Tammy - A Girl Of Extremes
Written on February 8, 2008 – 12:52 am | by admin
I met Tammy when I was substitute teaching. Tammy was twelve years old, nonverbal, without any viable communication system; she did not talk, sign, select, or point to desired pictures or objects and appeared unable to discriminate. Tammy refused to participate in activities. She resisted assistance. She was angry, shut down. Tammy had been in the school for years and her progress was abysmal. Staffers reported that they had never heard Tammy talk; however, they told me her mother reported that she talked at home on occasion.
Tammy was extremely stubborn—stiff as a board—eyes closed with hands tightly gripped over them. Since she was unable to see where she was going, staffers led her rigid body off the bus and up the stairs to the third floor classroom. Hunched over, she twisted her fingers in a circular pattern over her shirt or sweater as she rhythmically rocked back and forth, blocking out the world and everyone in it. Oppositional, defiant, and negative—these were words I heard used to describe her extreme behavior.
On the day we met, she had just completed doing her toileting, tooth-brushing and hand washing routine with hand-over-hand assistance from a staffer, Her immobile noncompliant body made motoring near impossible. As she shuffled back to her chair, hands covering her eyes, she noticed that I was sitting in her chair. Outraged, her eyes filled with tears as she cried, “Mary Ann, you are sitting in my chair!” The staffers were shocked, as they had never heard her utter a word in the classroom before. Later in the day, as I was reading a book
Amazed and confused, I went home that night and could not stop thinking about it. Although it was our first meeting, I was hooked. Did I inadvertently serve as a catalyst? Was it just a coincidence that she spoke? I decided I wanted to work with children with autism. I wanted to be surrounded by miracles. I was hoping Tammy would be my first one.
Tammy was in my class the following year and remained there for several more. Initially, I sat with her quietly when I could, matching her rhythm, as I mirrored her rocking back and forth. Soon she stopped covering her eyes, smiled up at me incessantly, and became much more compliant and reachable. Now, she always wanted to be at my side, so I took the opportunity to walk up hills and on uneven terrain which forced her to open her eyes and self correct her stiff awkward gait by alternating her arms and legs to keep her balance.
Tammy did not improve as fully as I hoped she might based on my initial naive encounter; however, improvement did occur and more importantly, although still a girl of extremes, she seemed happy. At times, she would even talk a little, often mimicking something I said. On rare occasions—usually when she was upset—she would speak in full sentences, only to fall silent again. Tammy remained resistant to activities she had refused to do for so many years, but if I moved on to something new, she showed interest and a willingness to make positive attempts.
Lessons Tammy taught me:
Some nonverbal people have contextually and semantically intact language ability that they cannot access at will.
A severely shut down child can be opened up. Lessen your demands. (I.e. teach the skill to another child who is not as shut down, as the shut down child sits nearby.
Engage. (I.e. mirror or match my movements and self-stimulatory behavior. You may find that it helps you understand and adapt to the rhythm of the child).Establish relationship. (I.e. create cause and effect interaction; games such as peek-boo. Try to get the child to smile.
Create situations that force the child to pay attention. (I.e. walking on uneven terrain such as a path through the woods naturally forces attending behavior.)
If an oppositional defiant child refuses to learn certain skills, move on. You can revisit the skills once you have formed a relationship and he/she is more compliant and willing to please.
I have served as a teacher of individuals with autism for 18 years. What they have taught me was to be sure of nothing, and open myself to the extraordinary. It has been and continues to be a remarkable ride. My attention was drawn, one face at a time, to children that beckoned me. I heard whispers at first, easy to ignore, until the voice began bellowing. I heeded the call, timid at first—the children I met had lessons to teach. The miracles they presented continued to amaze me as they began my education on altered reality. These unique children and actual events led me to an expanded belief system as well as the implementation of some atypical teaching strategies unique to each situation. Most of the children I will be talking about were nonverbal or had minimal verbal ability.
Open your hearts and your minds as I share with you the truth of my experiences. The names have been changed, as well as some trivial characteristics, so as not to identify them too specifically. These non-fictional events changed my perception of reality. Each child played a part.
Tags: autism, catalyst, defiant, nonverbal, oppositional