“All of the therapist Naila has had are wonderful!”
Words Did Not Come Easy for Naila
Naila Leveille of Plainfield, New Jersey, is a fun loving, little girl, who loves to play. Naila likes to do puzzles, enjoys apps on the tablet, and be with her mom Jennifer, dad Dave, and her little brother, Orondé, who is 6 months old. Naila is an everyday kid, who happens to have has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and expressive language disorder. The Leveille family also feels that the diagnosis may change over time to autistic like tendencies. Autistic like tendencies and mild forms of autism indicate the child shows some signs of the spectrum, but also has significant spoken language and other skills.
Autism spectrum disorder is considered a developmental disorder. Children on the autism spectrum demonstrate difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and may display repetitive behaviors, called stereotypies. Stereotypies vary from child to child, but include: hand waving, teeth grinding, and rocking movements.
Some of Naila’s social skills, such as eye contact, and speech development have been affected by autism. Therapy goals continually enable Naila to reduce challenging behaviors and communicate her needs. One of the additional challenges of having a child with autism is ensuring security at all times.
“Naila tries to run away sometimes, and we want to be sure she explores her world safely,” said Jennifer.
It is important to note, nearly 50 percent of parents of children with autism report their child trying to leave or wander from a safe place at least once.
Expressive language disorder is a communication disorder in which there are difficulties with verbal and written expression. There may be challenges with expressive spoken language, but language comprehension may be within typical range.
The Leveille family came to Children’s Specialized Hospital to provide Naila with the highest quality care for children with special needs. Naila was born November 30, 2011. Jennifer recalls a typical labor and healthy delivery of her daughter. Development for Naila seemed fine until around 18 months. Although Naila had little language development at one year old, the family was told to wait a little longer to see what would develop. With little progress, at eighteen months, concern for Naila started to grow. In 2013, at two years old, Naila was referred by the family’s general pediatrician to come to Children’s Specialized Hospital, in Mountainside, New Jersey for an evaluation.
At Children’s Specialized Hospital, Naila was evaluated for speech development, by a speech and language pathologist, and by an occupational therapist. Occupational therapists work on daily living skills and fine motor skills with children.
Jennifer remembers “All of the therapist Naila has had are wonderful!” After working collaboratively with Speech and Language pathologist, Margaret Karpinski, MS, CCC-SLP, Jennifer stated, “Margaret was great, and she was compatible with my daughter and was very animated!”
Margaret commented on the family’s superb involvement. “Naila’s mom understood that children learn to communicate in everyday activities with those they are with the most, their parents. Parents have many opportunities to interact with their child during the day, more so then the speech therapist, hence home carryover is important to progress.”
Margaret added, “At the time of discharge, Naila produced basic signs to make requests when given visual prompts. When provided with maximal visual cues (manual signs) and verbal models from both parent and clinician, Naila exhibited the ability to imitate single words (i.e. more, all done, and open) to make requests. Therapy also targeted the use of a Picture Exchange Communication System.”
Previously, Naila was receiving Early Intervention Services in her home. Currently, Naila is attending the public school system of her hometown, in a self-contained preschool classroom. The Leveille family is working hard to learn the special education system and rights for Naila. For both Dave Leveille who is a certified business education teacher, and Jennifer Leveille, a teaching assistant, with a social science degree, the process of learning special education advocacy is still complex.
Children’s Specialized Hospital is a leader in research for autism spectrum disorder, in community education, in using the latest evidence-based therapies, and in its depth of specialized clinical expertise.
Jennifer said that having a child on the autism spectrum has provided the family with greater insight. Since Naila is three years old, Jennifer often takes a moment to reflect, is this typical three year old behavior or is this autism? Jennifer explained, “Having a child with special needs, I reflect on what I can do better. Children’s Specialized Hospital has helped me to be more patient, more accommodating and flexible.” Jennifer Leveille said she also notices tremendous progress in her daughter, since receiving care at Children’s Specialized Hospital. Jennifer said, “Naila is still working on single word vocabulary, and is continuing to practice using words frequently, and eye contact has improved.”
Jennifer also feels confident that her daughter will continue to grow. As Naila’s mom, Jennifer sees that despite having a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, and Expressive Language disorder, Naila is “very social and affectionate.” It may take some time, but with the right care, Naila is sure to thrive.