Does teaching an Autistic child baby sign language really help?  Is there a benefit for you or for you child?  Is the hype around this topic real?  I’ve had experience with this subject and the answer; for us, at least, was a resounding “Yes.”

Lil’ B. could tell us things through signing long before he learned to talk.  In our case he only learned a few signs because the realization that those noises we were making meant something was enough to get him started in speech.  However, the 10 signs he did learn helped us through the year it took him to become mostly verbal.  They also made his life a lot happier.

Andrea Ploehn offers an online course in American baby sign language.  it’s not specifically geared towards autistic children, but if you have the tools, you may just find that your child is far more willing or able to use his or her hands to speak than speech.

This is what Andrea has to say about her program:

Just a few of the Benefits of Baby Sign Language

Your child will experience increased self esteem and confidence. As your child learns sign language and is able to communicate with you and other adults, they will experience a boost in self worth that will stay with them for life.Your child’s reading and spelling ability will accelerate. They learn to identify hundreds of objects and emotions through sophisticated play and increased interest in reading and books because of a heightened understanding of concepts.

You’ll connect with your child like never before! With today’s demanding society, children are getting less attention than ever before…to the point they are relying on video games and other “distractions” to influence them. Signing with your baby will allow you to connect with your child and make YOU their center of attention!

Your child’s life will be infinitely easier! You see, signing with your baby stimulates brain activity and engages the visual cortex…enabling your child to “get it” a lot faster than anyone else. That means your child will get a “head start” in life!

Your child will have improved memory storage. Using sign language helps open separate memory storage for cognitive development. By using visual, audio, and sensory stimulation, these multiple forms of learning allow for all types of learners to absorb information in a unique way.

Your child’s verbal ability will increase. Studies show that children who use baby sign language can be months and even up to a full year ahead of children who did not sign.

You can find Andrea’s program at signing4baby.com.

Before you ask.  No, we didn’t use this particular program.  we had an in-house occupational therapist and speech pathologist working with our son. i know not everyone can afford those services, so i’m trying to find all the information that I can for you.

I hope this is helpful!

We’ve finally gotten a final diagnosis of Autism for our son.  For those of you who don’t know what that entails, it’s a three hour set of tests designed to see where the little guy stands in certain levels of development and personal interaction.  It’s grueling for the parent and in the case of my son, it’s sheer hell involving rapid changes in activities and a level of contact that he’s not necessarily comfortable with.

For a child with autism, this is a form of sensory overload. It destroys the routines that the child is used to and pushes them far outside their comfort zone. In the case of Lil’ B. the half-way point was the breaking point. An unscheduled 30 minute break was added to the schedule to give him cool-down time at that point and a slow walk around the building where he was in charge of what he did got him back on track for the rest of the testing… Barely.

By the end of the session both he and I were frayed and frazzled, but in true style, he still didn’t nap.  He spent the rest of the day destroying anything he touched and trying very hard to find a comfortable place in life again. I spent the rest of the day trying to make sure that he didn’t do any permanent damage to himself or the furniture, but still lost the sofa in the process. (Yep, it’s a goner, he put three large tears in the back cushions.)

It’s not this one incident that has me writing today, though.  Both my wife and I are thrilled to have a formal diagnosis in-hand.  It’s been a long time coming.  The issue I have is that now every single agency that is supposed to be helping our son has slated another set of assessments, most of which are also full evaluations.  In the next two weeks my son will be in the center ring of his very own dog and pony show and playing the part of both ringmaster and clown.

I’m grateful for the help.  I’m happy that he’ll be attending preschool soon.  I’m glad that everyone is pushing so hard to get this done as quickly as possible, but I hate having to put him through this more than once.  It messes with his mind, it affects his moods and it makes him an emotional wreck.  The last is most difficult since Lil’ B. is almost totally emotionally detached and forcing them to the surface can be painful for him at times.

Trust me.  We’ll be at every appointment. I’ll do my best to keep from tearing yet another psychologist-wannabe into pieces for causing my child distress and we’ll get him into the school he so desperately needs, but I don’t like it and I won’t like it.  I won’t be happy until Lil’ man is done with the process and getting the help that everyone is promising.  that means two assessments this week, one next week and who-knows how many the week after.

