Illinois mom writes book about in-home learning activities for her son with autism

From the Chicago Tribune:

When Elizabeth Scott's son, Roman, was diagnosed with autism at 18 months, the former Highland Park teacher was petrified.

Desperate to help her son and told by a therapist to engage him at home, Scott developed her own lesson plan — and perhaps a way to combat the disorder.

With a commitment bordering on obsession, Scott worked with Roman from morning to night, devising learning activities and games. Refining her techniques as she went, she tackled everything from his discomfort with touch to his propensity to run endless laps around the family room. She says her work systematically eliminated all of his symptoms and freed her son from the prison of autism by age 4.

"The therapist told me, 'Everything that he's afraid to do and cannot do, teach him how to do,'" said Scott, 46, who now lives near Dallas. "I had no idea what the outcome would be, but I knew I had to at least fight for him."

The journey of the bright, social and athletic 8-year-old Roman is documented in two books by his mother. The second, out this month, is "Autism Recovery Manual of Skills and Drills" and details the simple, home-based activities — from working with Play-Doh to stringing together words — that Scott says can be used to supplement or even supplant expensive professional therapy.

"Parents just do not know the power that they have," she said. "The good thing about working with your own kid is that you know your child and that child loves and trusts you."

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised upward its numbers children diagnosed with disorders on the autism spectrum, saying the rate is about 1 in 100 — a 50 percent jump over the previous estimate.

Scott's homegrown success parallels recent scientific evidence. Results of a five-year study published online recently in the journal Pediatrics showed that early home-based intervention substantially improved the prognosis for recovery. In the study — conducted by the University of Washington — therapists and parents worked up to 25 hours a week with children as young as 18 months, combining behavioral techniques with play-based routines. Nearly one-third of the children progressed enough to shed their autism diagnosis.

For Paige Garza, Roman's first preschool teacher, the proof was in the pudding — and a variety of other lunchtime treats — that the once-fussy eater consumed as he made strides.

"At first, just getting through lunch was a huge victory," Garza said. "He ended up doing great in the class. It was remarkable."

Garza said Scott's dedication turned the tide for Roman.

"The only time she wasn't doing therapy was when he was asleep," Garza said. "It was a continuous job. It was intense."

Scott might have inherited her tenacity from her late father, Ron Burton, an All-American running back for Northwestern University who went on to star for the American Football League's Boston Patriots. Scott also graduated from Northwestern and received a master's degree in education before beginning her teaching career at Ravinia School in the mid-1990s.

She gave up teaching to care for her son but recently found her way back into the classroom with a new purpose: working several days a week with an autistic 3-year-old boy at a Dallas elementary school.

Early results have been "amazing" according to school Principal Shailendra Thomas, the boy's grandmother.

"We don't know if he can recover or if this can just improve his life," she said. "Either way, we want to try to help him to be all that God created him to be."