Jenin Autism Project – A Word from Our Mothers

My friend Kitti South has come back to the U.S, but Melissa Diamond and the rest of the team are still in Jenin, in the West Bank of the Palestinian territory for the next few months working on “The Jenin Autism Project,” part of “A Global Voice for Autism.” They are there to help parents learn about autism and Applied Behavior Analysis and help connect them to other autism resources as well as building their own supportive network. They are blogging their experiences here to share their efforts in figuring out how to best help children with autism in a part of the world where so little help is available.  See the end of this post for links to prior posts on “The Jenin Autism Project.”

Aseel and Mohammad

What skills did you work on today?

Aseel: Mohammad loves his iPad and often refuses to let go of it to participate in other activities. Today, I practiced removing the iPad from him and getting him to answer questions and identify objects before getting it back. When I took it, he screamed and ran to the other side of the room but eventually I was able to bring him back to continue working. I also worked with picture cards and asked him to point to and label different foods and animals. When it was time to have the children fill in blanks in songs I started singing songs with Mohammad and then switched to singing to Basil. I noticed that Basil has trouble making eye contact and asked the therapists how we can help him do this.

What did you enjoy?

Aseel: I found today’s practice session interesting and useful. I liked having the chance to work with Basil and giving Mohammad the chance to work with Fatima. Even when Mohammad refuses to do activities he is still happy and shows he loves me. When I ask him too he will come over to kiss my cheek. I like when he listens to me.

What was challenging?

Aseel: No matter what I did today, Mohammad did not want to stay seated in the chair. He kept running away to get out of having to do the activity. I think that this will be less of a problem at home because I can work on the skill in a place where he is comfortable. I hope that next week he will be more comfortable working here.

What did you think of the program?

Aseel: I liked the way the program ran today. I think that having the chance to apply the information from the trainings with the help of the therapists was important and having a smaller group was especially helpful in doing this. I am excited to practice these requesting skills at home so that I can come back last week and see that Mohammad has made progress. I feel ready to use these skills at home at different times of day. When I am cooking I can ask him to label foods and I can have him request his iPad and other toys he wants.

Fatima & Basil 

What skills did you work on today?

Fatima: Today I worked with Basil on picking the right object. My son can’t speak but when I tell him to point to the horse, sometimes he will listen to me. The therapists taught me about “errorless teaching.” This is where I guide Basil’s hand to the right object if he starts to reach for the other choice, before he can get the answer wrong. Aseel pointed out that Basil does not make eye contact with her when she works with him so the therapists also showed me some activities that I can do to help him develop that eye contact. I know this might be difficult for him because of his sensory challenges but in the support group I watched how I can do this by holding toys he likes near my face and getting him to look at them.

What did you enjoy?

Fatima: I love working with Basil and I feel successful every time he gets an answer right. Seeing his progress is encouraging. I also liked working with Mohammad on the songs. Aseel and I got to work together on the intraverbal songs with our sons which was fun. Basil can’t answer yet, but I think he likes the songs and I liked singing them with Mohammad because he could fill in the blanks.

What was challenging?

Fatima: I am still working on the concept of “errorless teaching.” It is my first instinct to say “no” when Basil reaches for the wrong object and I need to guide him instead. I am sure this will get easier by practicing at home. I also want to find ways to hold his attention and to get him to look at me.

What did you think of the program?

Fatima: I was happy to see how I can use the skills from the trainings at home. This became clear to me through the practice exercises today. I am going to practice each skill with Basil for 10 minutes each day throughout the week. This way, we can start on new skills when we come back next week. Having the chance to talk to the other mothers in the parent support group today was nice too. We talked about nutrition and medications. I have a new Omega vitamin that I want to try with Basil. Aseel told me that it works well.

* Names have been changed for privacy.

Melissa and Kitti will take turns blogging about their experiences, which will be posted here and on their own blog. For more information, please check  their blog and the website for A Global Voice for Autism.