A mother calls to her child but he doesn't answer. He doesn't look or even acknowledge her presence. She walks over to hug him only to have her son run away and flap his hands. This is the reality for so many parents with an autistic child. A child with autism does not understand or seem to want to be part of our world.
The National Academy of Sciences recommends 25 hours of intensive (1:1 or1:2) therapy per week. This ends up costing the family anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000 each year; most of which is not covered by insurance. The reality of the cost of therapy is a further devastation for parents with children on the autistic spectrum.
Thankfully, a promising new therapy is now available. The P.L.A.Y. Project, (Play and Language for Autistic Youngsters) available through Suzanne Tredo of Teaching U, LLC, [http://teachingu.net/] </a href> in St. Petersburg, Florida, offers parents hope and help they can afford. PLAY was designed as an affordable, early intervention (birth - 6 years), research based option for families with young children affected by autism. It was developed by Dr. Rick Solomon as a practical, family-friendly application of renowned child psychiatrist Dr. Stanley Greenspan's Developmental, Individual-differences, Relationship-based (DIR) framework, popularly known as Floortime.
The brain of the child with autism develops differently than the brain of a typically developing child. As a result, the child with autism interprets our environment differently and responds to the environment differently. The child with autism is trying to communicate but does not understand us, and we don't understand him. It's as if we are side by side living in two different worlds.
Using The P.L.A.Y. Project, Suzanne Tredo meets with a family and child and coaches the parents to recognize their child's unique cues and help him understand our cues. She helps the family to understand their child's individual sensory motor profile and his functional developmental level. Tredo films portions of each session. After the session is complete she reviews the film and provides written and video feedback to the families; helping them to even better recognize their child's cues. Parents begin to relate to their children differently, in a way their children can understand and feel comfortable. Then the child can reach out to them with more ease. PLAY is a relationship building model of intervention. Some parents have never received a hug from their child, never gotten a smile, or connected with a simple glance. PLAY teaches the parents to be the best play partner so the child wants to be with them. It fundamentally affects how the child sees the world and interacts with it. The family and the child are no longer standing side by side in two different worlds but living together in one.
Through The P.L.A.Y Project, the parents learn to be the primary therapist. Therapy is worked into everyday life. Dinner time, bath time, bed time all become therapy time. Traditionally, mom or dad's role ends at the therapist's door, but it is the parents who know their child best and want the relationship with their child. PLAY helps life become therapy rather than therapy becoming life.
Since the parents provide most of the hours of intensive intervention, The P.L.A.Y. Project can be offered at a cost that is affordable for many families. As the families continue with The P.L.A.Y. Project, the cost reduces as they need less outside intervention; allowing therapy to continue for years at little or no cost to them. This model was designed to give parents the tools they need to become the child's best play partner and therapist allowing the family to connect and build relationships.
Learn more about the P.L.A.Y. Project in St. Petersburg, FL at http://teachingu.net/