Autism Story #2 The little girl who tortured herself

No time at the moment to marvel at her reaction, you forget you're a human, you're a therapist and should act to calm her down quickly.

Let's start with the introduction..

It was summer 2016 when I received a call from the director of an institution that takes care of children with special needs, she said that a mother will call, and that insists to see her daughter and take care of her through therapy because only I can understand and can cope.

The mother called shortly, I scheduled a meeting in a park to see how she interacts with other children and how is her behavior outside the family environment.

The 5 year old wanted to play with the girls in the park, but they did not interacted with her at all, she was just like a shadow to the,, I talked to the mom long time, 2hours. At the time of separation, the girl did not want to leave with the mother, she started to cry and scream for those girls ... hardly understood it was time to go home.

Next day I started the first therapy session at her home. It was sweet at first, she responded in an enter position. Although she did not speak at all, only sounds that did not connect to what I was trying to teach her.

After 40 minutes, suddenly began screaming, looking into my eyes without blinking, she began to bite her hands, shaking, throwing whatever was beside her in me ... you wonder why? Because she no longer wanted to continue, and this was her way of speaking, to show what bothers her.

In these times you must be careful not to hurt you. The mother was already used to her crises and
ignoreed her. She told me that the neighbors where gossiping that her daughter was possessed that`s why she was screaming like that.

I put some relaxing music, I gathered her in my arms and rocked ...she calmed in a few minutes.

"She was not like this since she was born, after a vaccine she "transformed" herself " - her mother words.

The rest therapy went well, we solved the puzzle, danced, sang, as if nothing happened.

This happened for several meetings, then the crises stopped for three months, until one day...

When I entered the home, she was making sings pointing my briefcase - was a sign that she wanted tablet, but she was receiveing it only therapy break as a reward, but I had forgotted at home.

She got mad and she did not tortured herself, but me, jumped on me, bited me, scratched me, punch me with everything she could.

I barely escaped from her hands.

I was not scared, but I was frustrated that it came to this. Of course I did not continued therapy that day. I paused for a few days for her to forget the event.

Meetings continued and everything returned to normal.

We started the kindergarten, where I was her shadow, two months I went with her, until one day I can lost the control I had on her.

That day that I will remember all my life: everything seemed fine, she was feeling good, interact with her colleagues, I was happy to have received her in their group in the end, to a time when I was searching for some materials to work with her 1meter away and suddenly she disappeared.

I searched for her desperately ... she was at the door of the small group room - of kindergarten -,the baby group, paying attention to a little boy of 2years.

I spoke calmly and took her hand to get back in class, then suddenly hitched when the little boy wanted to get out of the class, my girl wanted to catch his head on the door, it was a second when I reacted and I caught the child to take him away from there.

My girl remained speachless in the door, I took my phone and called the mom, told her that I could not stay with her child anymore.

Her reactions began to be directed toward other people, younger children.

I was sorry I had to quit but the situation was painful for me.

In this photo we where playing - she was the hairstylist and me the customer, she loved my hair and plyed with it everytime.
She was Isabelle