Spectrum Perspectives

Katie & Houston- Author of "The Book of Heaven" Part 1

Everything changed for Katie’s son Houston after he got what seemed to be a rash after his MMR as a baby. Later she found out it was not a rash, but he was actually ITP. (Listen to find out what that is!) Later he was asked to leave his pre-school due to his behaviors due to his Autism. Katie shares some funny “naked” stories about how Houston liked to elope, they day one neighbor found his pants in her basement and another neighbor found him swimming in their pool!
 

Tahni & Josiah- Author of "Josiah's Fire" Part 2

Using RPM to communicate, Josiah tells him mom that he often wakes up at 3:00 am and Angels take him to “school” in heaven! When he returns he wakes up his mom to type to her and begins to tell her the things and people he has seen in heaven, things she never told him about and he had no way of knowing. Listen to hear who and what he sees! Since writing her book “Josiah’s Fire” about all of this, she has heard from parents of other children who are having the same experiences. “Josiah’s Fire” by Tahni Cullen is available on Amazon.

Tahni & Josiah- Author of "Josiah's Fire" - Part 1

After taking Josiah to the doctor and being treated for a Double eye infection, within 3 weeks he was “gone”. They had “lost him”. The 40 words he had spoken, disappeared. Later he was diagnosed as “Severe, non-verbal” and was told he will probably never talk. Years later Tahni took Josiah to an RPM workshop where he began to learn to communicate. They trained her to continue the therapy and said he is an auditory learner, so “speak to him as though he is blind and explain his environment to him.” Later he began to type out full sentences, talking about amazing things like God, angels and a dead Aunt he had never met. It gets even better in part 2 so come back and join us!
 

Heidi Rome- Author of "You Just Have to Love Me"- Part 2

Heidi talks about placing Ethan in a facility out of state and a month before he left they had a conversation via facilitated communication where she asked him about how he felt about God and Hebrew school. He said "God is in my heart", talked about being in heaven before he came to earth and many other things. When she asked what her job was here on earth his answer to his mom was "You just have to love me". It was this conversation that prompted her to write her book "You Just Have to Love Me." Heidi now helps other parents navigate the world of raising a child with Autism with her business called "Spectrum Oasis".

Heidi Rome- Author of "You just have to love me". Part 1

Heidi is the author of the book "You Just Have To Love Me" about her journey with her Autistic son. In this episode she talks about Ethan's diagnosis and early education. He was in a school that only used ABA therapy, so they secretly took him to other therapies for speech and OT. She also tried many other alternative therapies to try to "cure" his Autism, as many other parents did at the time. She then got an attorney and got him placed in a new school that offered many different communication devices and Facilitated Communication became a game changer for Ethan. Listen to the episode to find out what things he talked about!

Jenny & Adam- 33 yr old Non-Verbal man learns to communicate with RPM- Part 2

Jenny talks about how their lives were completely changed when she found out about the Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) and Adam began to communicate for the first time in his 34 years of life. Watch the video on our YouTube channel, Robbie's World, to watch Adam use this method with his mom.

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.