Danny, today, was exceptionally good. At his reading time, he showed a lot of interest, participating, following instructions, answering questions and even pointing with his index finger instead of using the whole hand, that was amazing !!!!
I believe that the adult autistic is able to continue learning if giving the opportunity, the right person, the right communication tools. Danny was always described as the one with the most potential. He looked so normal with bright eyes and even brighter smile. He was full of mischief, wherever set his eyes, his hands followed very quickly.
Caring good caregivers knew of his intelligence and respected him. In general, good staff respected each one of them and thought well of their unique potential. As I got to know the other autistic men I noticed their differences, big differences. To my delight and surprise I made a connection with a particular one.
Very specific in the last four years I saw their potential wasted. Staff became their guardians, the autistic were not allowed any freedoms. More exactly were sedated, so they wouldn’t make any demands on staff or were sedated under the misguided notion of "to protect them from themselves".
They decided to focus on the negatives like his head banging, we objected, head banging was drug-induced. There was no point to focus in the negatives. Good staff agreed with me, what was the point? Then on the use of "firm voice" I let that to be used, his sister objected to it, saying you are making his disability a disciplinary problem, I retracted it. I noticed that some used the "firm voice" to start to physically intimidating Danny. The excessive attention to his HB aggravated it, if he move a finger a staff would jump with "No,Danny". He was grabbed, tackled, for trivia, for moving and not just by one staff member but sometimes by two or even three and reported to his doctor as him being the aggressor. I saw that. The excessive physical response of staff to his tendency to run and hyperactivity created anxiety and nervousness and of course, made them uncontrollable. At the end he learned to lash out, blindly.
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