This is a letter from Philip to parents who have contacted him to address their fears and worries about
their children diagnosed with autism.
Dear Parents,
As an autistic boy, I want you to know I
am happy. My autistic neurology makes me think very differently than most
people. I can sense the world keenly, making me a very observant person. People
make wrong assumptions about people who don't act like a typical person. Making
assumptions about something as important as your child is dangerous if you make
the wrong conclusions. I have lived the consequences of my parents' wrong
assumptions. Being thought as retarded and in need of remedial education assigned
me to many years of ABA and useless therapies based on neurotypical assumptions
of autism. Man assumes many things they don't really know. The best way to know
someone is to hear from them personally. The only way to hear from me has been
through RPM (Rapid Prompting Method). I think most autistic people can make use
of assistive means to communicate. Parents should look into learning more
communication methods. Body awareness programs would also help a lot. My
parents have done a lot of therapies. Making life as normal as possible and
helping us to communicate is what makes the biggest difference in our lives. Please teach
us interesting things. Don’t just address the things you want to fix. Accept
us the same way you want to be accepted yourself. Mainly, maintain an attitude
of love and patience towards us. Making us feel loved is an essential part of
helping us meet the challenges of living in this world.
Love,
Philip
September 2015
Copyright 2015 Philip Reyes. All rights reserved.
Great letter, Philip! I hope a lot of people read it and consider what you are saying! I think helping children find a way to communicate is the one of the most important things, whether that is with letter boards, sign language, augmentative communication devices, typing, etc. If they can communicate, kids can tell their parents and teachers what they need, what they want, what they're interested in, and how they feel!
ReplyDeleteYou have spoken correctly.
ReplyDeleteHi Philip and Lisa! I feel like I've been touched by fate when I came across an older blog entry on The Mighty on my Facebook feed from Philip. Your words were so powerful and truthful that I came to read more of your entries. I came to one from two years ago that gave a short profile and found that we live so close to each other. My husband, my son and myself live in Buffalo. My son is 7 years old and has autism. He is also non verbal. Our stories are quite similar. He began in an ABA program just after diagnosis at the age of 2. After a year of repetitive drills, we were all frustrated at both the methods and the outcome. We tried something different and he's been in a wonderful agency school since. He used PECS, but it wasn't meaningful enough for him. He started using the Proloquo on the IPad as part of a trial-he blossomed! It's now required as part of his IEP. He can also type on a standard keyboard and he can identify many, many sight words. His receptive language continues to outweigh his ability to express, although it is getting stronger. I welcome any method that can make him successful and since reading your posts, I am very interested in learning more about RPM. I would be so, so appreciative of any information that you could provide. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHi! I would love to get in touch with you! Please email me at Lisac_reyes@yahoo.com.
DeleteThanks for writing to parents like me Phillip! I love getting advice from experts like you.
ReplyDeleteWell said!
DeleteThanks for writing this post to help parents like me. My family and I so appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this post to help parents like me ,I am very interested in learning more about RPM.THANK YOU
ReplyDelete