x
❄️ Don't Miss the Holiday Sale! Claim Special Pricing & Bonuses Now ❄️
x
❄️ Don't Miss the Holiday Sale! Claim Special Pricing & Bonuses Now ❄️
I often get asked about the kids I’ve worked with, that I mention in my book or courses, and how they are doing now. Jocabed is here with me today to give us an autism update on her son Chino. He is now age 11. We talk about his progress to this point, raising children in a bilingual household, navigating religion for a child with autism, and safety concerns Jocabed had for Chino early on.
When Chino was just under two, Jocabed began to realize that something was different with her son. She is a mother of three, with Chino being the middle child. I started working with him shortly after that. A major problem for Jocabed and her family was safety concerns. Chino was dangerous to her then newborn and even made several escape attempts. This is all very common for children with moderate to severe autism, but safety proofing and work definitely needed to be done.
At this time, Chino was not conversational and was speech delayed. Jocabed and her husband had desired to raise their children in a bilingual household, and already began that with their oldest. She had to make the tough decision to only teach Chino English. This would be the language of most communication in public, school, and with teachers. There is not a lot of studies with bilingual households and children with autism, but I feel that focusing on the most used language and teaching words only in that language would lead to the most success for the child. Jocabed shares that Chino is now fully conversational and feels there still is time to teach him Spanish if they decide to.
Jocabed is currently the pastor of a church and religion is an important part of their family life. At the time when I was working with Chino, Jocabed wanted to be an active member of her church and was really struggling with including Chino in their Sunday morning services. Sometimes he would not even go in and have tantrums. Jocabed says now at 11 years old, Chino sat through his first Wednesday evening bible study just two weeks ago. She feels the nontraditional atmosphere of their church really provides the right opportunities for Chino to be successful.
As a mom of three, Jocabed has some great advice to share that I feel is really encouraging to parents of children with autism. It is so nice to see where Chino is now, and I cannot wait to hear how he is doing in another 10 years. Chino is featured in a lot of my books and it is so beneficial to see how he has progressed over time. I hope this episode brings hope and a little relatability for parents or professionals working with young children who have not yet or are newly diagnosed with autism.
Today’s Guest
You’ll Learn
Resources