Outlining Olivia

Brief Description of Olivia’s needs/problems at beginning:

• Olivia began at kicklighter in June of 2008.
• Very low functioning, Autistic, non-verbal, no adaptive functioning skills, socially distant, in a world of her own… frequently felt from my perspective that I could only watch Olivia, not participate with her. “glass box”. Little to no eye contact. Lots of screaming. Tantrums. Crying.
• Biting herself, pulling on others
• inability to self-feed
• Olivia was in need of someone/organization/education that could think outside of the typical “special needs box”.
• Needed a school that could understand Olivia, because she is not like other children with special needs.
• Hyperactive… couldn’t sit. Literally.
• So distracted, that she wouldn’t even sit in mom’s lap to read books. Would get up and run off to stimming activity.
• Impulsive… grabbing anything within reach, particularly food.
• Stimming… again, in “her own world.”….Banging blocks,Banging/hitting windows,Shredding paper
• Possessed NO play skills. I couldn’t even identify toys she liked or even bothered to touch.
• We, as a family, were lost with her. Didn’t know what to do, how to manage her, in fact that is exactly what I felt like a year ago, was that I was simply “managing” a helpless 9-month-old in a 4.5-year-old’s body.

Description of assistance provided:

• One-on-one ABA method of teaching.
• Understanding, teaching, molding of the individual from the level of the individual.
• Tailored education plan specifically addressing the needs of autistic children in general, AND at the individual level.
• Teaching Olivia by identifying her personal motivation, and using the tiniest amount of motivation as a reward for her accomplishments.
• Building skills through those motivating factors, and then using those motivating factors as rewards and accomplishments in and of themselves.
• Compassion for the idiosyncrasies that make Olivia, including some of the typical autistic behaviors…. Ex. Biting
• Incorporated a plan in her education plan for extinguishing the biting behavior.

• There literally is no other place in the community where an autistic child can receive both the direct one-on-one ABA style of teaching, in a setting where typically developing peers are also present during the day. This gives the best of both “worlds”. Olivia receives the intensive therapy in private, but is also incorporated at certain times during the day with her typical peers. We have discovered that as she has come out of her box, more and more, the presence of the other children is rewarding for her. (i.e. the lunch tray incident).

Express the difference made in Olivia’s life

• Within the first 4 weeks of attending kicklighter, Olivia stopped throwing incessant screaming tantrums.
• She developed 2-3 signs within that first period, and she showed a dramatic change from frustrated, absent, to smiling gazing, and making eye contact.
• I have a photo of her on her 5 birthday, which was approx 4 weeks after starting, where she is following my command for the sign “chip” and looking me directly in the eye.
• Self-stimming dramatically reduced
• Self control
• self feeding! with utensils!
• Biting has ceased. Including biting herself.
• On a personal level, I feel as though I have my little girl back. She is confident, happy, smiling, giggling, proud.
• The design of Olivia’s education plan at kicklighter is structured in a way that makes it accessible to the family, and the skills and methods used at kicklighter during the day are easily transferrable to the home environment.
• Thus meaning, life is easier for mom!

← a day after no potty accidents, a walk downtown to shop for shoes, then to McDonald’s where she successfully used toilet, and then I rewarded her with a sundae which she ate by herself.

• Skills she has mastered/acquired:
• Signing: chip, candy, drink, cookie, snack,
• Other communications: hitting door to go out,
• Eye contact
• Ability to sit at a table!
• Sitting at the table without grabbing items, including food
• Shape puzzles, shape sorters

• Dramatic change in eye-contact and interaction with other people. Olivia’s eye contact is one of the very first things that people, who have gone a while without seeing her, comment on.
• And that leads into her ability to maintain the eye contact and genuine interest in people when they are present. She follows their faces, smiles, giggles
• Following some simple commands, i.e. “olivia go sit down”, she sits in her chair prior to a meal. Carrying lunch tray to counter.
• Toileting!

• Developed true interest in toys… now actually has favorite toys
• Drums
• Keyboards
• Fisher Price Little people
• Music/ipod

• Confidence around other children.
  

  One of Olivia's happy little favorites

• Vocal sounds
• Sits in circle time with typical peers

All of the changes accomplished by Olivia since at kicklighter have made an impact on the entire family, and the ability for family members to interact with her… particularly her siblings and grandparents.

out to a restaurant to eat, with (single mom!) and siblings. Because: improved self control, ability to sit, follow mom’s verbal prompt to stay seated, ability to eat with utensils, also staying dry (no potty accidents).

• The compassion, love, dedication of the entire staff at kicklighter is a gift. They are a gift to all the children who attend kicklighter, typical and atypical. The staff know each child’s name, even the names of children not in their own classrooms. The energy, and enthusiasm exhibited by the staff and special instructors is inspiring.

• The enthusiasm, and encouragement, acceptance, and dedication of the teaching staff trickles down to the typical developing children too, and it is easily apparent the care, excitement, acceptance, and interest that the typical children possess