When Mr. Chan discovered his daughter, Annie, was diagnosed with ASD, he immediately sought for various interventions as early as possible. Mrs. Chan recalled, “My husband told me that I would become occupied taking care of Annie. At first I didn’t understand it, but later I got what he meant. It was a tough journey for me and Annie in finding the most effective treatment. We have been to many centres, but not the best. I’m glad we have come to Autism Partnership (AP). The improvement she made every week is incredible.”
Below is an interview with Mrs. Chan, sharing a true story of how, by being positive and proactive, parents can make a remarkable change in their child’s life.
1. When was Annie diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
When Annie was at the age of three, her teacher suggested to arrange an assessment for her. Actually back when she was two, I already contacted Heep Hong Society for an assessment. Annie at that time was already very weak at emotional regulations, sustaining focus, and would throw tantrums from time to time. But the waiting time for Heep Hong Society was long and by the time they contacted me, her condition seemed to have improved, so I chose not to take any follow-up actions.At that time, her school teacher informed me that Annie’s emotion was very unstable at school. Her social skills could not keep up in class and her classmates refused to play with her. She was rejected by groups, which led to an unpleasant school life and eventually worsen her emotional regulations. Although Annie did not know how to express her feelings, she could certainly tell her classmates didn’t like her. She became very upset and she refused to go to school, and further exhibited more emotional problems. Her teacher even had to put her in the corner of the classroom so that she could stay calm.
The assessment that time confirmed she was diagnosed with ASD. I wasn’t too concerned about her academic results, but rather worried about her language and emotional management skills. It was a race against the clock and I paid extra attention to the treatments she was having. If there was no visible improvements, I would immediately search for another treatment, and that was why we have gone to so many therapy centres prior to coming to AP.
2. How did you hear about AP? Also, how long has she been receiving treatment at AP?
Annie has been receiving ABA treatment at AP for 9 months. Actually, Annie was referred to AP by her school teacher. At that time, Annie was already having some treatments from other centres and did have some improvements. However, the teacher said the improvement could be better and recommended us to find a more effective treatment to maximise her improvements. She then suggested that the 1 on 1 treatment from AP would be the best for her, and we gave it a try.
3. Which area has Annie improved the most after receiving treatment at AP?
I would say her emotional regulation and attention sustaining skills were most improved. In the past whenever she was rejected, had her mistakes pointed out, or had to face unexpected happenings, she would throw tantrums. She would bang her head against other objects, hit herself or others, or scream.After 2 weeks of training at AP, her emotional regulation has already improved. After 2 months, her attention skill has also improved and became more observant of her surroundings. Before, she paid no attention to her father nor her older sister, and would occasionally respond to me. Now she interacts with us, and even responds to strangers. There are still moments when she does not respond, but now I don’t need to constantly remind her to reply to others.
I remember there was a time I brought her to a zoo; that was 3 months after her training at AP. In our previous visits, she would just look at the animals in silence. But this time she was engaged, and was interested in her surroundings. She even commented on the happening around her spontaneously. Also, she was patient when queuing to look at the animals, unlike before she would have thrown a tantrum.
During these recent two months, I have further noticed that her interaction with her father. Unlike before where she would just give simple responses or request to have horseback riding, now she will initiate to play interactive games with him. There are also improvements in her interaction with her older sister. Before, she wouldn’t pay much attention to her sister, but now they can play together for more than an hour, and sometimes she even imitates her sister.
It was great to have such improvement in 1 on 1 situation, but I hope she could improve more in group learning settings. Sadly, her performance was usually less desired in group sessions. With this reason, I requested AP’s consultant, Kan Wong, to enrol Annie to Little Leaners, to better equip Annie for school.
So after 4 months of training at AP, she started the Little Learners group sessions. During these recent 2 months, she has become more competent in expressing her feelings, and we were having more conversations. Before, she had no interest in others and would only talk when being asked. It was incredible to see her improvement from these 9 months.
