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Date Posted: Fri, Apr 02, 07:01:09am
Author: cheryl
Subject: Hurtful Recovery by Gary Mayerson

I first read this on the Me-List....there was a heated discussion about recovery and even some not very nice comments by a few but this was really great ....

COMMENTARY

Hurtful Recovery
By Gary Mayerson

Gary Mayerson is a special education attorney in the New York area who
launched his own law firm in order to create a practice dedicated to
representing children and adolescents diagnosed with autistic spectrum
disorders and other disabilities. This was originally published on the
ME-List, which is dedicated towards the support of parents running home or
school behavioral (ABA) programs.

It is disappointing and most unhelpful to see hurtful words being
exchanged about the topic of "recovery."
To date, my staff and I have now represented hundreds of children who
have been diagnosed with one variant or another of an autism spectrum
disorder.
Some of our clients are no longer clients, having been completely
"declassified."
That is cause for celebration. A much larger group of our clients are
not declassified, but after several years of intensive and quality
interventions (virtually always including 1:1 ABA as the "anchor"), they are
enjoying good and sometimes extraordinary success in either mainstream or
integrated educational settings. That too is cause for celebration, and I
should point out that many of the children in this group started out with
very significant behaviors and impaired presentments. The next group are
children who are not yet in mainstream or integrated settings, but who are
making good and meaningful progress and can look forward in the future to
less restrictive settings. That too is cause for celebration. The next
group are children whose gains are very slow in coming.
Sometimes it takes a year or longer to get a toileting program under
control, or to learn to dress and undress independently. But when that
happens, or when a child without any language learns to say or understand a
word or concept, that too is cause for celebration. It also is cause for
celebration when a child who is demonstrably "non-verbal" is able to acquire
a functional system of communication, whether by augmentive communication
device or otherwise.
Finally, at the polar end of our client base, we have a small handful
of adolescents whose behaviors and functioning is at a point where the only
appropriate placement is a residential setting. I cannot say that there
ever is a "celebration" when someone's child has to go into a residential
setting, even temporarily, but it is a tremendous relief for all concerned
when a child with such intensive needs is placed in a quality residential
setting.
I tell my staff that recovery or cure is not our litmus test for
success and failure. When I think of the word "recovery," I think of
recovery of function, not as a simplistic cure-all. The process and pace of
recovering function is different for each and every child. Children who are
diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders need to be re-built brick by brick.
Sometimes, the bricks are flying, and sometimes, laying one brick on
the day or week in question can be excruciating. A lot depends on the child,
but a lot also depends on the quality, intensity and consistency of the
child's program. Since parents are an integral part of any child's program
and progress, it is a given that the parents' efforts are part of the
equation. This is NOT to say, however, that any parent should be "blamed" if
their child does not achieve functional recovery any more than a parent
should be blamed if their child does not get into an Ivy League school.
There are so many factors and dynamics, and parenting is only one component.
For me, the only "failure" is when we have or allow low expectations,
or when someone with the power to do so "gives up" on a child. We didn't
know any better 20 or 30 years ago, but there is no excuse for that kind of
behavior now.
Parents of children with autism have enough on their plate without
passing judgment on the quality of another parent's parenting, or the extent
to which they surmise that parenting has anything to do with the pace or
quality of their child's recovery of function.
********************

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>I first read this on the Me-List....there was a heated >discussion about recovery and even some not very nice >comments by a few but this was really great .... > >COMMENTARY > >Hurtful Recovery >By Gary Mayerson > > > Gary Mayerson is a special education attorney in >the New York area who >launched his own law firm in order to create a >practice dedicated to >representing children and adolescents diagnosed with >autistic spectrum >disorders and other disabilities. This was originally >published on the >ME-List, which is dedicated towards the support of >parents running home or >school behavioral (ABA) programs. > > > It is disappointing and most unhelpful to see >hurtful words being >exchanged about the topic of "recovery." > To date, my staff and I have now represented >hundreds of children who >have been diagnosed with one variant or another of an >autism spectrum >disorder. > Some of our clients are no longer clients, >having been completely >"declassified." > That is cause for celebration. A much larger >group of our clients are >not declassified, but after several years of intensive >and quality >interventions (virtually always including 1:1 ABA as >the "anchor"), they are >enjoying good and sometimes extraordinary success in >either mainstream or >integrated educational settings. That too is cause >for celebration, and I >should point out that many of the children in this >group started out with >very significant behaviors and impaired presentments. >The next group are >children who are not yet in mainstream or integrated >settings, but who are >making good and meaningful progress and can look >forward in the future to >less restrictive settings. That too is cause for >celebration. The next >group are children whose gains are very slow in coming. > Sometimes it takes a year or longer to get a >toileting program under >control, or to learn to dress and undress >independently. But when that >happens, or when a child without any language learns >to say or understand a >word or concept, that too is cause for celebration. >It also is cause for >celebration when a child who is demonstrably >"non-verbal" is able to acquire >a functional system of communication, whether by >augmentive communication >device or otherwise. > Finally, at the polar end of our client base, we >have a small handful >of adolescents whose behaviors and functioning is at a >point where the only >appropriate placement is a residential setting. I >cannot say that there >ever is a "celebration" when someone's child has to go >into a residential >setting, even temporarily, but it is a tremendous >relief for all concerned >when a child with such intensive needs is placed in a >quality residential >setting. > I tell my staff that recovery or cure is not our >litmus test for >success and failure. When I think of the word >"recovery," I think of >recovery of function, not as a simplistic cure-all. >The process and pace of >recovering function is different for each and every >child. Children who are >diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders need to be >re-built brick by brick. > Sometimes, the bricks are flying, and sometimes, >laying one brick on >the day or week in question can be excruciating. A lot >depends on the child, >but a lot also depends on the quality, intensity and >consistency of the >child's program. Since parents are an integral part >of any child's program >and progress, it is a given that the parents' efforts >are part of the >equation. This is NOT to say, however, that any parent >should be "blamed" if >their child does not achieve functional recovery any >more than a parent >should be blamed if their child does not get into an >Ivy League school. >There are so many factors and dynamics, and parenting >is only one component. > For me, the only "failure" is when we have or >allow low expectations, >or when someone with the power to do so "gives up" on >a child. We didn't >know any better 20 or 30 years ago, but there is no >excuse for that kind of >behavior now. > Parents of children with autism have enough on >their plate without >passing judgment on the quality of another parent's >parenting, or the extent >to which they surmise that parenting has anything to >do with the pace or >quality of their child's recovery of function. >********************
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