When my son, Joe, was diagnosed with Global Developmental Delay at age 5, my heart sank. His kindergarten school teacher flagged us of his behaviour and performance at school, so we had him checked by a developmental pediatrician. I didn’t understand what GDD was because it was the first time I heard about it. Apparently, it means that his development will be way later than other kids. It could be his speech, his movements, his mental capacity--anything. At this point, we didn’t know what his delays would be, but we were hoping it wasn’t that bad.
True enough, he was showing delays. His movements were awkward, he wasn’t saying words as a 5 year-old boy should; he has low muscle tone on his mouth which makes him drool without knowing it. Because of these, he was the odd one out in the class. If you saw him then, right out of the bat, you would know that there is something “wrong” with him. This bothered me a lot. All I wanted was to have a normal conversation with my son. I was doubtful that could ever happen.
Then, one fateful day, we came across a therapy center that offers ABA. That’s Applied Behaviour Analysis. I didn’t know what that was either. Other than that, this is a branch of ABA that uses Verbal Behaviour. They call it ABA-VB. Behaviour? My son doesn’t need behaviour therapy. He’s well-behaved enough. What I needed was speech therapy. I wanted Joe to talk. Despite this apprehension, we went for it anyway.
That is how we met Teacher Dyno, his attending therapist. He explained to us that any skill observable IS BEHAVIOUR, including talking. Remember the VB part in ABA? That deals with the talking, apparently. It was an approach wherein they teach sentence structures to Joe ONLY WHEN HE NEEDED IT, making the learning much more functional and meaningful. That made sense--A LOT! Teacher Dyno and Joe’s other therapists would address Joe’s communication delays. I couldn’t be any happier. He also told me that they will be addressing not only his language, but also every little thing that needed to be addressed, be it how to dress up, how to wait for his turn in queues, what to say and not to say in any social events that he’d encounter, from reading to writing, EVERYTHING that he needed. It was too good to be true. But then again, I gave them the benefit of the doubt.
They mapped out every skill Joe has, as well as every deficit he had. They then showed me this graph that looked like tall buildings. They called it the ABLLS-R Grid. It was a graphical representation of Joe’s present skills. Obviously, they were full of empty boxes, which showed Joe’s non-existent skills. There were more empty ones than filled ones. Teacher Dyno told us that Joe had serious delays but it was workable. It was a blessing that Joe has good compliance skills. We had enough to work on.
As the years passed, we saw Joe’s grid being filled up with colors. More colors on the grid means more skills were learned. I appreciated the program supervisor’s monthly visits to check where the program was going and what approach should be modified to meet Joe’s ever-changing needs. Teacher Dyno and the team were also there to make sure Joe met his school work on time.
With consistent sessions, little progress amounted to massive ones, impacting his life and all our lives as well. We were receiving constant comments from both family and friends how evident Joe’s progress was. From us guessing what he was saying when he was 5 or so to expressing his political questions like if Trump was a good choice for a President or not.
As of this writing, Joe is now in college, taking Performing Arts. He made a lot of public performances, like acting on stage, singing and doing his stand-up comic routine. He is also a Youth Town and District Councillor, putting into practice his political beliefs. He is a staunch supporter of equal rights and anti-bullying for individuals with disabilities. He regularly gives numerous humanitarian activities like sponsoring feeding programs and giving away school supplies to less fortunate children in the Philippines. He also sponsors a scholarship grant to a 9th Grader and pledged to do so until the recipient finishes Senior High.
His desire to converse with people pushed him to overcome his language delays and achieved more than I could have ever imagined. Because of ABA-VB, his dedicated and loving therapists and his own hard work, Joe has become a force for good and an inspiration to us all.
Watch the Full Documentary Here:
Recorded in 2018.
