The Director’s story
Hi my name is Becky Givens; I have had over 25 years of experience working with children and families with disabilities, specializing in the use of behavioral intervention to teach children with autism how to talk. I was considered an expert in the autism field. Then my child was diagnosed with autism and none of the traditional therapy’s or treatment modalities worked with him. So I began our journey to find effective treatment options for Isaiah.
By the age of 12 months, my son began receiving traditional services (speech therapy two times a week, occupational therapy two times a week, and play therapy two times a week). These therapies were helpful with specific issues, but he still could not talk.
As a professional, I saw that by the time Isaiah turned two and a half, he was getting worse. Behavioral interventions were not working, and although he knew all of his letters, numbers, shapes, and colors by the time he was 18 months old, he still had no receptive language skills, and appeared not to understand anything being said to him. He started head banging, 2 hour melt downs and was diagnosed with severe autism (CARS: Children’s Autism Rating Scale) at 2 ½ years of age.
As a mother, I went looking for options beyond my professional experience. We all had been told by the educators, doctors, and the system that autism never goes away and that you just try to make the best of it. Well, I found answers! During a four-day international autism conference, prayers were answered. I found the tools and information needed to put Isaiah on the path to recovery from autism—a path that I didn’t even know existed. And now, armed with information, faith, and experience of a more personal nature, I am sharing these tools with other families in North Carolina through Autism Answers.