Our Intervention Team, Part 1

The members of my family are all American citizens. When well-meaning people find out about this, I am often asked, "shouldn't you move back to the US since they have the latest developments on autism intervention?" For the last 4 years since our diagnosis, I've debated this in my head repeatedly. And all those times I thought about it, the answer was always "no."

His speech delay and lack of engagement were the reasons
why we felt there was something wrong with Ton at age 2.

When my world crashed in 2009 due to the diagnosis, it was a struggle to find help. Before you could see a developmental pediatrician, you had to wait a minimum of six months. For occupational therapists (OTs), only the fresh graduates were available. If you need speech therapy for your child, you would have to wait six months or more (maybe forever). I was repeatedly turned away or ignored when I called therapy centers. There were some that were accommodating but they usually did not have a good pool of therapists. 

I got an OT within a week. In a month, I was able to find a speech therapist. I was so grateful to start the healing process that I jumped on any slot available. Ton's first OT was the sweetest woman. Teacher Rhodz was patient, kind and a supportive ally to a newcomer like me. For a whole year she worked with him on typical OT tasks- fine motor table top work and gross motor floor exercises. It was a wonderful first step but she was not able to address his behavioral issues. He remained hyperactive and distracted.

The family (minus Dad and Kuya Paolo) with
Teacher Rhodz (leftmost) in 2010

The first speech therapist, on the other hand, was unforgettable. A fresh graduate (most speech therapists leave the country as soon as they get their diplomas), she handled Ton like a case from her textbooks. She knew nothing about handling actual autistic children so she was never sensitive to his sensorial issues. In a room full of screaming special needs kids she would work with him. My little Ton would cry and ignore her and she would scream and shout at him to get his attention.  Let's just say our relationship with her was short-lived.

I researched again and called other centers. I finally got into a center in Makati. They had slots for OT, Speech, even SPEd (special education). I was the luckiest mom! All Ton's therapies in one center! How convenient! So we filled his week with therapists. At his busiest, he was there 4 times a week. 2 OTs, 3 Speech, 1 SPEd. For two years we stayed with them but, still, Ton's behavioral issues were not addressed and his speech was not progressing as fast as I hoped. So I kept looking. I also did not stop researching and working with Ton at home (see future post).

In 2010, I called the Neurodevelopment center of St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) in Quezon City (http://www.stluke.com.ph/aboutus/centers/16)  ready to be turned away. The big, highly-acclaimed centers already did, so what could be new with SLMC QC? They had no slots for any of the therapists I needed (not a surprise) but- they could schedule Ton for an evaluation while waiting for availability. I jumped on the chance. I was restless with the Makati center so I figured that I should just put my foot in the door and wait. 

He was first evaluated by Jerilee Casas (Teacher Jeri), a speech pathologist who pioneered the PROMPT method in the Philippines. Though I was not sure it was a right fit for Ton (It is my understanding that PROMPT is usually used for speech problems due to anatomical defects) I thought, "why not? There's nothing to lose." That was the best decision I ever made with Ton's therapies.

Teacher Jerilee Casas
(Source: www.promptinstitute.com)

While discussing Ton's evaluation results, I never assumed that a slot with Jeri would be possible in the near future. But during our talk, I begged her to help us find a speech therapist (if not her). She promised that she would see what she could do with her schedule so she could work with Ton; and she kept her promise. Whenever a patient of hers would be absent, she would call me the day before (sometimes even the morning of the day itself) to ask if we could come in. Most of the time we did; dropping everything else- school, other therapy schedules (in the Makati center), everyone else's lives, just to get to her. Driving from Paranaque to Quezon City was no laughing matter but we did our best to show up whenever she called. And after a year and a half of this we were rewarded. 

Teacher Jeri opened up her own therapy center in Tomas Morato called Thinkids (of course we still had to live with the distance) and we finally got a regular weekly slot. And this was when Ton's speech began improving. Jeri did not focus on the usual exercises that speech therapists use (flashcards, software, memorization of responses). She looked at each individual patient and assessed the real needs. For Ton it was obviously brain processing. 

In the Makati center, the speech therapist would teach Ton memorized responses to questions and he became good at it though it was far from functional (in fact, it was often useless). Jeri used play to engage Ton. She modified play routines so that he would learn how to develop functional speech. I would see them play board games, work on puzzles together, even preschool toys. Ton loved working with her because it was not "forced." I loved that Ton worked with Jeri because she cared about him and sincerely wanted him to get better. 

We've been with Jeri for two years now at her center. As soon as we got our weekly slot in Thinkids, we gave up the Makati speech therapist. Ton has since learned to process questions before answering. He has learned basic communication skills like taking turns and nonverbal communication cues (like facial expressions that mean someone is waiting for a response). We have overcome many hurdles but are faced with many others. 

Still not much of a talker but Ton has been starting to make
friends and understand social communication and norms.

I'm not as scared anymore, though. Jeri is now part of our family. The years with her have shown her commitment to seeing Ton to better days. But more than that, they have shown her love for my son. (Thanks, Jeri!)

I would never trade that for the latest autism interventions in the US. :)

(to be continued...)


Therapeutic intervention for kids, inc (THINKids)
5 Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City
+639277234769