The following link shows an ABC Medical Mysteries discussion of Carly,
a severely autistic girl who has a communications breakthrough at age 11.
Carly, a twin, was pronounced severely autistic and mentally deficient as a young child. Her father explains that learning that Carly would only achieve the developmental abilities of a 6 year old was like "getting kicked in the gut." Carly had delays in sitting and walking and doctors told her parents that early intervention would be critical. Despite thousands of hours of therapy, Carly made very slow progress. Friends and family suggested that Carly's parents put her in a group home but Carly's father could not accept that option. Psychologists continued to classify Carly as autistic and mentally deficient. Despite the innate intelligence her parents saw in Carly's eyes, she continued to have tantrums and periods of ceaseless movement and rocking.
Then, at age 11, Carly used an IPad to type "hurt" then "help." Her parents, teachers, and doctors had no idea that she could communicate by writing or any idea about what she had been feeling. After her initial breakthrough, she resisted writing until her teachers and parents made her "work for it." Ultimately, she learned that communication gave her power over her environment. Without the IPad, Carly was locked into her own world. She eventually explained that no one knows what it feels like to be her and that people assume she is dumb because she can't talk. Carly wrote that people need to know her before they judge her and that she sees herself as a normal child trapped in her body.
Carly's parents were very upset to realize that for many years they had talked about Carly in front of her. They asked her why she bangs her head and rocked and she is now able to communicate to them that her brain is overwhelmed by senses and banging and rocking help her to "put out the fire" of too many images to process. Her Ipad enabled her to share that she often feels like her body will "explode."
Carly's parents have stopped looking at her as disabled and Carly now has an internet blog and is writing a novel. Carly's message that if people never give up, their inner voice will find its way out highlights the absolute necessity of all people to communicate. Clearly, for Carly, use of an IPad to communicate has been life-changing.
This video touched me very much. I found my self emotional when she could not communicate and then crying of happy tears when she was finally able to communicate. Putting myself in her shoes makes me really think about a lot of the students that I work with. The struggles that these students go through are terrible. Listening to her father talk about the fact that they used to talk in front of her as if she couldn't hear and understand really made me think. I know a lot of teachers and parents that do this and I believe they all need to watch this video! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
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