Tom thriving after finding voice
For the first five years of Tom Stephenson’s life, his family never knew how their son and brother really felt and how much knowledge was really trapped inside his mind.
They worried about his future but little did they know Tom was absorbing everything and just didn’t have the motor skills to speak his thoughts.
‘‘I think all the time. I don’t know why my crazy body does not listen to me. It makes me so mad to be like this,’’ he wrote on a letter board.
The discovery of a lifechanging communication method that consists of asking questions and pointing to letters on a board helps people with autism to communicate and has opened 7-year-old Tom‘s world and given him a voice.
Two years ago, the north Auckland family came across a learning technique called ‘‘Rapid Prompting Method’’ (RPM), also known in New Zealand as ‘‘Spelling to Communicate’’.
Taking this ‘‘leap of faith’’ has had a positive impact on their lives, especially Tom’s.
The Red Beach family, including Tom’s mother Louise, father Garry, sister Ella, 14, and brother Jacob, 12, say they are now able to effectively communicate as a family and see a very bright future for Tom.
RPM was founded by Soma Mukhopadhyay and is taught in New Zealand through workshops called ‘‘Spelling to Communicate’’ by Elizabeth Vosseller, who travels from America.
Louise said she has attended four workshops with Tom and these revolutionised his ability to communicate, and proved his ability to absorb information and learn.
‘‘It is such a simple process, all you need is a pencil and paper to start off with.
‘‘The whole thing is about presuming competence, so even though Tom doesn’t act like a typical 7-year-old, or may look like he is not listening and completely distracted, he is always listening and has got the knowledge.’’
Louise explained that the letter board allowed Tom to show his understanding of what are often complex facts, concepts and emotions well beyond his years.
He attends Kingsway School and the school has taken on this method of teaching for him.
‘‘Tom is year 3 and was tested on his maths and reading and is now reading at the level of a 12 to 14 year-old student and is at a year seven level for mathematics.’’
The family really want other schools and families to take the learning method on board.
‘‘People are afraid this will hinder their child from speaking but it has actually helped Tom with his vocabulary. Using the letter boards are often their only way to communicate effectively so even though it can be incredibly hard work for our children they actually want to use them, rather than being frustrated because they can’t get what they want to say out.’’
There are 10 families in the Rodney area actively using the letter boards for teaching and communication and Kingsway School is the only school that Louise knows of that uses the method in the classroom.
‘‘We are lucky enough to have Enliven help fund us to attend the workshops, it has changed our whole life.’’
Enliven supports and helps to fund services for people of any age who are living with disability.
Enliven’s Janette Third said it had been exciting to see how families like the Stephensons had a clear vision on what was the best outcome for their family.
‘‘Enliven is pleased to have been able to support the Stephenson family with the process required to access and spend the funding. It makes our jobs worthwhile when we see the difference it has made to Tom to now to be able to communicate with his family.’’
Louise encourages families who would like to learn more about Spelling to Communicate to visit the Facebook page ‘‘Kiwi Kids – so Much to Say’’.