Meet Jackson, age six.  As you can see, Jackson loves to swing.

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!