Autism, ASD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Auditory Integration Training, Berard AIT

Autism (ASD) in an Adult and Auditory Integration Training (Berard AIT)

A success story by Carolyn from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Reprinted by permission. 12-15- 2005.

The Berard AIT Practioner who assisted this child with successful AIT was Jennifer Scoville Dougherty, MA

"We see that he is still growing…even at 65, and we attribute it to the auditory training and the opportunity he has to make use of these gains. He still has a cheerful disposition and a child-like joy about the world around him, but seems even happier, more confident and more mature. He takes more initiative now, generalizes better, fixates less, and stays on tasks. Best of all, he seems to feel better about himself. He’s around “family” and others for interaction. Berard AIT and these experiences together, are making for a great combination! It is heart-warming to see our good friend doing so well."

My success story is about a dear friend and neighbor, Gary, who is 65. I have known Gary for 37 years. He has an official diagnosis somewhere on the continuum of what I understand is now called “Autism Spectrum Disorder.” He was never diagnosed with Autism until a little less than 20 years ago. He was considered “retarded”, and therefore the public and private schools would not accept him for formal education. He has had tutoring and mainly has been “self-taught” as he really is very brilliant and once he could read, devoured knowledge. He’s like a member of our family. We love and accept him, and we surely don’t think of him as someone to be kept under wraps. Gary is just Gary – a great guy! He has been able to function independently, alone now, in his own family home across the street, for years. He drives, keeps up his banking, and tends to his lovely yard and other everyday concerns. Gary is a part of our house-hold as he visits our home and Bed and Breakfast daily for meals, to do crossword puzzles, read the paper, to use the spa, and to help out around the house and grounds.

Gary had a job in a grocery store some years ago, and though he’s really smart, the social and practical aspects got in the way. He took things very literally, got distracted easily and had little upsets over communication on the job as many people “on the spectrum” do. Though he doesn’t go to work these days, he stays very busy.

He’s like a brother to me. In some ways he seems child-like, but less so since his Berard AIT in 2004. It took about 6 months for us to see benefits after Berard AIT. Gary participated in a second session in 2005. We see that he is still growing…even at 65, and we attribute it to the auditory training and the opportunity he has to make use of these gains. He still has a cheerful disposition and a child-like joy about the world around him, but seems even happier, more confident and more mature.

Before Gary had Berard AIT, he used to help out mainly with very routine tasks that he enjoyed, like setting the table “just so.” He sat at the breakfast and spoke up mostly when spoken to, and often went off-topic about his favorite subjects, like jets, trains, or whatever his current infatuation was. Our guests never seemed to mind, and enjoyed his intellect and pleasant disposition. When asked to do things, Gary required a lot of follow-through on many tasks. It often took over a half hour for him to find a box of cereal in the pantry at times, for example. Testing the hot tub chemistry required extra steps, as he liked to check with me once or twice before adding the chemicals. He didn’t take much initiative and was usually pretty quiet around others. He accompanied me to Bed and Breakfast Association and Chamber of Commerce meetings. Usually shy and introverted, he didn’t introduce himself to others. He was more in his own world, just sitting and listening. He noticed that someone made mistakes, such as watering a plant twice, but never pointed it out. In driving, if I took a different route to a location, he protested! He always took the same routes around town, even if it took the long way around when time was short. When he accompanied me and my grandchildren to the park, he only hesitantly pushed the little ones’ swings, and needed extra prompting to do it.

Once, 6 months after the first Berard AIT, Gary and I were at a Hospitality Training meeting, and I was called out of the meeting (as the introductions were going around the room), and left Gary at the table. Later, another B&B owner called me aside, to say that, in my absence, Gary stood up, introduced himself to 100 people, and shared information about our B&B! He looked around, saw what was going on in my absence, and took charge! Now he is productive when doing less routine tasks. After taking care of the hot tub chemistry independently, he announces with a smile, “I gave it my best.” At the breakfast table, he is a less reserved and more well-rounded in conversation. When the grandchildren visit, he pushes the park swings upon my request, and continues on his own initiative, when he notices a need for it. He says things like, “you already watered that plant.” Now he goes into the laundry room, sees the jobs in progress and takes the next steps. Previously he would have only done what had been requested of him. He still really likes putting table settings “just so!” He drove our car back after taking my husband somewhere and made a spontaneous decision to drive back a new, shorter way. It’s great to see such flexibility! We even notice a new awareness about interpersonal relationships. He makes funny observations and comments now about things that didn't’t interest him before. Such as chuckling about my husband sitting around, when there was work that I needed him to do. Maybe not always welcome comments, but on the order of what anyone would say, in similar circumstances.

While Gary is not in desperate need to take a job (his family, although not near, are very supportive: both financially and emotionally). I think that if he did, he’d likely experience more success with it. He takes more initiative now, generalizes better, fixates less, and stays on tasks. Best of all, he seems to feel better about himself. He’s around “family” and others for interaction. Berard AIT and these experiences together, are making for a great combination! It is heart-warming to see our good friend doing so well.

While I know that Berard AIT helps many young people, (including my preschool-aged granddaughters who completed Berard AIT in 2003 – that’s another great story). I now see its positive impact daily upon my dear friend who is a senior citizen. It’s just amazing and wonderful!

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