Thomas' Story

"Mr Google introduced me to Ruth. 

 I had searched many times before looking for a therapist who would work with Thomas , but had never come up with much in Glasgow. If Robert the Bruce had been on the Internet, he might have felt the same way ! There are many therapies available for Autism - TEACCH,PECS,ABA/VB ,Hanen,Visual Schedules, Floortime, Makaton, RDI, the list goes on and on;but how do you know which is right for your child? Paradoxically, although the diagnostic criteria for an Autistic Spectrum Disorder have widened, views on how best to 'treat' it have hardened and narrowed with the various therapists and teachers claiming universal efficacy for their one approach.But in the real world, there is no 'one size fits all' method that is suitable for all autistic children.

It is also important that the therapist actually assesses the *child* and not the mask of autism which has been placed on the child. Ruth has hands on experience of many approaches to autism and her greatest strength is that she is not 'tied in' either financially or emotionally to any one method of teaching and is therefore in a unique position to offer independent advice on how to set up a program of work and therapy for your child. She has an enormous enthusiasm for autism education and research, and is a seemingly endless fund of knowledge on any aspect of her subject. Ruth also manages to share her knowledge without patronising or talking down to the parent - a sign in itself that the knowledge is well founded. Ruth worked with and observed Thomas for a number of sessions before coming to any view on how best to proceed - which I found very impressive as was the first session which was free ! (not that usual in the world of Autism Therapy).

After some discussion, we agreed that Ruth would devise play based exercises that would aim to expand Thomas's receptive and expressive vocabulary and to help him learn to imitate more effectively.

 We have noticed definite improvements in Thomas' speech since starting work with Ruth and he is now able to work at a table for periods of 30 minutes, something which previously had not been possible. We find the progress reports and 'future objectives setting' that Ruth offers to be an invaluable part of her approach - as although there is no 'magic bullet' for Autism, it is vitally important that all progress be properly quantifed and recorded."