Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia, Vol. 5, No. 4, 1975
Questions, Answers, and C o m m e n t s
TEACHING AUTISTIC CHILDREN
To the Editor: I want to thank you for publishing the review of my book, Effective Teaching Methods for Autistic Children, in the December 1974 issue of the Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia. Dr. Semrau's review was generally favorable, and I appreciate his kind comments. However, I am very much disturbed by Dr. Semrau's statement that the seven children described in the anecdotal reports in Chapter 5 in my book are all " f r o m the mild end of the continuum." Dr. Semrau writes, "All these children were able to read and/or express themselves to various degrees through writing if not through speech. To do this, the children must not only have had receptive language (the ability to understand meaning when conveyed to them via written, spoken, or gestural communication) but also expressive language . . . . " On the contrary, all seven of these children are from the severe end of the continuum. These children did not come to us with the ability to read and write. Moreover, their response to spoken language at the outset was so rare and inconsistent that it was impossibleto determine how much they did, in fact, understand. But, as I'm sure you know, this is not a static condition, and the children's language comprehension tends to improve as they are exposed to meaningful and appropriate teaching techniques which are designed to help them develop and expand their ability to comprehend language. We are particularly concerned by Dr. Semrau's comment about the degrees of affliction of the children described in the book because this seems to imply that the more severely afflicted child cannot benefit from the teaching of reading and writing. The accompanying inference is that it is not appropriate to attempt to teach at this cognitive level with autistic children in the moderate or severe range. One of the points that we were trying to make in the book is that some autistic children are able to learn to read and/or express themselves through some form of communication, despite very atypical and very regressed functioning. This ability does not necessarily become integrated into the child's general functioning, and, for that reason, does not necessarily have real functional utility. Nevertheless, we be381 9 Plenum Publishing C o r p o r a t i o n , 2 2 7 West 1 7 t h Street, New Y o r k , N . Y . 1 0 0 1 1 . N o part o f this p u b l i c a t i o n m a y be reproduced, stored i n a retrieval system, o r t r a n s m i t t e d , in a n y f o r m or b y a n y means, e l e c t r o n i c , mechanical, p h o t o c o p y i n g , m i c r o f i l m i n g , recording, or o t h e r w i s e , w i t h o u t w r i t t e n permission o f t h e publisher.
382
Questions, Answers, and Comments
lieve very strongly that autistic children should be taught reading, writing, and mathematics, to the degree and to as high a level as they demonstrate they are capable of learning it. In no case should there be any prejudgment about the child's abilities to perform at these cognitive levels, based on his low level of general functioning. It should be equally emphasized that teaching in academic areas does not preclude concomitant teaching, as required, in various areas of basic life skills, vocational training, and other accomplishments. Rosalind C. Oppenheim, Director The Rimland School for Autistic Children Evanston, lllinois 60202
Questions, Answers, and C o m m e n t s
TEACHING AUTISTIC CHILDREN
To the Editor: I want to thank you for publishing the review of my book, Effective Teaching Methods for Autistic Children, in the December 1974 issue of the Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia. Dr. Semrau's review was generally favorable, and I appreciate his kind comments. However, I am very much disturbed by Dr. Semrau's statement that the seven children described in the anecdotal reports in Chapter 5 in my book are all " f r o m the mild end of the continuum." Dr. Semrau writes, "All these children were able to read and/or express themselves to various degrees through writing if not through speech. To do this, the children must not only have had receptive language (the ability to understand meaning when conveyed to them via written, spoken, or gestural communication) but also expressive language . . . . " On the contrary, all seven of these children are from the severe end of the continuum. These children did not come to us with the ability to read and write. Moreover, their response to spoken language at the outset was so rare and inconsistent that it was impossibleto determine how much they did, in fact, understand. But, as I'm sure you know, this is not a static condition, and the children's language comprehension tends to improve as they are exposed to meaningful and appropriate teaching techniques which are designed to help them develop and expand their ability to comprehend language. We are particularly concerned by Dr. Semrau's comment about the degrees of affliction of the children described in the book because this seems to imply that the more severely afflicted child cannot benefit from the teaching of reading and writing. The accompanying inference is that it is not appropriate to attempt to teach at this cognitive level with autistic children in the moderate or severe range. One of the points that we were trying to make in the book is that some autistic children are able to learn to read and/or express themselves through some form of communication, despite very atypical and very regressed functioning. This ability does not necessarily become integrated into the child's general functioning, and, for that reason, does not necessarily have real functional utility. Nevertheless, we be381 9 Plenum Publishing C o r p o r a t i o n , 2 2 7 West 1 7 t h Street, New Y o r k , N . Y . 1 0 0 1 1 . N o part o f this p u b l i c a t i o n m a y be reproduced, stored i n a retrieval system, o r t r a n s m i t t e d , in a n y f o r m or b y a n y means, e l e c t r o n i c , mechanical, p h o t o c o p y i n g , m i c r o f i l m i n g , recording, or o t h e r w i s e , w i t h o u t w r i t t e n permission o f t h e publisher.
382
Questions, Answers, and Comments
lieve very strongly that autistic children should be taught reading, writing, and mathematics, to the degree and to as high a level as they demonstrate they are capable of learning it. In no case should there be any prejudgment about the child's abilities to perform at these cognitive levels, based on his low level of general functioning. It should be equally emphasized that teaching in academic areas does not preclude concomitant teaching, as required, in various areas of basic life skills, vocational training, and other accomplishments. Rosalind C. Oppenheim, Director The Rimland School for Autistic Children Evanston, lllinois 60202
