Client Profile: Ben

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Ben, age 4

Easter Seals North Georgia

According to mom and dad, Ben was “such an easy baby.” But at two years old, they realized there was more to it than their child just being laid-back.  Ben would fiddle with the same thing over and over and amuse himself for hours. Ben was calm, quiet and very bright; learning to get through his parents’ baby proofing devices and learning to use the DVD player before he reached 18 months old.

When he still wasn’t speaking on his second birthday, Ben's mom and dad decided it was time to speak with a doctor. Shortly thereafter, they were referred to Babies Can’t Wait, Georgia's Early Intervention system.

Ben was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in December of 2005. 

In addition to his tantrums and various obsessions, Ben was unable to distinguish his mother from a caregiver or anyone else, calling everyone “mommy.” Ben’s parents sought out speech therapy services from Easter Seals North Georgia when he turned three years old.

With the help of his licensed speech therapist, Ben began making progress. The largest advances began, however, when Ben and his family started working with the P.L.A.Y. (Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters) Project. The P.L.A.Y. Project is based on Dr. Stanley Greenspan’s D.I.R. (Developmental, Individual-Difference, Relationship-Based)/Floortime approach. This approach provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and treating children challenged by Autism Spectrum Disorders. It focuses on helping children master the building blocks of relating, communicating and thinking, rather than on symptoms alone.

Ben’s P.L.A.Y. consultant makes visits to their home three times a month to teach the D.I.R./Floortime principles to the family. Each P.L.A.Y. session is videotaped so the consultant can review and critique the interactions. The consultant then reviews the video tapes with Ben’s parents and is able to point out minute by minute “circles” of interaction. The program also works with a child’s sensory processing and motor planning issues to incorporate and achieve significant milestones of social development. 

Now 4 years old, Ben has come a long way. He recently had a number of important firsts in his life.

He was invited to his first birthday party, where he was able to sing happy birthday and interact with some of the children. Children’s parties are usually busy and loud and may be too stimulating for a child with ASD. 

Some children with ASD have difficulty with sensory reactivity, processing difficulty and/or difficulty with motor planning and sequencing. Ben just recently jumped for the first time ever!

A child with sound motor planning is able to figure out what action is needed and then execute it. Because Ben has some low muscle tone and sequencing issues, it took him longer to be able to put both feet together, shift his weight forward, then up while counterbalancing with his arms in order to jump up and down.

Being able to name and express emotions is a huge accomplishment for a child with ASD. Ben has always been a smart child cognitively, but he is just now starting to associate words and feelings. Just a year ago, he was not able to interact with his parents for more than a few minutes. After months of P.L.A.Y. therapy, he is able to have long periods of engagement. Ben is able to participate in pretend-play and he often initiates activities, ideas and conversations.

The most important “first” for Ben was saying “I Love You” to his mother.

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