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From Their Point of View
Getting Inside the Head of a Child with Autism By Jenn Director Knudsen
Kori Bardige of Owings Mills, M.D., who holds a master's degree in special education, spent five years working with more than 200 preschoolers with ASD and agrees with Notbohm. "Every child [with autism] has something unique and special about [him or her]," she says. "And if you can take away behaviors to get to interaction, you can get to where they can shine."
"How frustrated would you be if you couldn't tolerate your environment and can't communicate about your environment?" Notbohm says. "If they can't tolerate their very environment and can't communicate their wants and needs, cognitive and social learning will be very difficult."
The student in this example was lucky; a well-trained and perceptive member of his school's early childhood intervention team, an occupational therapist, recognized the reason for the behavior. She fastened a strip of pipe insulation around the edge of the student's seat so he could better feel its edge. He stayed in his chair. Both he and his teacher probably learned something in his classroom that day.
