That is possibly the worst Phillip K. Dock homage ever.
Today we stated back at Social Skills therapy. This is a therapy we did in the past and abandoned; sometimes I felt like we were molding this little creature into a reasonably convincing simulacrum of a human being. Not an actual human being, mind you, but just something that could pass for human if you didn't look too closely. And our molding wasn't all that successful.
Social Skills therapy is a group therapy specifically targeted to work on different types of social behaviors:
reciprocal communication
greetings
following directions in a group
sharing
following the rules of games
making accommodations for others
answering questions in a group
exchanging biographical information
just existing in the same space as another person without fleeing from the stress of it all
These are skills that most children master in the process of their normal development, socialization and exposure to peers. Autistic children often require direct instruction in these skills in order to attain some level of proficiency which will enable them to interact with their peers, develop friendships, experience the joy that can come from peer interaction and minimize the amount of social isolation they experience.
One of the silliest things about Social Skills therapy is that its usually a bunch of autistic kids being coached how to socialize. None of them really has good social skills. I wish they would invite some typical peers to participate and model.
Anyway, today was our first day back after about two years away. I am really hopeful that she is in a better place now to get something out of the therapy and interaction. When she was four the whole seemed pretty aversive; she just wanted to get away from the therapists and the other screeching, freaked-out children. The kids today seemed more relaxed and she has hopefully she'll enjoy and learn in this setting.
Eleanor is becoming more recognizably civilized - still probably closer to rabid wolverine than William F. Buckley - but on the way to personhood .
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