a different story.  I had one teacher, my accounting professor, who droned on so badly that I could not stay awake in his class no matter how many coffees I had beforehand.  Only class I ever flunked.  When I became a teacher years later, there was always a running joke between my co-teacher and myself because neither of us was ever able to listen in the professional development meetings. We’d always say, “we don’t do extended listening.”

Then a few years ago, something incredible and completely unexpected happened.  Harry Potter on CD.  I was already a crazy obsessed fan, so I figured I could listen to them while driving and even if I missed a bunch of stuff, I knew them almost verbatim anyway.  What a surprise to learn that Jim Dale is a wonderful narrator and that I actually did have the capacity to listen to something for a long stretch - if it was interesting.

I’ve since become very fond of audio books and listen to segments of books almost every day.  Even the books I find less engaging to read (Jane Austen) hold my interest with the help of a good reader.  I’m fairly certain I’ve increased my capacity to pay attention to auditory information.  I’m thinking of trying some audio books for Gus (not Harry Potter - my kids don’t share my enthusiasm).  Perhaps they might help him to be able to focus in the classroom a little better over time.

For additional information on how audio books can help with auditory processing disorders, check out “Improving Auditory Processing - Listening to Language” by Sharon Hensley.

Have you had any success with using audio books to develop auditory processing skills?

Tomorrow: guest post from the author of General Hysteria on art projects for special needs children.  Don’t miss it!

My car was talking to me today.  There’s a weird squeaking going on somewhere on the driver’s side.  It could be a belt or it could be something in the driver’s side front wheel.  I don’t know exactly what it is, but she’s telling me something is out of order.  My job is to figure out what it is with what she’s giving me.

My clothes dryer was telling me something, too.  Suddenly there’s a banging noise, as if a boot had somehow been slipped in with the laundry.  Obviously, there’s something wrong, so I called the repair guy (who just fixed it 2 months ago) to come and take a listen.

I often hear people say about non-verbal autistics that they don’t communicate.  This has never seemed quite accurate to me.  They may not speak, but sure they communicate.  Newborn babies don’t speak, but they sure let you know when they are hungry or wet or gassy.  A smile universally means pleasure and a hugs is a sure sign of affection.  While it is certainly not always an easy means of communication, it’s there and our job is to figure out what the nonverbal cues all mean.

Is verbal communication really all it’s cracked up to be?  I mean, when someone says that a non-verbal autistic isn’t communicating, that just goes to prove that words can be inaccurate.  Non-verbal communication: a look in an eye, a sound at a particular pitch, a hand gesture are all valid means of getting a message across.  So let’s be careful in how we portray these individuals.

I am not, by the way, trying to imply that autistic individuals are inanimate objects, merely that I personally have a (possibly unhealthy) level of communication with the objects around me.

And now I am going to have a chat with my pillow because my brain is telling me that if I stare at this screen anymore, my eyes will fall out.  Have a great night.

Because we couldn’t possibly keep the kids cooped up for another weekend, we spent a couple of hours at the children’s museum today.  Gus loves it and MM seems to be gaining an appreciation as well.  Two of the favorite attractions today were a Revolutionary period exhibit and a DJ booth where Gus could play music while I pressed some buttons to turn on some funky disco lights.  He looks good in a sound booth and he loves mics, so maybe…

I’ve been noticing for over a week now that he’s blinking excessively.  He says his eyes don’t hurt, no headache, and he can see.  It may be that he’s tired or that his eyes are straining.  Or he could be developing a tic.  He made a comment the other night just before bed that he was trying to open his eyes.  That freaked me out quite a bit until I was convinced that he could in fact see me.  The problem is that if his vision is getting wonky, he doesn’t have the expressive skills to articulate what’s going on.  So he resorts to language that only makes sense to him.  Still, I think I’ve watched and waited long enough.  I’m taking him to the doctor and hopefully can get the name of a good opthamologist to take him to.

So that’s the update for this Sunday.  Anything interesting with your weekend?

image by Erik Drooker

This time of year, with snowstorms and vacations and being cooped up together, kids are bound to get under each other’s skin.  Gus and MM are no different.  We’ve been home together since last Friday and I’ve lost count already of all the petty arguments that are so inane and incoherent I can’t even tell what they’re about.  Last night was yet another of those lovely shouting matches, this one brought on by MM playing some repetitive made up game (loudly) and Gus being tired and belligerent.

Usually, I’d just separate them and get Gus to bed as quickly as possible because I know exactly what is bothering him - the constant sound of MM’s high pitched talking/singing.  But last night - it must have been the extra dose of St. John’s Wort - I was calm enough to push Gus a little further.

I separated them as usual, but then I went to Gus, sat him down (once he stopped tossing around insults about his sister being a ’shampoo mouth’ and a ‘pine toe’) and asked him what was upsetting him.  I got the typical, irrelevant, incoherent, off-topic response.  I persisted and insisted that he stop the jabbering because he is better than that.  He thought for a moment and, with some help, explained that he wanted her to play a different game and that he wanted quiet.  This was a HUGE step for him.  We were even able to talk a little about a better way he could have handled the situation - asking nicely that she play a different game.

Since the situation had 2 sides, I then talked with MM and reminded her that her brother often gets upset when he’s tired and that at night he needs a little more quiet.  We spoke about having consideration for people at different times of the day - early morning and evening when they are likely to want to sleep.  Then we discussed how she could have handled the situation differently: play a quieter game or close the door to her room.

Unprompted, they apologized to each other before bed and everyone is friendly again.  So it just goes to show me that I can’t always fall back on what I know Gus is trying to communicate, sometimes I have to push him a step further and make him use the pragmatic language skills that has developed.  It was a good lesson.

Everyone, have a wonderful holiday whatever you celebrate, and if you don’t celebrate anything, just have a great week!  I may or may not post over the next couple of days.  If I don’t, I’m still sending good wishes!  Thanks so much for  visiting and/or following!

Manic Monday by Mo

In which Gus learns some new colorful language…

Last week I mentioned somewhere (I think) that Gus had called me a freak because he didn’t like something I was telling him.  I told him that it wasn’t a nice word and that he wasn’t allowed to call anyone that.  I thought that was the end of that because I didn’t hear it again.

Until this morning.  Gus and MM were doing a puzzle of the United States, a nice colorful one with all the state capitals on it (we’re perseverating on capitals these days).  They got into an argument and Gus let loose the F-word.  “Freak.”  He whispered it so that only she could hear him because he is too smart for his own good sometimes.

Of course she starts crying and yelling; her honor has been impugned, dangit!

I asked him, “Do you even know what that word means?”  And he looked at me - I notice when he is really interested in something, like a new definition, he’ll make eye contact if for only an instant.

“No!  What does it mean?”  The boy was practically quaking with excitement.

So we explained in terms that a 5 year old could understand, and then I asked him if he would like it if someone called him a freak?  I’d lost his interest by then and got the perfunctory negative response.  And MM got the perfunctory apology.

This is a typical problem with pragmatic or social speech deficits.  You can take a kid with a huge vocabulary and ability to retain information, but he won’t necessarily understand the nuances or the impact of those words, when it’s appropriate to use language in different situations, or that people may react differently to the same phrase.  What he said to me that just earned him a verbal correction greatly upset and hurt his little sister.  So it’s an interesting task to try to teach him about not saying hurtful things.  I don’t even want to think how nuts it will get when the words get even more colorful as he ages and is exposed to more advanced children.