He’s also pretty wild about sand and Sponge Bob.  Jackson has been coming to our offices since the summer of 2011 for Speech and Occupational therapy, as well as ABA to try and combat the different effects autism has upon his life.  For such a little boy, Jackson has been dealt a pretty tough hand.  Jackson’s type of autism requires him to maintain a gluten and casein-free diet (meaning no wheat, oats, rye or dairy products).  If you’d really like to challenge yourself this week, check out your pantry and all the many items in it which contain gluten, and imagine never eating them again!

In addition to some dietary challenges, Jackson has also only recently become verbal, or started using words.  He began in December with only two or three words, but sincebecoming involved in therapy at Janey Macey, Jackson now uses between sixty and seventy words.  Jackson’s therapist has also commended his progress with intraverbal promts; this means when she says “Open the…,” Jackson promptly replies with “door!”  He’s also started using two-word phrases like “Thank you,” and, to the delight of his mother, Susan, “Love you.”  Can you imagine hearing your six-year-old son tell you he loves you for the first time?  We are incredibly excited to watch Jackson’s verbal progress and so proud of the work he’s already done.

Autism is a serious and growing issue among American children, and we believe that the most important thing parents, therapists, and other children can do is to educate themselves about what autism is and how it’s treated on a day-to-day basis.  We encourage you to check back next month and marvel at all of the new progress Jackson is making.  His therapists are aiming for:

• Expanded vocabulary and two-word phrases
• Improved attention span
• Improvement in hand strength, to accomplish things like pinching, holding pencils and utensils
• Improved focus in busy environments

Check back in four weeks to see how Jackson is doing!  If you have any questions or words of encouragement, leave them below!

Welcome to Janey Macey and Associates! While my dream has always been to spend my life helping children, being able to share my experiences with all of you really completes that vision. My goal for this blog is to give my readers an inside-out look of what we do here at JM&A and to really share in the experiences of the kids, their challenges, and their amazing progress.

For myself, looking at where we are now, I am amazed at the journey that brought us here. After I finished my under graduate degree at LA Tech in Pre-Professional Speech and Hearing Pathology in 1996, I moved directly into my Master of Communication Disorders at Louisiana State University’s Med Center. I began my career in the East Texas public school system in 1999 and immediately fell in love with working in the pediatric field. After the birth of my first child in 2001, I worked part time in Karnack, Texas until 2003 when I began working for a private clinic in Shreveport, LA. It was here that I truly found my niche and my calling.

Being able to work with children on a one-on-one basis was a refreshing revelation; I was able to accomplish so much with the children and their families. The desire to do more and to go futher led me to open my own speech therapy clinic in 2004. My employees and I worked in a collaborative way with children with disabilities like developmental delay, Autism, cerebral palsy, articulation/phonological disorders, and hearing impairment. In the fall of 2007, I had the opportunity to move my speech therapy practice to Bossier City, and the next two years we had expanded the services at Janey Macey and Associates to occupational and physical therapy. Recently, in March of 2011, we began offering Applied Behavior Analysis therapy which has gotten amazing results with the children.

It’s amazing to watch my dreams come true and expand. Our clinic has grown from its original 1000 square feet to 3500, with all of our services offered a single, convenient location in the Shreveport/Bossier area. We also serve families in Midnen, Haughton, Benton, and East Texas. I’m so proud of my staff and how hard we’ve all worked to build this company, to be able to help children from all kinds of backgrounds. I hope you’ll stay tuned for all that is to come, including inside looks at our therapies, tracking the progress of some of our kids, and learning about ways to make our community, city, and state more educated and tolerant regarding special needs children.

Recently a small group of ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) patients (and by small group, we mean two children and three therapists) were on a scheduled outing to see a movie and to eat at a favorite fast food restaurant. The patients, both autistic, enjoyed the movie very much, and were thrilled upon entering the restaurant afterwards.  One of the patients was a twelve-year-old boy who has only recently become verbal and has been in therapy for most of his life.  When he received his food, he became so excited that he began to squeal, which is the primary way he expresses happiness and delight.  Before long, however, the owner approached the group and told them that the boy could not behave that way in the restaurant.

The therapist tried to explain the situation, but the owner was adamant.  It’s unclear how much the boy understood about what was said, but it pains us to think that he may have felt any sort of shame or guilt about his behavior. The restaurant, one of the largest chains in the country, ultimately contacted us at Janey Macey to apologize, and to ask for guidance on how to better interact with autistic children.

Generally, children with special situations like vision or hearing impairment or Down’s Syndrome are typically accommodated at restaurants and local businesses.  But what about autism?  Perhaps the difficulty is that autism can “look” so many different ways that employees don’t know it when they see it.  Autism has also only recently become a “talked-about” issue, so many employees may be entirely unfamiliar with the disorder and its various presentations.  What can children, therapists, patients and business owners do ensure that autistic kids have good experiences in local businesses and restaurants?

1) EDUCATE YOURSELF!

We encourage parents, schools, and businesses to familiarize themselves with the symptoms of autism.  Statistics suggest that as many as one in every 110 children is born with some form of autism, making it likely that they will, at some point, come into your place of business!  We’d suggest that during the employee training process, employees are made familiar with common symptoms.  A simple graph like this should be included:

2) PRACTICE TOLERANCE!

Practicing tolerance of people different from ourselves is not only important for businesses, but for parents and other children.  Do not assume that the autistic person you’ve encountered does not understand when she or he is being treated unfairly or unkindly. Autistic children tend to be extremely observant, and deserve the same care and respect as any others.

3) BE PRACTICAL!

Parents and therapists of autistic children are likely extremely familiar with the limitations of their child.  Staying practical about the special needs of the child is essential.  While new environments and challenges are highly encouraged for autistic children, care givers know best what the child is prepared for.  If movies prove too much, start slowly with movies at home.  If the hustle and bustle of restaurants is overwhelming, try small quiet venues first before moving to more active locations.

As always, we believe that education and awareness of these challenges are the best way to enrich the children’s experience in daily life.  We are sorry that this child was placed in such a terrible situation, but happy that the restaurant saw the error of their ways and had a desire to be more accommodating.  Parents, are there any local businesses you’ve visited that accommodate and interact well with your autistic or special needs child?  Tell us about it!