I’ll be good, I promise.  He needs me to be, so I will.

Peace. I’m out.

I can’t seem to find the original study, but in the article I found has this to say…

Pregnant women may someday be able to test their fetus for autism, thanks to a British study that found that women with high uterine testosterone levels are more likely to have children with autism-like traits such as a lack of social and verbal skills.

[From Study: High prenatal testosterone levels linked to autism - Related Stories - CEC SmartBrief]

If this is really the case, couldn’t hormone therapy help to curb the issue? I’ll be watching this particular topic pretty closely and I’ll keep everyone up to date as I learn more.

It’s been a  very busy few days.  Our hero fell victim to that thing most adults know as “life” on Friday, when his therapist failed to make the scheduled appointment.  While annoying, this is no great cause for alarm to me.  I simply wait 30 minutes and then assume that there is a no-show. (A great amount of time and practice went into the ADHD father being so flippant about timeliness, I might add.)

Unfortunately, an autistic child thrives on routine even moreso than someone with ADHD.  If my schedule is broken, I can find my way to accomplishing at lest a bit of what should have been done for the rest of the day.  For Lil’B. a disruption in schedule is the end of the day, there is no recovery, and Friday was like that all afternoon.

Unfortunately for your kindly narrator and the Good Queen, our hero ws also running a mild fever and feeling cranky all weekend.  Whether or not it was teething or growing pains, I’m afraid we will never know.  The end result was a very surly hero indeed.  One who refused to eat, sleep or drink without displaying his ire in the only way he knows how to; a series of banshee-like shrieking sessions that lasted for hours at times.

The dawn of the new week saw our hero in better spirits and eating well.  His meeting with the “Wise lady of the plains” (played by Sandra) went strikingly well.  His attention span was admirable and he pushed through the entire session, though meltdown loomed on the horizon a few times.  After said meeting our hero took his repose for several hours and awoke seemingly refreshed.  A good day indeed.

Today however, has not been so peaceful.  Our hero started the day well, with playing and frolicking and other things that heroes of his age are wont to indulge in.  In the late afternoon we had a meeting with “The lady of song” (Played by his speech therapist, Carol).  The meeting went well enough, and for once the Good Queen was in attendance.  it was good that not only did she provide support to our hero, but gave this humble narrator a bit of time to handle other duties and responsibilities that wer wanting of attention at the moment.

Upon the end of his session, our hero made as if to rest himself, but it would seem that something was amis.  Not only has our hero still not taken his repose for the evening, but as the clock readies itself to strike ten of the clock, our hero is still in a rather unpleasant state and is trying the patience of his companions mightily.  This is not usual for our hero, and is something that both the Good Queen and I are in great distress over.

For the nonce, the only objective of our band of stalwart travelers is to quiet the hero and help him to seek the rest he so richly deserves after a day of training that would weary the greatest of heroes.  Tomorrow dawns a new day and that must be faced on its own merits.

For now I bid you all Good Night.  This narrator must be off to other duties.

The meeting with the speech therapist went well.  Instead of the meltdown I was dreading, the only tears that were shed was when the therapist left.  He likes her.  A lot and that’s going to help loads. And he’s been pretty calm for the most part for the rest of the day as well.  It’s always a good day when I get to remain in my position as narrator and don’t have to resort to donning the not-so-shiny armor of our hero’s knight errant.

Today’s meeting consisted mostly of a bit of time playing.  I’m sure there is a madness to this method, but I’ve yet to figure out what it is.  I will however, be doing the same with him until next week, as well as trying to follow some of the other suggestions given.

One of the best is that we should get pictures of his favorite foods and print them on a piece of paper (I’m saying we laminate!).  This hsould be somewhere he can reach it.  Then when he wants something, he can point to the paper to let us know what it is.  I like this idea.  I like it a lot.

So as far as the battle with silence goes, we’ve entered the fray, but we’ve not seen much progress.  Of course , I didn’t expect any after the very first visit, either. These things take time and patience and perseverance are the weapons of choice in this battle.  I have enough in reserve, I think.