This is our story about how we broke through the isolation of autism through typing.

 

My son Shaun regressed into autism at 2.5 years old and lost his ability to speak or effectively communicate. Despite 9 years of PECS and AAC in school and therapy, he found them confusing and he could only request his favorite foods. They did not allow him to express the incredible knowledge he had absorbed over those many years. An intuitive teacher named Meghan Bennett took a different approach after she noticed Shaun using the AAC words on his iPad to comment on a sentence written in marker a nearby whiteboard. She realized he could read and embarked on a investigation of his true abilities to read, spell, analyze passages, and perform math.

 

She discovered he was intellectually far above grade level in most subjects tested. The problem was that he insisted on holding her hand while he typed because he had difficulty accurately planning and executing the motor movements of typing. Knowing how controversial this was and that schools would never recognize this as legitimately his thoughts, I began the journey of fading support to get him typing independently. It took 6 months of daily practice, but after our hard work together, he was then able to type on his own and prove undeniably that the intelligent child existed inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a nutshell, this is how we did it:

1. Alphabet keyboard app on iPad obtained

2. Placed iPad on laptop desk and got relaxed and comfy on the couch. iPad was propped up at an 45 degree angle on the desk initially.

3. We practiced simple answers to questions (we had a lot of questions for him!)

4. Shaun put his hand over my hand and typed with his pointer finger

5. Once he knew his alphabet well, we switched to a QWERTY keyboard due to its ubiquitous nature in society

6. QWERTY keyboard practice with the Animal Typing app which had sounds with each keypress of correct or not. I wanted to switch the focus from me to the screen and its feedback to help gain independence.

7. I slowly faded my hand to hand support up to his wrist, then forearm, then onto edge of iPad screen, then onto the edge of the laptop desk, then completely off. This follows the principle of distal to proximal motor training. This took a few months and there was anxiety with each step, but we kept progressing.

8. He could then type independently on his ProloquoToGo speaking app keyboard screen!​​   

In hindsight, I would have used a device such as one of those pictured on the website to take the place of my hand/arm. It would have saved time with the months of fading support and having non-believers in his abilities. Second, I would have used a traditional QWERTY keyboard starting at Step 5. It has more sensory feedback from pressing the keys than the flat screen of an iPad. I didn't try a laptop keyboard with him until months later, and to my surprise, it was easier and preferred by him. And having the keyboard laying flat actually worked better for him too.

 

Single finger typing was hard for Shaun who was not good at scanning the keyboard and often looking elsewhere from the keyboard screen. Therefore, we then progressed to 10 finger touch typing after the first year. That also took 6 months to learn.

 

     Touch typing journey:

​1.Training noodle fingers: Shaun's finger strength is fairly low and he says he has diminished touch perception. We used a wrist rest velcroed to the laptop keyboard and he got his fingers on the home row. To maintain finger position and give added sensory input, I put my 10 fingers ON TOP OF his 10 fingers. Yes, FINGER OVER FINGER!

2. We use typing.com and edutyping.com to practice

3. Gradually, I faded my fingers up to the tops of his hands, then wrists, then forearms, then upper arms, then back of his neck, then top of his head.

4. He still got nervous if I completely took my hand away and admitted it was psychological dependence rather than physical dependence of my touch.

5. HANDS FREE: I had surgery and couldn't hold my finger on top of his head for a few weeks, so he was forced to type without my finger on his head. After a week, he adapted just fine.

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Note: Shaun had trouble remembering that he had two hands when I didn't touch him at all because being nervous breaks his mind-body connection. He overcame this by using his active hand to touch his inactive hand to start it up. Unconventional, but it works and he still does it that way with one of his hands crossing over to help the other. In time with further practice and strengthening of pathways, I suspect this need will fade away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above, is a video of Shaun typing in March, 2023. He started the sentence before the video began with, "The American citizens..." and he finishes the sentence here with typing "..were nervous after the stock market crash." I occasionally prompt him to push space/shift, or keep going, or what's next. He also finds ChomeVox helpful to keep him focused; as he types each letter, it speaks the letter to give him auditory input. He is an auditory learner and often is not looking at the computer screen or is using his peripheral vision.

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