978-1572305441

146 A MIND APART
would have to await the development of further language and symbolic
play skills. Alice also reported that her own parents had to learn to let
Trevor take the lead, to expect little in the way of proper manners in
their home, and to appreciate what little social approach he made. Her
father would take Trevor to the train station, and they would look at the
trains together. Trevor had always been interested in trains since he had
seen Thomas the Tank Engine on TV. This gave him pleasure, and his
grandfather was happy to sit on the bench at the train station and be
part of this little ritual that they shared. Afterward they would go to the
local coffee shop and share a hot chocolate and a doughnut.
* * *
Over the course of the two years of this type of intensive therapy,
Trevor’s improvements became more rapid, and the little victories
seemed to cascade from one day to the next. Working intensively on a
few pivotal skills in the social and communication domains made possible
all kinds of other changes. It was like unlocking a key, only this time
the key was social engagement, simple communications, imitation, and
attentional flexibility and joint attention. Soon Trevor began to show an
interest in the other children on the street. At first he didn’t approach
them, but he would respond positively if friends called on him to come
out and play. Eventually he asked to see them, but only on weekends
(school time was reserved for school friends). This did not happen very
often, but when it did, his mother would quickly take advantage of it.
Alice arranged for a little girl to come to the house on weekends and
play with Trevor and watch TV.
After two years of this therapy Trevor came back for another visit.
It was before his entry into kindergarten, and I had to fill in all sorts of
forms for an educational assistant. I wanted to get as accurate a picture
as possible of how he had done.
“I am five years old!” he announced upon entering the office.
“Are you?” I replied. “That’s old. But not as old as me. Did you have
a birthday party?”
“Yes, I did!”
“Who came?”
“My friends . . . from school.” Now that was a reply that was worth
preserving for posterity.
“Did you get any presents?”