Where Isaiah Started
When Isaiah entered Cornerstone in March 2014, he had recently been diagnosed with autism and had received few services to improve his speech and reduce problem behavior. He struggled with challenges with receptive language, social skills, and motor imitation. Isaiah would often refuse to participate in activities when he first started, as many as 80 times in one day! He also had aggressive behavior and tantrums that prevented him from making progress.
How Isaiah Has Improved
As Isaiah became more engaged with his therapists and excited about earning drawing and watching his favorite YouTube videos, he started mastering targets very quickly. Isaiah is now able to ask peers to play on his own and speak in 3-4 word sentences. He sits through a 20-30 minute small group with peers, raising his hand and responding to questions asked to the entire group.
Isaiah had many failed attempts at toilet training and was resistant to trying again. After showing some initial interest in sitting on the potty for reinforcement, Isaiah started toilet training at Cornerstone. Within 2 days of training, accidents were rare and after 4 weeks he was reliably asking to go on his own, off the set schedule!
As Isaiah’s skills increased, his problem behaviors decreased. Aggression and tantrums only happen a few times a week and he has an increasing number of days where noncompliance doesn’t occur at all. Isaiah is making progress on eating new foods and reducing echolalia as he gains new ways to express himself. His beaming smile and giggles make our day!