A Mother's Courage: documentary

Hi all,

I just finished watching "A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism" on HBO, and I admit to feeling a little disappointed. I had expected a more informative look at the various therapies/interventions out there, and instead there were very small clips of Temple Grandin, Simon Baron-Cohen, Geraldine Dawson describing autism. Then Margaret, the mother in the film, meets another mother whose son was helped to communicate by Soma Mukhopadhyay, who established an organization in Austin, Texas called "HALO" (Helping Autistic Learning Outreach). Soma, in India, taught her son Tito using a method she developed called the Rapid Prompting Method...now Tito, her son, is an adult, a poet and published author. Margaret takes her son to Soma and we see the first few times Soma teaches Keli, the son. Yes, Keli does use pointing to answer some questions, and Soma uses her Teach and Ask method. Now, I was impressed at how much Keli seemed to know, including how to spell by pointing to letters on a letter board. Unlike Facilitated Communication, in which a facilitator holds the pointer's hand or arm, in Rapid Prompting Soma uses small tactile cues...however, to what extent is she moving the letter board closer to the next appropriate letter for the answer? In the second to last scene, we see Soma telling Margaret that yes, Keli will learn to point and perhaps type to communicate, that he can learn grade-level material, and that Rapid Prompting will, indeed, work with Keli. I think Soma believes and tells all the parents that RPM will work for their child, and that inside every child with autism is a normal, thinking brain. I worry about anyone who has a method that they say will work for all kids, and that inside every child on the spectrum there is a normal, thinking brain. It's not that I want any child to be low-functioning;however, given the diversity that is 'autism', is it really possible that one method will work for all kids and that inside they are really typical? Somehow I find that worrisome. Also, how did these children learn to spell, when they aren't taught reading in school? Are they magically able to spell just by being around words? If that's the case, then why don't typical children all learn to spell just by being around words a lot?

Given all that, however, I appreciate each parent's concern and attempts to find the best method for their child. And if letter boards work, then by all means, use them. I do think that they should be used more often in schools as a means to spell and answer questions.

Clearly, the field nowadays does not have any method for predicting which method of intervention will work with each child, a sad fact....The world would be a better place if we knew that!

Other thoughts/comments?