Zakari’s Journey: A Mother’s Testimonial (Autism)
Zakari was our firecracker. Before taking the Doman MethodT™ Course: From Special Needs to Wellness we dealt with:
He was frequently biting, leaving bruises.
He would scratch us on the face. We often felt like we were being abused by our own child. My husband had to go to work with gashes across his face.
Constant hyperactivity. He would just run back and forth.
He was destructive. He was constantly breaking anything he could get his hands on. He kicked his crib so hard he shattered the side of it just before his 2nd birthday
While he could label things, he was not able to converse.
He could not follow simple instructions.
Would not keep his clothes on because they bothered him too much.
He was constantly covering his ears and was bothered by any sudden noise. Sometimes he seemed to be bothered by sound even when the rest of us found the room was quiet.
Never looked at us straight on, always “side-eyed” us, or whatever he was looking at.
He mouthed everything. No matter what it went straight to the mouth.
He did not care who was around him. I often wondered if he would even care if I died.
He didn’t crawl until he was 11 months, and was also a late walker at 16 months.
Once he started walking he quickly moved to running. But it was very disorganized. He seemed to never watch where he was going. He was constantly falling.
He was a runner. His father and I lived in constant fear of him sneaking off or getting away from us.
All of these behaviors were not from a lack of parenting him. We couldn’t figure out what we were doing wrong. We had raised 2 well mannered, kind children. They followed rules, listened for the most part and we didn’t worry about their wellbeing more than the average parent.
We had started the Doman Method Reading Program very early on. So while he had all these difficulties, he was the smartest kid around. He was singing that alphabet at 12 months old. He knew his shapes and colors at 14 months. He could point out sight words at 16 months! He started reading words aloud at 18 months. Even riding in the baby carrier on my back at the grocery store, he used to shock people by pointing to all the large words around the grocery store and reading them aloud. He also looked a lot younger then he was so I often had people tapping me on the shoulder asking me “Do you know your baby is reading all the words on the wall?”
Shortly after our first appointment with Doman International and running a Doman MethodTM Program, Zakari:
Stopped stripping his clothes off.
Pinching and scratching was reduced
Toilet training started going somewhere, and as time went on he became 100% toilet trained.
He became able to express what he wanted. Tantrums were reduced, and the ones that did happen were easier to diffuse.
People were starting to take notice that he was calming down.
With ear defenders or as Zakari calls them “His Ears” Zakari was able to attend his first NHL hockey game. He made it through 2 periods, and got to cheer for his Winnipeg Jets. Can you imagine, a child with such sensitivities sitting in a crowd with 15,000 people!
After our second appointment Zakari can now:
Brachiate with some help (go across monkey bars with feet off the ground)
Read whole homemade books in his head and answer reading comprehension questions about it.
Say “thank you” without being prompted.
Mouthing things has reduced to being only a small issue, and is getting better by the day.
Has developed an even stronger relationship with family and friends. He’s excited when his grandparents or cousin come over.
Can belly crawl without a crawling track.
Has started doing some basic math
Has has become less sensitive to sounds after starting the EASe program
Was able to attend his very first Santa Parade
Social outings became possible like going to Build A Bear, birthday parties, trick or treating, etc
He’s even learning how to skate. In the past, the thought of putting a blade on his feet scared the daylight out of me. Now I don’t worry at all. He also is able to be on the ice with a crowd of people without ear defenders (they don’t fit under his helmet). Actually, the fact he will even WEAR the helmet is a victory on its own. This summer I could not get a bike helmet on him, nevermind a helmet with a full mask!
The most important thing is that he has hopes and dreams for his future. He told me last week he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up.
I was exhausted as a mother. The stresses of having such a special needs child was weighing hard on my relationship with my husband. As a family we were not doing well. But now we are thriving. Yes, there are still times I have to pull the plug early on an outing because Zakari is about to meltdown. But those are becoming less often. Sitters are happy to come and watch him, so my husband and I can go out. Zakari is getting along better with his siblings and developing relationships with them too.
Zakari has gone from a child who was lost in his own little world, to one who loves his family. I no longer wonder if he would miss me if I was gone. I know he would. I know he loves me. How? Because he tells me each night before bed.