Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Auditory Integration Training
Contact Us
Complete
On-line AIT Checklist
by Wendy G., Parent of a 5 year old boy, Houston, Texas.
Reprinted
by permission. 06-02-2005.
 "Our
good news is that we just got Nicholas' report card. ALL of his
behavior areas were E - Excellent! I really don't think he would
have that, if not for Berard AIT.
His academic areas were also excellent, but I'm even more proud of his
behavior areas! The teacher even said the other day that she's had three
students tell her they want to be Nicholas' friend! Wow, I never
thought we'd get to this point for a while."
Our
son Nicholas had Berard AIT in June.
Nicholas turned 5 in March and began public school kindergarten this fall.
His diagnosis is Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), though other
possibilities have been discussed. (ADD, Asperger’s, PDD, hyperlexia).
Nicholas
has had a lot of Occupational Therapy, cranial
sacral work, and speech therapy (he’s now very verbal). We were so
concerned about school since being around individual children and groups
of children has been so hard for Nicholas. Though we’ve put a great deal
of effort into giving him a lot of experiences around children, he’s only
been comfortable around adults. In fact, he has been very much “at our
level”, reading board game directions, asking astute questions, etc. His
dad and I have often been both proud and concerned – especially given
the contrast between his cognitive and social/emotional development!
Before
Berard AIT, Nicholas became overwhelmed
and frustrated in noisy environments and often behaved poorly at social
gatherings and in play with others. He tried to escape from noisy
environments. He had a lot of difficulty self-calming. He didn’t enjoy
being around other children. When issues popped up, as they often did,
his demeanor changed and he became controlling, angry and had little self
control.
In
preschool, the teacher was concerned about his lack respect for authority,
insensitivity to others, fearfulness in new situations, and lack of interest
in making friends. She noted sensory integration challenges, and behavior/personality
issues and understood he needed to be more aware and to adjust better
to his environment. He began to act out in the fall and school was difficult
for the rest of the year. So it was with great care and trepidation
that we chose his new school. We thought we likely had a rocky road ahead!
Nicholas’
baby brother, Ethan, was born a week after Nicholas turned 5 in March
of 2005. This spring and summer I’ve taken care to see that Nicholas has
the structure that helps him – adequate naps, quiet time, home-school
and 1-1 play time with me, play group, etc. But his trying behavior has
really kept me on my toes! Since Berard
AIT in June we saw both gains and set backs at home before school
started. The difficult behavior was VERY trying. In moments has seemed
worse after Berard AIT. Since times
at home have not been easy, we were pretty stressed about how his first
kindergarten/elementary experience would go…and wondered how the tone
would be set for his future elementary years!
Our
good news is that we just got Nicholas' report card. ALL of his
behavior areas were E - Excellent! I really don't think he would
have that, if not for Berard AIT.
His
academic areas were also excellent, but I'm even more proud of his behavior
areas! The teacher even said the other day that she's had three students
tell her they want to be Nicholas' friend! Wow, I never thought
we'd get to this point for a while.
We had Nicholas' school
carnival today...also the social therapy, "Kids Club" before
the carnival. As you can imagine, the carnival was crazy, but Nicholas
did great! He stood in line like any kindergartner would. We went
into the school to look at some things they were raffling off and he did
really well.
Last year he and I went
to the carnival and we had to leave after about 30 minutes. (We stayed
2 1/2 hours this year.) And last year he could barely walk thru
the main hallway because of the crowd surrounding the raffling area --
this time NO problems! He was aware of the sounds but still
able to function. He put some tickets into the raffle items and even have
a conversation about it.
Another amazing thing
is how Nicholas did the day we evacuated from the Houston area for Hurricane
Rita. We were among the fortunate ones and our 5 hour trip took 13.5 hours.
He took it all in stride and was fine with the discomforts and the complete
unpredictability of the situation.
We're so proud of his
accomplishments and how he's learned how to manage new situations, to
make friends and cooperate socially with others and his teachers.
In a large public school setting is just amazing for a child with Sensory
Processing issues! We know that Berard
AIT is a significant piece of the puzzle that is helping to bring
it all together.
| 
