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Autistic girl expresses unimaginable intelligenc

21 replies

blueShark · 15/01/2012 21:54

This is amazing if you haven't seen it...

OP posts:
coff33pot · 15/01/2012 22:21

Thanks for that link blueshark.

What great parents not giving up on her and what an amazing girl :)

dontrememberme · 15/01/2012 23:19

Amazing, blows all those preconceptions out of the water.

timetoask · 16/01/2012 11:27

This brought tears to my eyes, how amazing and wonderful.

saintlyjimjams · 16/01/2012 13:35

Lucy Blackman is worth reading as well for something similar (Lucy's Story - it completely changed my way of thinking about potential for ds1).

In ds1's case we had no idea how much he understood/remembered/knew until he started using google maps independently. The stuff he does on there leaves me dumbfounded. All self taught.

We know so little about severe autism.

timetoask · 16/01/2012 13:37

blueShark I was wondering if you would post a link to this video on the main boards of mumsnet? Lots of people out there would benefit from seeing it I think.

PipinJo · 16/01/2012 13:48

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bdaonion · 16/01/2012 14:42

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EllenJaneisnotmyname · 16/01/2012 17:15

Wow! I had a similar, but less huge 'moment' when my DS2 got an Alphasmart word processor when he was 8. Suddenly stories and recipes, play scripts and song lyrics poured out of him. He could barely hold a pencil and certainly wouldn't (still doesn't age 12) have a conversation with us. It was like a glimpse into his mind. Unfortunately he got bored with it after 6 months, or so. Sad

MedusaIsHavingABadHairDay · 16/01/2012 17:40

I work with children who have this severity of autism, and several times over the years I have felt very strongly that particular children are 'locked' rather than having severe learning difficulties..and this just blows me away. It makes me want so so so much to find a way to help 'my' kids..

JustHecate · 16/01/2012 17:52

my god. that's just - I don't have words. wow. more people should see that.

dontrememberme · 16/01/2012 18:16

it made me think about autistic type behaviours in a different way, in many ways more like tics than behavioural or due to lack of understanding etc.

shazian · 16/01/2012 18:26

Blueshark, thank you so much for link. Gobsmacked, utterley amazing. that could be my ds to a T. He is 11 4 feb and to date doesnt speak a word, limited understanding and flaps etc constant. I have always said that he has more understanding than anyone would give him credit for, this gives me so much hope and never say never Smile

WellBlowMeDown · 16/01/2012 19:44

Very inspiring and so true, you just can't tell what potential children have, you have to try every avenue to reach them.

hugglymugly · 16/01/2012 19:48

I'd seen this before, but it's more amazing on second viewing. But my second viewing was informed by threads I've read here, which have taken my understanding of autism from zero to a little bit more.

This time I picked up that Carly is a twin, so she's been in the same environment, pre-birth and within the family, as her sister - which goes a long way to demolishing the argument that it's a parenting thing. (Are people still saying that?)

Secondly, I listened more carefully to what Carly was saying, describing what life for her is like. I can't imagine what it must be like to be so hyper-aware of the world to need to escape from painful stimuli - I think most people could understand that just a little bit, but for them/me it's usually a temporary thing, not something that's permanent.

Carly's parents are remarkable in their persistence in trying out various therapies. But then I thought about their financial resources to seek out those various therapies, compared to what I've read here about limited NHS resources.

I will be posting the link to a couple of other forums I inhabit - and making it clear that it isn't about some kind of "miracle cure", but about listening to Carly.

boredandrestless · 16/01/2012 20:13

I'm all emotional now! Very inspired by both her and her parents.

One of her therapists saying to her "use your words" - god I used to say that CONSTANTLY to DS, and I'd forgotten about it! A timely reminder of his progress over the last few years when I'd been feeling all overwhelmed by his current situation. Smile

Am wondering how they paid for all of those therapies? Not sure how the system over there works but I assumed it was all paid for privately - this must have been a huge cost over the years, is it a case of if you can't afford it you get nothing????

AllPastYears · 16/01/2012 20:23

That's pretty shocking - shocking in the sense that all this was going on inside her for years and no one knew. She has found a way of communicating now, but how many others are out there like her?

saintlyjimjams · 16/01/2012 20:36

Quite a few - I'm in touch with a few people who use typing (or their parents). We've gone down the talker route rather than typing as it seems to work better for ds1, but we're finding he can use far more words than we realised.

The film A mother's courage explores this as well, and led Kate Winslett to get involved in the Golden Hat Foundation.

WellBlowMeDown · 16/01/2012 20:44

ABA can be funded on private health insurance in the US.

saintlyjimjams · 16/01/2012 21:06

Carly is Canadian though - but I think that there's also a certain amount of state funded ABA available in Canada.

Other people have used other, non-ABA methods to introduce typing though. Sydney Edmond for example uses a letterboard and has never used ABA. They use RPM. There's some more information on their website

blueShark · 16/01/2012 21:57

This is so inspiring that made dh say that he needs to watch me closer how I work with DS so that he jumps in and DS also gets as much as intensive support.

timetoask , and everyone else, feel free to share it anywhere on this forum or elsewhere.

OP posts:
5inthebed · 16/01/2012 22:10

Amazing girl. And how lovely to hear her parents not givig up on her when all their friends seemed to.

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