4.What are the changes after Annie has joined the Little Learners?
Her improvements in social skills and attention were huge since joining Little Learners. I’m delighted to see her enjoying playing and interacting with peers.In the past, she were being rejected too much by her schoolmates, and she had slight phobia in interacting with children around her age. During normal outings, she would never play with other children and had resistance just being physically close to them.
After having joined Little Learners, she is more willing to interact with others, and started to imitate others in play. Now when we go to the park, she plays along with other children. During classes, she also follows teacher’s instructions, and can finish her classroom tasks independently. Compared to 1 on 1 training, there are more distractions in a group setting, but still she is able to perform well.
5. What are the differences of training between AP and other centres?
AP provides tailored 1 to 1 treatments to meet each child’s specific needs, which makes the treatment effective. Whereas a lot of other centres focus on academics training, but fail to realise the crucial areas that these children have to improve on.In Annie’s case, other centres focus on short-term or on-the-spot emotional management, there’s no detailed plan in improving her emotional regulation. When we came to AP, Kan developed a strategic plan for Annie, and only took one to two months to reduce the number of her temper tantrums. AP also focuses on skills and behaviours that facilitate more effective learning, e.g. proactive responding, attention, emotional regulation, etc. AP also targets the root cause of issues when coming up with the tailor-made plans.
6. What you would like to say to the teachers at AP?
I’m really grateful to the teachers at AP. They spend a lot of time and effort to teach Annie. I have to especially thank Kan, for her efforts and care. I used to have my doubts on the various treatments, and even when Annie was having training, I would be at home looking up other ways of methods to help her. However, after having witnessed her improvements, I learned to let go and have Kan to lead the path.A heartfelt thanks to all the teachers who have helped her, and I hope that Annie will adapt well when she returns school again.
