Chance Encounter on Flight Leads to Breakthrough for Child With Autism
Maybe it was a simple coincidence. Maybe it was fate. No matter what you believe, some things in life are hard to just chock up to chance.
Such is the story of Rachel Romeo’s recent flight home from a conference. The speech-language pathologist had boarded an 8-hour international flight and was seated next to a father and his young son. In broken English, the father began to explain that his son had nonverbal autism, going on to apologize for what would likely be a difficult flight. Before takeoff, the young boy had already begun exhibiting some behaviors the SLP immediately recognized.
I just had such an affirming experience. On my 8hr intl flight back from a conference, I sat next to a father/son. In broken English, the father began to apologize/warn me that his ~10 yr-old son had severe nonverbal autism, and that this would like be a difficult journey. 1/
— Rachel R. Romeo (@RachelRRomeo) August 28, 2019
Sharing her experience on twitter, Romeo says things quickly began to escalate. “Screaming, hitting me, and grabbing for my things. The father repeatedly apologized, but did little else,” she recalled.
But instead of sitting back and ignoring the behavior, Romeo saw it as an opportunity to put her skills to work and potentially help not only the young boy, but his father as well. “I asked him how his son preferred to communicate. He didn’t seem to understand. Perhaps this was a language barrier, but I think instead the child had very little experience with communication therapy. I put away the talk I was working on & asked if I could try.”
For the next few hours, Romeo tried creating ways for the boy to communicate. She used common symbols and even a few hand drawings to help illustrate things in a way the child could easily understand. “I made symbols for the things he was grabbing, for his favorite stuffed penguin, and for his dad.”
I tried to see if he was stimulable for a communication board. I started by pulling up some standard images for basic nouns on my computer but I could tell that screens really bothered him. So I summoned my god-awful drawing skills and tried to create a (very!) low-tech board. 4/
— Rachel R. Romeo (@RachelRRomeo) August 28, 2019
Romeo says the almost instant results stunned even her. “He took to it very quickly. I introduced way more symbols that I normally would, but hey, how often do we get an 8-hour session?!”
By the end of the flight, the family was able to communicate like never before. “He had made several requests, initiated several times, & his behaviors had reduced quite a bit. The father was astounded – clearly no one had ever tried an AAC approach with him. I gave him the paper & showed him how to use it, and he nearly cried.”
While quick results like this are indeed a rarity, Romeo says that oftentimes it’s as simple as finding ways to communicate that can make all the difference. “This was the human desire for communication, pure and simple. To connect with another person and share a thought. Communication is a basic human right, and I was overjoyed to help someone find it. What a privilege and a gift.”
The term “nonverbal autism” isn’t an official diagnosis, as many on the autism spectrum have difficulties with communication. While there’s much still to be learned, scientists and researchers are making new discoveries every day, much of it surrounding different ways to encourage verbal and non-verbal forms of exchange.
Whether you believe Romeo’s encounter was a simple coincidence or divine intervention, it’s a reminder that one person’s actions can indeed make a huge impact on others.
