Hi there, I'm Dola Akinola and I'm the mother of a vibrant, energetic and loving boy called Isaac. On Isaac's second birthday the Health Visitor mentioned that his fussy eating and sleep issues were symptoms of Autism so I spoke with his nursery teacher to hear her thoughts. The nursery worker told me that Isaac made good eye contact so she didn't think that he was Autistic. I was a fussy eater as a child and I also had sleep issues so I didn't give the Health Visitor's comments too much thought.
Isaac had a speech delay and he would engage in self-injurious behaviour such as head banging. Water was calming for him so he enjoyed going to the beach, having warm baths and swimming. Isaac's nursery referred him to a speech therapist on 18th July 2019 and I was told that there would be a four month wait. We had the first speech therapy session in October 2019 and the speech therapist informed me that I will be responsible for implementing the speech therapy. The speech therapy sessions consisted of the speech therapist teaching me how to encourage Isaac to talk.
Isaac would sometimes repeat words that I said and the speech therapist told me that it could be echolalia which is a symptom of Autism. I was eager to learn more about Autism so I completed an online Autism Spectrum Disorder course offered through Coursera. After taking the course I realised that Isaac did indeed have symptoms of Autism. The course emphasised the importance of early intervention so I took Isaac to our doctor and he was referred to an Autism specialist in January 2020. After a number of assessments Isaac was diagnosed with Autism in September 2020.
As a Christian I believe that God created everyone for a reason so I don't think that Autism needs to be cured. Nonetheless, I do believe in using interventions to help Autistic children to overcome some of the challenging aspects of their condition. In April 2015, the National Autism Centre published a report which discusses many of the interventions available. The report can be downloaded from the National Autism Centre's site.
Autism is a spectrum condition so not everyone will have the same symptoms. Even when children do have the same symptoms what works for one child may not work for another. When Isaac was 38 months old I started teaching him to roller skate which improved his confidence helping him to talk more. A few months later in July 2020 we started the ‘Time for Two’ intervention to support Isaac's social communication skills. The speech therapist suggested that Isaac didn't get his oxytocin and dopamine from social interaction and advised me to make adult led activities highly motivating for him. I took Isaac to a picnic and one of my friends lifted him up and started swinging him around. Isaac had never met her before but he kept going up to her so she could swing him around again. I discussed this with the speech therapist and we agreed that I should use the swinging activity to encourage Isaac's speech and communication further. Isaac now talks to me all the time so I have started to offer free e-consulting services to other parents.
Isaac has a number of sensory issues and he displays vestibular seeking behaviour such as hanging upside down from furniture. I have found that lifting him up and holding him upside down for a few seconds helps with his symptoms. Being able to play lifting and swinging games has helped with Isaac's symptoms immensely. I decided to qualify as an Advanced Sports and Exercise Nutritional Advisor so I can provide exercise nutrition advice to parents and carers who might benefit from strength training.
