Interview conducted by:
Kelvin = Kelvin Ho (Senior Behavioral Therapist)
Interviewees:
Ivy = Ivy Chan (Case Supervisor) | Chirsty = Christy Lai (Case Supervisor)
1. We are delighted to see that Kimi has successfully enrolled to a mainstream school! Can you share with us how Kimi was when he first came to Autism Partnership (AP)?
Ivy:
Kimi demonstrated quite a lot of behavioral and learning-how-to-learn problems when he first received therapy. He would avoid work by pushing the chair away and throw a tantrum when the therapist announced that it was time to work.
Kimi had restricted interests, and we could only use transports as reinforcers. He had difficulties in expressing his thoughts and his articulation was difficult to comprehend. Kimi tended not to listen to instructions from others and he was inflexible about changes. For example, he would get frustrated when he had to have lesson with an unfamiliar therapist. That’s why we are glad to see the tremendous improvement he has made in social interests and in receptive instructions and tasks.
2. So what did you do to help Kimi?
Ivy:
His disruptive behaviors and learning how to learn issues were top priorities in his first month curriculum. It was upsetting for us to see how frustrated Kimi was when he wasn’t able to communicate his needs with us. Thus, we’ve conducted a lot of programs to improve his articulation and length of speech. We introduced programs such as verbal imitation, expressive labels as well as communication temptations to improve his spontaneous communication.
3. Have you ever been impressed by Kimi’s performance?
Ivy:
I am always amazed by Kimi’s creativity and he is always curious about the things and people around him. Initially, his limited exposure to different toys contributed to his restricted play interests. However, once a new toy has been introduced or once he discovered the joy of gameplay, he could spend hours playing with the toy.
Thus, it was not particularly challenging to expand his play interest with reinforcement development and we created many opportunities to expose him to a variety of toys, activities, and social games. I was also amazed by his effort in learning even when the tasks were difficult to him.
Christy:
I love Kimi’s generalization skills. There was one time we were teaching him how to show and share with peers, and the day after his mum told me that he had shared what he had made in AP. It truly was surprising as none of us expected that he could apply the skills so effortlessly.
4. Kimi would not have made it without the help of the therapists in AP. How did you get him prepared for school? What were his major improvements over the past 1.5 years?
Ivy, Christy:
To prepare Kimi for school, we have designed individualized programs to improve his Learning How to Learn, Language, Social and Play skills.
5. I hope it’s a smooth transition for Kimi! Does it mean that Kimi no longer needs to receive therapy in Autism Partnership?
Christy:
At first, a shadow teacher will accompany Kimi to go to school every day, to make sure the transition is smooth. AP’s supervisor will have meetings with school teachers to keep track with Kimi’s progress and performance in school. Kimi will receive half day 1-on-1 therapy in AP in the afternoon. It’s likely that Kimi will face different curriculums and learning modules, such as delivering presentations, have group discussions and engage in more peer interactions. We are looking forward to seeing his performance.
6. A lot of parents have been worrying about whether their child can adapt well in school, especially those with special educational needs. Could you give them some advice or what can parents do to help their child?
Christy:
Before your child goes to school, early intervention is essential for him or her to have similar ability as other typically developing children. To achieve this goal, parents have to make a big commitment for their child to receive intensive therapy, just like what Kimi’s parents have done. His parent’s dedication and efforts in cooperating with AP is one of the reasons that makes this happen.
Ivy:
Most of the parents hope their child can study in mainstream schools, it is completely understandable. I agree that school is very important in our lives. However, children should only go to school when they are ready, especially for children with special educational needs. Equip them with all the skills necessary for them to flourish at school is vital. Apart from equipping your child with school readiness, choosing the right school is also very important. For instance, you need to consider if the school provides full support, whether it promotes integration, or if it’s a school that focuses heavily on academics. The choice is yours, and your child’s learning effectiveness and experience will differ significantly depending on the school you choose.
