Generalization

As you may or may not know, generalization is a big thing when working with children with autism.  It seems that they can learn something in one context but the minute that the situation is changed (environment, time of day, etc...) they seem to forget the learning.  This is one reason that I wanted to work with Mark and then have Mr. Dan work with Mark so that he would get used to working with more than one person.  I also went into the school and spoke with Mark's para and teacher and encouraged them to also work on typing with Mark.  The more the better!

Yesterday, I got this email from one of Mark's therapists at his school:

"Mark did a great job typing today. He smiled frequently and was quite fun to work with. I gave him a choice of pictures to type about (2-3 at at time,) then encouraged a sentence out of him. In the past, I have usually written down his words and then covered up the ones I knew he knew how to spell.  The last couple sessions, I have been having him type from my just repeating his sentence.  We sounded out words he did not know and occasionally I would write down a word.  
Some words he spelled independently today were:
 pig
 man
 ride
 bike
 yellow
 
 As a reward for each sentence, he gets a fruit chew, but he has to type which color he wants, such as "I want blue."  He was a great sport and smiled often.  He typed four sentences about pictures and five "I want..." sentences.

I really think all your hard work is being generalized. His speech also continues to be much clearer. Today he kept saying "assignment" and "baby," just trying the words out, I suppose."

This really did bring tears of joy to my eyes...so happy that Mark is making great progress and I am working to make sure he continues...

I (Denise) will be out of town for a few days so there will not be any posts for a while.  I am going to Oklahoma City to the Self Advocates Becoming Empowered convention.  I am going as a support person for a young lady that wants to learn more about being an advocate.  I am hoping to learn a lot myself and will bring back any relevant information.

 If you are thinking about teaching your child to type for communication, I encourage you to just do it!  Start now...you will not regret it!