Severe Language Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder (APD), Sensory
Processing Disorder (SPD), Expressive Language, Pervasive Developmental
Delay (PDD)
by the Parent of a 3 1/2 year old girl, New Jersey. Reprinted
by permission.
The Berard AIT Practioner who assisted this child
with successful AIT was
Terrie Silverman, MA
 While
before Berard AIT, Jackie had a limited
vocabulary of under 10 functional words and could make two-word requests
("want cookie") only on occasion, she is now able
to clearly articulate complex sentences of 4 to 5 words several times
a day, and does so spontaneously.
The greatest leap in her development was seen in the 2-3 months following
Berard AIT, and Jackie has maintained
a steep growth curve in all domains since then."
"My
daughter Jackie was seen August (2005) in South Jersey for a 10-day Berard
method when Jackie was approximately 3 1/2 years old. Jackie had
been diagnosed in January 2005 with PDD-NOS and Static
Encephalopathy. (Diagnosis was given by comprehensive team in Cherry Hill,
NJ. The team included a pediatric neurologist, pediatric neuropsychologist,
and behavioral analyst.)
Jackie's diagnoses by other developmental
pediatricians, occupational therapists, and speech/language pathologists
have also included severe language disorder (her greatest area of delay
being in expressive/receptive language), auditory processing delay and
sensory processing disorder (SPD).
Jackie's
general development, and in particular, her expressive and receptive
language, grew tremendously in the months following Berard Berard
AIT. While before Berard
AIT, Jackie had a limited vocabulary of under 10 functional words
and could make two-word requests ("want cookie") only on occasion,
she is now able to clearly articulate complex sentences of 4 to 5
words several times a day, and does so spontaneously. Six weeks
after Berard AIT, Jackie appeared
to process other's statements more quickly, responded more quickly
and appropriately to other children and adults, and also became
more responsive to music (dancing, humming, and now even singing
along!)
We
credit Jackie's Berard AIT treatment
with Terrie Silverman and her team as a key variable in Jackie's
overall growth, since the explosion in her language this past fall
also enabled her to made huge strides in her social skills. Whereas prior
to Berard AIT, Jackie's play
had mainly been "parallel play" and she was hesitant to
approach peers, following her treatment, Jackie learned to actively
engage and maintain interaction with other children (those equally and
even more verbal) in both the special needs and typically developing
communities.
It
should be noted that although Jackie was extremely tactilely
defensive (especially around her head and face) at the
time of Berard AIT, the very
gentle and resourceful approach of Terrie and her staff allowed us to
place earphones on Jackie's head with minimal fuss even on the first day
of treatment. Terrie and her staff used gentle play with Jackie's
dolls and the earphones to introduce the earphones to her, and also allowed
Jackie to sit on my lap with a blanket while the sessions were in progress. In
short, Terrie and her assistants created a comforting and reassuring setting for
Jackie so she could effectively follow the Berard
AIT program.
Please
also know that before, during and after Berard
AIT, Jackie received other therapies through her full-time school
for children on the Autistic
Spectrum. Jackie's in-school therapies have included Speech
Therapy, OT and PT. Jackie also attended (and continues
to attend) private social skills programs and private OT during this period. The
greatest leap in her development was seen in the 2-3 months following
Berard AIT,
and Jackie has maintained a steep growth curve in all domains since then.
At
this writing, we are in the process of transitioning Jackie to a new curriculum
in which she will spend only half a day at her current school, and half
a day with higher functioning children in a less restrictive classroom."
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