The story of Raun Kaufman

1. A perfect specimen, the nurse said, as newborn Raun Kahlil Kaufman began to breathe and cry at the same time. Raun’s parents, Suzi and Barry Kaufman, experienced the birth of their third child and first son with pride and joy.

2. But during Raun’s first month at home, Suzi Kaufman sensed that something was wrong. Raun cried much of the time and seemed unresponsive when he was held aut. The doctors found nothing wrong, but when the infant was 4 weeks old he developed a severe ear infection. Instead of improving in response to antibiotics, Raun’s condition became worse. He became so dehydrated that he was put in a plastic isolette in a pediatric intensive care unit. His parents visited twice a day but could not hold and comfort their son. This crisis ended after 5 days, when the doctors announced that Raun would survive, but he might be deaf or partially deaf.

3. The second beginning at home was far more delightful than the first. Raun smiled continually, he enjoyed eating, and he was alert and responsive. He soon won the hearts of his older sisters. Bryn, the oldest, happily attended to him instead of her dolls. Thea, on the other hand, needed some help adjusting to her new role as a middle child. She soon readjusted, however, because her parents supplied the extra attention she needed.

4. At 1 year, Raun seemed on the way for normal and healthy development. The only exception was that he did not put out his arms to be picked up. This peculiarity was of only minor concern until he started to show other signs of aloofness during his second year. Raun became less responsive to his name, even though he would sometimes attend to a soft and distant sound. When his sisters or parents tried to hold or hug him, he often pushed their hands away, and when someone picked him up, he let his arms dangle at his side. Although his family wanted desperately to play with him, he preferred to sit alone and to stare blankly into space. As an experienced and sensitive father, Barry Kaufman knew that these behaviors were unusual. As a former graduate student in psycholohy, he also knew that many of his son’s abnormal behaviors fit a dreaded pattern that defined infantile autism. This subcategory of childhood schizophrenia is the most irreversible condition of profoundly disturbed children.

5. Besides the aloofness and blank stares, other behaviors fit the pattern. For example, Raun spent long periods rocking back and forth while sitting on the floor. Sometimes he would sit on the floor and spin plates, seeming to be completely absorbed with the spinning objects. However, Raun was unlike autistic children because he seemed calm. Autistic children often engage in violent, self-destructive behaviors – for example, some will bang their heads against walls. Raun never did these things. But Raun’s parents knew that something was seriously wrong.

6. They consulted with experts in New York, Philadelphia, and California. When Raun was 17 months old, he was examined and the results were analyzed. Signs of autism are usually not recognized before the ages of 2^1/2 or 3 years. At first, doctors were reluctant to assign a label. They confirmed, however, that Raun was definitely autistic. They also expressed the widely held belief that autism is irreversible and incurable. Although some treatment programs existed, they were aimed at older children. The Kaufmans were therefore urged to wait until Raun was 9 to 12 months older before starting any type of treatment.

7. But waiting was impossible; they could not stand by and watch their son slip farther and farther away. After reading everything that they could find about autism and carefully observing Raun, they devised a plan based upon three beliefs about Raun:

1. They believed that Raun’s processing of perceptions and utilization of memories were disorganized. A “hidden cookie test” helped reveal this problem. Raun would look at a cookie and follow it as one parent moved it in the boy’s field of vision. The parent would then hide the cookie behind a sheet of paper. Raun would then stare and turn away. The average 8-month-old has the ability to retain the hidden object in his or her mind and to look for it, but Raun, at 20 months, could not. For him, out of sight seemed to be out of mind. Similarly, each time his own hands came into view he acted as if he were seeing them for the first time. From these observations, the Kaufmans decided to simplify events as much as possible for Raun. For example, the task of inserting a puzzle piece was divided into four parts. They first taught him to pick up the piece, then to move the piece to the puzzle, to find the right place, and finally to insert the piece.

2. The Kaufmanes believed that Raun needed extra motivation because his perceptual and memory problems made interactions very difficult for him. They tried to show Raun that the extra effort was worth it because the outside world is beautiful and exciting.

3. They strongly believed that their son deserved their acceptance and approval. They tried to motivate him to accept attractive alternative behaviors but did not disapprove of his preferred behaviors. They did not try to stop him from rocking or from spinning plates. Instead, they joined in these activities with him. Most importantly, no matter how much time they spent, they were willing to accept no progress. They considered any contact with Raun its own reward.

Since the program called for long, one-on-one sessions in an environment with few distractions, Suzi spent many hours alone with Raun on a bathroom floor in their home. At first, 9 hour sessions were planned. But gradually the time increased until Suzi was spending 75 hours per week working with her son. In addition, Barry spent whatever time he could on evenings and weekends. This schedule continued for 8 weeks. Two volunteers, trained by the Kaufmans, assisted Suzi so she could have more breaks while Raun could continue one-on-one sessions for about 75 hours per week. By the end of 8 weeks, Suzi noted the following changes:

Much less rocking movement

Real eye contact established when playing certain games

More facial expression

Attentive to being called, although most often will not come on request

Making less motion with fingers against lips

Hardly ever pushes away his mother

Has started to indicate wants by crying – first time definite communications effort

Starting to mimic words

Reacts to some spoken words when being addressed – car, cup, bottle, come, up, water

For the first time expressed anger in a game environment – when we tried to remove something he did not want to give up

For the first time he did make an anticipatory arm gesture when about to be picked up

Has begun to drink out of a glass

Cried twice when someone he was playing with left the room

Has started to feed himself with his fingers.

Упр. 4. Подтвердите или отрицайте следующие утверждения по тексту:

1. The nurse’s initial evaluation of Raun’s condition was supported by a standardized test for alertness and reflexes.

2. Instead of improving in response to antibiotics, Raun’s condition became worse.

3. The second beginning at home was far more delightful than the first one.

4. At 1 year, Raun didn’t seem on the way for normal and healthy development.

5. Although his family wanted desperately to play with him, he preferred to sit alone and to stare blankly into space.

6. As an experienced and sensitive father, Barry Kaufman knew that his son’s behaviors were usual.

7. However, Raun was unlike autistic children because he seemed calm.

8. At first, doctors were reluctant to assign a label.

9. After reading everything that they could find about autism and carefully observing Raun, Raun’s parents devised a plan based upon three beliefs about Raun.

10. By the end of 8 weeks Suzi didn’t note any positive changes in Raun’s behavior.

Упр. 5. Прочтите текст еще раз и письменно ответьте на следующие вопросы.

1. How did Suzi and Barry Kaufman experience the birth of their third child, the birth of their first son?

2. What was wrong with Raun?

3. What kind of infection did Raun develop when he was 4 weeks old?

4. When did the crisis end?

5. What were Raun’s behaviors during his second staying at home? Did his father consider his behaviors unusual?

6. Was Raun like other autistic children?

7. Did Raun’s parents think that something was seriously wrong?

8. Who did Raun’s parents consult with?

9. Until what age were the Kaufmans urged to wait before starting any type of treatment?

10. What kind of plan based upon three beliefs about Raun did Raun’s parents devise? What were these three beliefs?

11. How much time did Suzi begin to spend with Raun and did she note any changes in her son’s behavior?

12. What main changes did Suzi note by the end of 8 weeks?

Дата добавления: 2015-07-11