Written by Nicole Fisher, Student Clinician, FIU
*Initials of the patient are used in the story to protect privacy

CV is a young girl three-year-old girl with Autism. When I first met CV I was struck by her tranquility. She was so calm and so still! In fact she sat patiently and quietly for the whole hour.  During our first therapy session together she drifted off in to her thoughts quite often, thus I had to make an effort to reestablish joint attention multiple times. She responded when prompted and often offered up the correct answer to many of my questions. During our first session we labeled the rooms of her house along with some household items. We also explored the function of some of the objects we had labeled. We worked on simple “yes/no” questions (i.e. Is this a pig? or Does this go here?)  as well as simple “what” questions (i.e. What animal is this)?

Over the course of the three months that I was able to spend with CV she excelled rapidly. She responded amazingly well to therapy. I spent my last day with CV this week. It was bittersweet. She has changed so much. She can answer more abstract “what” questions (i.e. What animal has black and white stripes?). She can also answer simple “where” questions. She can describe the function of many household items. She can describe actions, and possession and much more.

One of the most exciting developments, however, is her increased sense of awareness and her desire to be social. Not only does she joyfully partake in therapy, she has started initiating interactions and inviting me to share her experiences.  She wants you to see what she sees, and hear what she hears. Countless times during our last session she excitedly exclaimed, “Look!” or, “Listen!” and would proceed to tell me about the object or sound she wanted me to observe. She also has begun commenting spontaneously. For example, the other day I proposed a silly answer. I was expecting a simple “no,” instead; she looked at me, giggled and said, “That’s so silly!”

We often take such simple moments like these for granted. Yet there are so many factors that come into play here. CV has become more aware of her environment. CV has increased her vocabulary and has discovered how to use this thing we call language to communicate, to interact. She has realized that language can be used for more than just requesting, answering and labeling on command. Language can be used to share with others those fascinating little surprises we encounter during the day such as a butterfly, or the sound of an airplane overhead. Most fun of all, language can be used to be silly!

Ben Sweetland once said, “Success is a journey, not a destination.” I am very grateful that I was able to experience part of her journey. I am sure there is much more to come.