AIT for Autism
by Mary E. Scholer, OTR/L, Berard Approved AIT Practitioner
Simoneon Pediatric Development Center, San Jose, CA

March 2005
Equipment used: DAA unit
 

What happened to the 13 yr. old autistic boy I worked with in the past (for 7 years) is so dramatic the grandmother is almost speechless about it, calling AIT a "miracle" for her grandson!  

All of the things I am reporting here are a complete first for this child (never done before in his lifetime). 

• During the first day of AIT he complained that he liked the music but having a hard time with people saying words and wanted only music.  After the second day he said he was now fine with the words and the music together.  This child has always been irritated with people talking, yet can't seem to stop talking himself.

• After 5 days he told me that he was understanding what was being said by classmates, teacher and remembering what he was reading in his language arts class. 

• He noticed that his classroom aid had his head down at the IEP meeting.  He went over to him and asked if he wasn't feeling well. He's never seemed to notice people's body language before.

• His grandmother (a retired Special Education teacher) told me that he is finishing his homework in 1/10 the time it normally takes, it's neat and he is writing stories that make sense, getting 80% comprehension on the things he's reading (before 0-10% comprehension). 

• His handwriting which has always been terrible, is improved with correct spacing between letters and small in size.

• They went to a movie the other day and he was quiet throughout the movie, only once saying that he was understanding everything that was going on in the film. 

• He is now asking family members deep and thought provoking questions.

• Grandma also told me there were many more things, but she couldn't remember them all without her journal, which I encouraged her to do daily during and after AIT.  She has been faithfully doing this.
   

Comments from the Grandmother of the Autistic Boy
by Joan P.

"There has been remarkable improvement in my grandson since he completed AIT last Saturday. We are very pleased with his progress in many areas. We notice his handwriting has improved and is much neater but he needs encouragement to continue writing more legibly. He is beginning to ask more thoughtful questions and interact in conversations more appropriately. He seems to understand his class work better and do homework faster.

When we saw a movie last week-end he was quiet during the movie where he use to constantly talk and we missed parts of of the movie because of his talking. He did turn to me during the movie and say, "this movie is talking to me". The movie was about a little girl whose mother left her when she was little. My grandson could relate to this because his mom left when he was little. He had many questions that he wanted answered about why his mom left and if his parents would get together again. He had many questions for his dad that he needed answered. His dad tried to help him understand. My grandson could not understand many things about it. He strongly feels there should be no divorce because children get hurt. I thought this was very mature for him because he had never spoken out about this subject in that way before.

He seems to be more interested in what we talk about at dinnertime and has participated more in our conversation. He has a long way to go and needs a lot of help but there is "light at the end of the tunnel now". As time progresses I will continue to let our AIT Practitioner, Mary E. Scholer, OTR/L, know what is happening with my grandson."