Spectrum Perspectives

Jenny & Adam- 33 year old Non-Verbal man learns to communicate with RPM- Part 1

Jenny is a single mom from Wisconsin raising her son Adam where they live with her parents. She talks about when he was diagnosed over 30 years ago, and what types of programs they had available for him back then, what he's doing now, and how having a child with Autism contributed to her divorce. Jenny is the first person that I every heard talk about RPM- The Rapid Prompting Method, that she began to use with Adam, and for the first time in 33 years he was able to communicate. Watch the video on YouTube to see her use this method with Adam. Our channel is called "Robbie's World". 

Marcela Lobato-Called police 2x a day- Part 2

Marcela talks about her son having behaviors in school, come to find out that his aide was purposely tripping him. As his behaviors increased at home she couldn’t defend herself as a single mom and frequently had to call the police, but she shares her concerns about how he could potentially be treated by police if they were untrained in how to deal with people with Autism. He is now in a crisis facility in South Carolina, but his mom says the day he left part of her died.

Marcela Lobato-Called police 2x a day- Part 1

Marcela is the mom of three children and both her boys are on the Autism Spectrum. When her first son was diagnosed the doctors told her “Don’t hug him or kiss him. He doesn’t like being touched, so just leave him be.” They also said “He will never talk, he’ll never say ‘I love you’ and he will never be independent.” She put both boys into an Autism Center in Ohio that was paid for by the ARC. She talks about how her son Owen liked to elope and had aggressive and destructive behavior, while Lucas had self-injurious behavior. Eventually her marriage dissolved and she got divorced. Over time, Owen’s behaviors got so bad they police were called to her house twice a day!

Dana Walker- The other side of the IEP table- Part 2

After a trip to the hospital for behavior they discovered that Dana’s son brady had what would become many episodes of Strep Throat, he was eventually diagnosed with PANDA Disease, and irritable bowl disease. After fighting for 5 years to get him into private school, after the hospital stay, her insurance company finally agreed to pay for him to go to private school. During the lockdown she hired respite care, but eventually he was hospitalized again, along with a lot of other Autistic kids that were having breakdowns due to the change in their routines. As her son approaches turning 18 she is looking at getting an advocate to help with the process of obtaining guardianship and planning for his future. She has plans to get a doctorate in law herself because her ultimate goal is to become an educational advocate to help other families navigate the system.

Dana Walker- The other side of the IEP table- Part 1

After going through In-Vitro and premature labor, Dana’s son Brady (now 16), was born with “Stridor”, a disruption in the nerve function in the vocal cords. As a young boy he required Feeding therapy had trouble gaining weight, and they had a lot of visits to the hospital. At 18 months old, after a high fever lasting for 3 days, he stopped talking and she says “they lost him”. When he entered school, Dana, who works at the public school as an educational diagnostician for hearing impaired children, now found herself sitting at the other side of the table discussing her own son’s IEP (Individual Education Plan). She was not getting what she felt she needed for her son, so she had to hire an attorney. In 4th grade he became very aggressive and was injuring himself, so he ended up in the hospital ER covered in blood. She is currently on the Autism Family Guidance Committee at Texas Children’s Hospital and we discuss the year long wait to get children evaluated and diagnosed.

Becky Large-Autism Friendly Vacations in Myrtle Beach, SC

Autism Families are you looking for a safe place to take your family on Vacation? Becky is the founder of the Champion Autism Network in Surf Side Beach, just south of Myrtle Beach, SC. They have worked on creating an Autism friendly environment for families to go on vacation by training restaurant and hotel employees and first responders about Autism. Vacationers will get a CAN card that offers discounts and a judgement free zone. She also creates public service announcements to make local people aware of what Autism looks like too.

Ben Levin-"My Autism is a blessing, not a curse"

Ben Levin is a 19 year old Author with Autism. When he was in school his parents and teachers tried to "cure" his Autism. But Ben says now that it was damaging to his self-esteem. He felt having Autism made him “less human”, so he began to pretend that he wasn’t Autistic and told everyone that he was cured. Later he decided to accept his Autism and who he is, and now tells people his Autism is “Not a curse, but a gift.”

Candice Duggar- Bullied, Broken, Redeemed- Part 2

As we wrap up Bullying Prevention month I interviewed an expert on the subject. Candice's sons are now being homeschooled after being bullied and are thriving at home. They both have written their own books, are running businesses and learning at a college aged level. She is now helping other families to cope with bullying. 

Candice Duggar- Bullied, Broken, Redeemed- Part 1

Candice's oldest son was bullied in school to the point that he tried to commit suicide. Then her younger son, who has Autism, was also bullied. As a result she began to homeschool them both and now has a ministry called "Bullied, Broken, Redeemed" where she helps families and travels the country doing public speaking engagements talking about bullying prevention. 

Darya Jones- Autistic Woman is now fluent in sarcasm

Darya is a young woman with Autism. She describes growing up having awkward social skills, trouble making friends and having to learn what humor and sarcasm were. She talks about how she annoyed people because whatever she was obsesses with was the only thing she would talk about. Now as an adult she has learned how to read social cues, understand humor, and says she is now fluent in sarcasm!