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Mary-Beth Palo
My son Brett was diagnosed with autism in 2000 at
age 2.5. I honestly didn’t even know what autism was. I knew Brett was
different and sick, but I had no clue as to the extent. So our journey
began...
Brett started therapy immediately – I started
research and the round of doctor appointments. Little was accomplished
from both. Brett simply wasn’t getting better or making any progress
with therapy. Our quality of life was going downhill fast. Brett was
not sleeping and our days typically started anywhere from 2am to 3am and
went until about midnight. My older daughter was struggling with the
complete lack of attention . I as the Mom, was looking for help –
desperately looking….
Coming from the home of Irish Catholics, I always
did what I was told to do. I guess this was the reason that I continued
to seek out professionals opinions – from both the education and medical
side. This time, no one had any real answers for me. The answers that
I did receive were not acceptable to me. I was told to institutionalize
Brett, told that his sleeping issues were my fault, and told that he was
simply not going to get any better and would never hold a conversation.
With all of that advice, I returned home and
decided that change was necessary and that if these people would neither
help me, or support me then I would do it myself. I needed to learn
about Brett – what made him tick – what motivated him? I watched him
constantly for two weeks and suddenly I realized how I could help him.
Brett was able to mimic things on the television, yet he could not say
Mommy. So, I decided to make a home teaching video for him. On
Christmas eve2001, I made my first teaching video that was eleven
minutes long.
Brett was mesmerized with the video – he watched
and watched and watched….. and then he talked!
He began to mimic the videos that I had made! I
continued to make videos and teach him all about his environment, his
classmates, his world. He was absorbing the video so quickly, that we
were then able to start using his therapy to generalize all of these
skills. This is when he truly bloomed.
I began getting phone calls about the videos as
word about Brett’s success had spread. I began doing presentations
showing people how to do this for their children. Then the requests for
purchasing my home videos came. I could not do that, so I tried to do
the next best thing – I started Watch Me Learn and produced my first
video for publication.
Well, this was the beginning of
Watch Me Learn – and the videos have helped thousands of children
worldwide learn language, social skills, lifeskills and most important –
play skills!
 Brett continues to LOVE video – and has learned
sooooo much from many videos. Thankfully I did not listen to the
doctors but being very stubborn, looked for a solution. This solution
has also allowed us to tap into natural talents that we had no idea
Brett had. Brett learned to dive from watching old videos of the summer
Olympics with Greg Louganis. In 2009, Brett took 3rd place
at the AAU National Diving Championships at Indiana University. Being
so very literal, Brett takes winning VERY seriously and will do what it
takes to win. In his mind, there is really no 2nd place –
its either first or last. In my eyes, he will always be in first place!
Brett is now in 5th grade and is
mainstreamed. He gets academic support. Brett still struggles with
social issues, understanding social scenarios and being obsessive.
Sometimes the OCD drives me absolutely crazy, but I try to remember that
he is happy, healthy and talking!
As I said, I tried to make this simple. Our story
took us down many paths that I didn’t speak of… and our lives were a
terrible struggle, but one that I am thankful I did not give up on. We
continue to have to fill our lives and make efforts way above and
beyond those needed for a “typical” child. It is not always easy, and
sometimes I even feel sorry for myself. In the end though, I know that
every word and ounce of energy invested will be worth it!~
For on video modeling, various articles and news
pieces, visit our site at
www.watchmelearn.com
To View our some clips of our videos, visit us on
the
Watch Me Learn Channel on Youtube
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