Mafe Maria: Personal stories by autism parent mentor, Maria Stultz
Two years into our Son-Rise play therapy program, I read Kids Beyond Limits by Anat Baniel. I started using ABM's Nine Essentials, and immediately noticed an acceleration in my son’s development. Learning to tap into the power of neuroplasticity put our autism program on “turbo” mode, and has empowered me facilitating new developments in my son’s life.
We’re using our racquetball practice to develop Joaquin’s skill anticipating and quickly reaching for passes in his basketball game. I’m also counting on this training and development to enrich many more neurological processes.
An ABM-inspired activity helped Joaquin to step into his fear of unexpected and unpredictable physical contact. His motivation: basketball. The aftermath: overall expansion!
I used ABM’s essential of subtlety to help Joaquin perceive non-verbal communication, and he surprised me spontaneously deciding to perform charades for me.
Interactive loop games are perfect to pursue subtle related variation. Here I offer several ideas around a turn-taking game for my team of Son-Rise volunteers.
He had never role-played before. Most of his non-verbal abilities were stagnant for years until I started using ABM essentials to awaken this area of his brain
Life examples of how ABM's 1st essential propelled us with sustained eye contact, verbal context in communication breakdowns, and understanding of emotions.
A tweak to our Son-Rise program replacing requests by opportunities for spontaneous action. In these videos, Aaron’s playfulness alone motivates Kiki to imitate him.