– Interview conducted by Kelvin Ho (Autism Partnership Senior Behavioral Therapist)
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[:zh]採訪者:
Kelvin = 何梓軒 (資深行為治療師)
受訪者:
Ivy = 陳雅彥 ( AP行為分析治療課程監督) | Chirsty = 賴靜 ( AP行為分析治療課程監督)
1. 我們非常高興看到Kimi能入讀主流學校。你能和我們分享一下Kimi剛到Autism Partnership(AP)時的情況嗎？
Ivy:
當開始訓練時，Kimi有很多的問題行為和學習問題。他會推開椅子來逃避上課。當治療師告訴他要開始做練習時，他也會哭鬧。他的興趣也很狹隘，治療師只能用他喜歡的交通工具作為強化物。他無法表達自己的想法，發音也不清晰，其他人很難理解他在說什麼。他也常常不聆聽他人的指令，不能靈活應對改變。譬如，當他要跟不熟悉的治療師上課時，他會感到沮喪。因此，看到他現在在社交興趣和理解指令及任務方面有如此顯著的進步，我們真的感到很欣慰。
2. 你們是怎樣幫助Kimi的？
Ivy:
他的滋擾性行為和學習問題是我們在第一個月首要處理的範疇。當看到Kimi因為無法向別人表達他的需求而感到挫敗時，我們感到非常難過。所以，我們設計了很多課程去改善他的發音及言語的長度。我們跟他進行了很多課程，例如是口語模仿、命名及誘發溝通，幫助他自發地與人
溝通。
3. Kimi有什麼表現使你印象深刻？
Ivy:
Kimi的創造力、對周圍環境的人和事物的好奇心常常為我帶來驚喜。起初，他只對很少玩具感興趣。但當我們向他介紹新玩具時，或者他知道怎樣玩那件玩具時，他玩幾個小時也玩不膩。
我們也設計了很多機會讓他接觸各色各樣的玩具、活動及社交遊戲 。 整體上，發展多元化的強化物和擴展他對玩遊戲的興趣並不困難。Kimi在學習上的努力也使我印象深刻，即使那個任務對他來說有一定的難度，他也會盡力完成。
Christy:
Kimi 的泛化能力使我印象深刻。有一次，我們教他怎樣跟同伴分享，翌日，Kimi媽媽便告訴我，他跟她分享了他在AP做的勞作。這真讓我感到驚喜，因為我們都沒有想到他能夠這麼迅速地應用這些技能。
4. 我們相信Kimi的成功離不開治療師的幫助。你們是怎麼讓他為上學做好準備的？他在過去一年半最主要的進步是什麼？
Ivy, Christy:
為了幫助Kimi做好上學的準備，AP治療師設計了大量個人化的課程，改善Kimi在學習、語言、社交和遊戲方面的技巧。
5. 我希望Kimi能順利過渡到新學校！這是否意味著他不再需要在AP接受訓練？
Christy:
初期會有一位影子老師每天陪伴Kimi去學校，以確保他能順利適應。AP的治療顧問也與學校老師會面，跟進Kimi在學校的進度和表現。Kimi將在AP接受半天的一對一治療。 由於Kimi可能會面對不同的課程和學習模式，例如演講，進行小組討論以及參與更多的互動，所以我們十分期待看到他的表現。
6. 我相信很多家長都擔心自己的孩子能否順利適應學校生活，特別是有特殊教育需要的孩子。你有什麼建議給他們？或者父母可以怎樣幫助他們的孩子？
Christy:
在你的孩子上學之前，接受早期干預對於他們能否具有與其他正常發展的孩子相若的能力是必不可少的。為了實現這一目標，父母必須做出重大承諾，讓孩子接受密集治療，就像Kimi的父母那樣。Kimi父母為他做出的奉獻和努力，也是Kimi取得如此顯著進步的原因之一。
Ivy:
大多數父母希望他們的孩子可以在主流學校學習，這是完全可以理解的。我同意上學對孩子的學習非常重要。但是，孩子只有在準備好後才能上學，特別是對於有特殊教育需要的兒童，讓他們有在學校學習的能力更為重要和關鍵。除此之外，父母還應該考慮孩子應該就讀的學校類型，例如學校有否提供全面的支援，這所學校是否促進融合教育，又或者這是否是一所只專注於學術的學校。父母的選擇對於孩子是否能夠在學校有效和愉快地學習有很大的影響。
– 採訪由何梓軒（Autism Partnership資深行為治療師）進行
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