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Learn more about our ABA Services[:zh]家長如何以正面的態度面對小孩的不同，和小孩一起面對問題，從而選擇有效治療，對患有自閉症的孩童追趕黃金時期是非常關鍵的。
陳先生一發現Annie的特殊需要時，就立刻為女兒尋找不同訓練方法。陳太笑道：「我先生這時已預告我，我將會很忙，但我心想不知有甚麼好忙。但後來發現要不停找有效的治療是不容易。我們轉過不少中心，但很開心Annie在Autism Partnership(AP) 有這樣的進步…我每星期都見到她的改進。」
以下的專訪真實地展示出父母的積極正面，對子女的成長有正面的影響。
1. Annie 何時被確診患有自閉症(ASD)？
大約在Annie 3歲時，老師提議我帶她做一份評估。在2歲時，我也和協康聯絡過讓她做評估，因為當時她的情緒很不穏定，不時發脾氣，而且專注力不足，不過因為排期時間較長，當協康再聯絡我時，她的情況好轉了。所以，我沒有帶她到協康跟進。後來，老師留意到她的情緒不穩定，就讓我了解情況。她在學校因社交技巧跟不上同班的同學，同學們也不願和她一起玩耍，不論她參與任何的小組都被拒絕，在學校生活不快樂，以致當時的她更加不能控制情緒。她雖然不懂表達，但她能感受別人是否喜歡她。她每天回校上課都有很多情緒，也不願意回學校。她的情況越來越嚴重，老師甚至要她坐在課室的一角不參與課堂，以防她情緒大鬧。
就在那次的評估她被確診患有自閉症，當時我不太擔心她的學校成績，我反而比較想改善她的語言和情緒表達。我明白她的情況是要和時間競賽，所以我很留意那些治療是否有成效。如果沒甚麼成效，我會立刻為她尋找其他治療，所以在入讀AP 之前我們都報讀過不同的治療中心。
2. 你如何得知AP 的治療服務？ 以及她已在AP接受治療多久？
Annie在AP已接受9 個月的一對一ABA治療。最初是Annie學校的老師轉介我們到AP接受治療。 當時Annie在其他中心治療也有進步，不過老師覺得她的能力是不錯的，若能接受更合適的治療，她的進步會更多。而她覺得AP的一對一治療很適合Annie，所以我便大膽一試。3. 在AP 接受治療，你覺得她在哪一方面的進步得最顯著？
我覺得她的情緒和專注力的進步最為顯著。以前當別人拒絕她或指出她的錯誤，以及有些事情在她預期之外發生，她會用頭來撞物件，打自己或撞別人的身體，甚至尖叫。她在AP接受約2星期的治療後，她的情緒就有改善，而2個月後她的注專力和對四周環境及人物的觀察力得到提升。以前她不理會爸爸和姊姊，和我也只有一半的回應率，但現在她會和家人互動，甚至不熟悉的人和她說話她也會回應。雖然不是每次都會回應，但至少她會自覺地回答，不用我經常提醒她要回應別人。
我還記得在她接受AP治療的3個月後，我帶她到動物園，以前她只會看動物不作聲，但那次她對四周的事物都感興趣，也會主動對四周發生的事物說出意見，而且她在等待看動物時，比從前有耐性，一點脾氣也沒有。
在近這兩個月，我更留意到她和爸爸的互動，除了簡單的回應或要求爸爸扮馬仔讓她騎上，她更會和爸爸玩一些互動遊戲。而與姊姊的互動更有明顯進步，她以前不太理會姊姊，現在兩姊妹能一起玩耍超過一小時，她更會模仿姊姊。
另外，我想她在小組學習得到進步，雖然她在一對一的表現有不錯的進步，但她在其他中心的小組訓練時，表現就比較遜色，所以我和AP顧問 — Kan 都希望她加入Little Learners ，爲學校學習作好準備。
她在AP接受一對一治療約4個多月後，她便加入了Little Learners小班學習。在這兩個月，她更能表達自己的感受，我們和她多了交談。之前她只能一問一答地回應，沒有好奇心去發問。真的很高興見到她的進步。
4. 你可以分享Annie上了Little Learners後的改變嗎?
我覺得她在Little Learners最大的改善是社交和專注力。我最高興的是自從她參加小組訓練後，她能享受和小朋友玩耍和互動。以前，因為她在學校被小朋友拒絕太多，所以她很害怕，也抗拒和小朋友接觸。我們和她出外郊遊時，她不會跟其他小朋友玩，和小朋友一起也會感覺很緊張，會亂說話。
自從她加入了Little Learners，她願意和小朋友有更多的接觸，更在玩耍中學會了模仿小孩子。我和她去公園時，她會跟著其他小朋友一起遊玩。她在課堂時，能聽從老師較長的指令，也能獨立地完成課堂活動，相比一對一的訓練，小組中有較多令人分心的事物，但她的表現都不錯。
5. AP與其他的治療中心在訓練上有什麼不同？
AP的一對一服務策略很個人化，針對小孩子的個別需要，所以很有成效。其他的中心都會為迎合家長而著重學校的知識訓練，而忽略了孩子真正需要改進的地方和範疇。以Annie爲例，其他的中心只是短暫或即時處理她的情緒問題，沒有詳盡的計劃訓練她管理情緒。直到加入AP，Kan為Annie計劃了一些詳盡的訓練策略，用了一兩個月的時間改善了她發脾氣的問題。AP也著重改善孩童能促進有效學習的技巧和行為，例如主動回應、專注力及情緒管理等，這些重要的技巧影響各方面的學習進度。同時，AP會為小孩子度身訂造計劃，針對問題的癥結再逐步解決。
6.你有甚麽想對AP的老師說？
我真的很感謝AP的老師，每位老師都很用心教導Annie。我要特別謝謝Kan，她真是很用心和著緊Annie的進步。我從前是不能放心和不會相信某治療方法或方式，即使Annie在進行訓練，我也會在家搜尋不同的方法去訓練她。後來我看見她的進步，就學會放手交給Kan去訓練她了。真很感謝幫助過她的老師，希望將來Annie會適應學校生活。
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