Autistic Father of Autistic Non-Speaker Speaks on Parenting and ABA | Full Video 

The entire family is the wholesome approach to autism that seems lacking in professional treatment.

I want to add that some of the feedback from my son, as a nonspeaker is: any therapies applied to nonspeakers should take into account the delicate nervous system, the unreliable sensory feedback (too extreme/not enough/or confusing), plus the motor differences. So, for example, if a nonspeaking autistic individual is exposed to extreme repetition of a task, motor pathways become deeply embedded, and it beomes nearly impossible to suppress this particular action later in life--actually, it prevents what people refer to as "generalization", because the first (repetitively trained) motor response becomes "stuck". Further, when immediate prompting occurs following a command, the autistic individual is denied the TIME required to make their own, authentic response. Due to movement differences, initiation and motor planning can delay an authentic response. Really, non-autistic children are allowed time to respond. They're allowed to reason through ideas, and make mistakes--and this is part of the way people develop naturally. Autistics also need this time and space (OR even more time, actually). Another issue is believing that nonspeaking autistics don't really understand the world--or only understand at the level they can communicate. Not typically true, and harmful. When people presume that nonspeakers are picking up information from their environment (in their unique way), they will naturally provide more appropriate (higher level usually) learning opportunities. These are just a couple of ideas, there are many more, but they should be considered when attempting to intervene and teach a nonspeaking autistic person.

Hi, I'd appreciate your thoughts if you have time. Based on your experience, do you think it would be better to assume they do understand everything and teach things that are normal for that age? Perhaps with more time allowed for learning, but things that would be age appropriate for a neurotypical child. My kids are only 3.5 and 2 years old, so i'm considering things such as, when do I toilet train? For some context, they are non-verbal and can do their own version of the sign for 'more' and my older child can also do his own version of the sign for 'different'. I don't know whether to try and move them forward faster or just wait for them to develop more communication skills first and then teach other skills. I'm really interested in advice from people who have already experienced raising autistic kids, but also I understand that everyone is different so our journey will be somewhat different too.