"Autism by Hand" by Lorca Damon

Lorca Damon put pen to paper one day to share her story. Damon’s daughter Carrie was diagnosed with severe autism when she was thirteen months old. When Carrie was a baby she was having difficulty reaching her milestones. She did not speak or walk. She was not able to sit up or drink from a cup by herself. She needed help. Her paediatrician did voice his concern when this was brought to his attention. Damon was not too concerned at first. Carrie seemed like a happy little baby. That was all that mattered. Damon never thought there was anything seriously wrong with her child until a second doctor voiced his concern. The diagnosis was described as “Full Blown Autism”, (Damon, 2011). After hearing the news Damon tried her best to provide for Carrie in whatever way she could. She began researching the condition, learning as much as she could about the condition and desperately seeking advice about raising her child. To Damon, it seemed that most books seemed to tell her the facts and figures about autism. She did not find it helpful or reassuring. It made her see a future of hardship for her child rather than a bright future. Damon wanted to learn about the obstacles she and her daughter would face as Carrie was growing up. She wanted to know how she could teach Carrie to use the toilet, teach her to talk, help her through her first day of school. She wanted to know all about how to help Carrie deal with growing up in a world that she may not understand. 

“I needed to know how to potty train my daughter. I needed to know how to teach her to talk or what to do when the day finally came that she had to go to school or had a crush on a boy or got her period.” (Damon 2011)

Damon needed to help prepare Carrie for the future and growing up. She needed to help her daughter through her life as best as she could. So she wrote “Autism by Hand”. Damon states in the introduction that this is “not a human-interest story or a self-help book or an instruction manual”. She is not telling people how they should raise their autistic child. This is simply her experience and her own personal account of what she did to help Carrie. Damon writes this book to help other parents because when she needed a book like this, it was not there.

 “This book wasn’t there when I needed it”. (Damon, 2011) 

Damon takes the reader through a step by step guide of the methods she used when it came to raising her daughter to be the best person she could be. It is important throughout Damon’s book not to take anything to heart. Damon is not writing to spare anyone’s feelings. She is telling it as it is. She is not trying to hurt anyone on purpose. Damon is giving an open, honest and personal account of her experience raising a child with autism. Her book does not have any medical information or any scientific facts. This is from her heart. She is not afraid to voice her opinion. She warns the reader that they will hate her while reading this. She can brutally honest and at times it can be hurtful. Damon is just telling her story the way it is. The only way a story should be told.

Damon takes the reader through several steps and techniques she used while helping Carrie grow up. First there is what Damon refers to as the “Toolbox”. Damon talks about a series of different objects she kept nearby while she was working with Carrie. These objects included a pair of big sunglasses, several pairs of white gloves, a yoga ball, plastic cups and wooden puzzles, play doh, and bubble liquid, filmy scarves and stuffed animal toys. There is a reason for each of these objects. Each object is used to teach Carrie about counting numbers, telling the time, learning to speak and many more.

The pair of big sunglasses was very important. Damon would wear these to attract Carries attention when Damon needed to speak to her. The sunglasses will show the child’s reflection which they find intriguing. More importantly, the glasses cover up a proportion of the face which provides an overwhelming amount of information. The human eyes can tell so much about a person. They reflect what mood a person is in, they blink and flutter, eyebrows come in all different shapes and sizes and they too move while people talk and express themselves. To a young child with autism, this is a lot of information to take in. It is distracting and they can find it difficult to look directly at someone’s eyes. Damon always would try to have her sunglasses at hand. If she did not she would talk to Carrie with her eyes closed. This helped Carrie concentrate on what her mother was saying rather than being over whelmed by her eyes. 

The plastic cups, wooden puzzles and stacking blocks have countless possibilities. Damon would get rainbow plastic cups for her daughter to play with. She would get a variety of colours.  She would let Carrie stack them up and kick them down, first with her right foot then her left foot. This would help Carrie distinguish between left and right. They were great for stacking together and counting too. The same goes for the wooden stacking blocks and puzzles. They are durable and will last a long time. The Yoga Ball and the stompers were to help Carrie with her balance. A lot of children with autism hate feeling off balance. These objects give that feeling. It may be hard for the child at first but by getting them up higher and teaching them to walk on the stompers or to sit and bounce on the yoga ball will help them stay upright and will also help them with their confidence. Play doh and bubble liquids are simply just used for fun and enjoyment. Bubbles can be very relaxing and soothing and it is great fun to pop them. Play doh can be used to mould shapes and create little figures and objects. These objects made learning fun for Carrie.

Damon also talks about using filmy scarves. Filmy scarves that are made of light weight material and see through. This material is slow moving. When thrown it is easily caught which could become a game of catch. Damon also talks about teaching children to sound “TH” by saying it through the scarf. She also discusses teaching a child how to blow bubbles in the pool or blowing their nose using the scarf as well. These are simple techniques for everyday life that are important. The stuffed animal is a comforter but it can also be used to teach an autistic child about communication. It is fair to say that people with autism struggle when it comes to communicating with others. Animals are far less intimidating than people. By using the child’s favourite stuffed toy animal it can teach the child about communication. It can be used to act out everyday scenes such as talking to someone in a queue. It can teach the child about playing games with others and taking turns. 

The most important object Damon keeps at hand is the white gloves. In her tool box or wrapped around her belt, Damon would have several pairs of white gloves. They were made of white material and they were easy to write on. Damon would use these gloves to teach Carrie visually. Carrie learned about time using these gloves. They were used as a calendar, a clock, a countdown timer and many more. Damon would use the gloves to show her how many days were left until her birthday.  She would use the gloves to show Carrie how many words she would need to speak if she wanted something. If Carrie started to scream, Damon would simply use her gloves and her fingers as a countdown to how much time Carrie had left before she would have to stop screaming. Damon would write the days of the week on each finger. This would help Carrie get a sense of time. It helped Carrie when it came for making plans during the week. For example, if Carrie was going swimming on Thursday, Damon would write Monday to Thursday on her fingers and slowly show Carrie the process. Today is Monday (thumb), tomorrow is Tuesday (middle finger), the next day is Wednesday (ring finger) then it is Thursday and that is when she will go swimming. This gives Carrie something visual to focus on. It makes it easier to understand and it prepares her for the day.

Although these objects in the toolbox may seem simple, they can be very important when teaching a child with autism about communication, time and numeracy. It is important to realize that although some tasks may spear to be easy to everyone else, for a young child with autism they could be a lot harder. These objects are interesting. They will keep a child entertained and will help them learn about everyday life as best as they can.