Language and Communication
Reading Skills
Numeracy Skills
Writing Skills
Information Technology Skills
Physical Education Skills
Design and Technology Skills
Religious Education Skills
Art Skills
Music Skills
Social Skills
School Skills

Evie was effectively a mute child. Receptive language (understanding) skills were 11 months at age 3 years 5 months. Expressive language skills were 7-9 months when tested at age 3 years 5 months.

Two years ago (Feb. 1998): Evie named known objects (80 words known expressively) and had nearly 20 sentences beginning, "I want". She had limited commenting, e.g. she said, "cat" if she saw a cat. Receptive language had increased dramatically – see the Lovaas programme summary.

1 year ago (April 1999):

The number and type of use of language and communication increased. Evie used language to recount past events, comment on the mood of self and others, communicate needs, express preferences, share experiences, and to tell and recount stories.

Evie had an expressive object label list of hundreds of words. We no longer kept a tally of the words she was using, as she was picking vocabulary up in a more normal fashion. (This is true of other parts of speech as well as nouns.) She was using language to comment more fully, such as by saying, "Daddy is cooking", "The dog is dirty". She was spontaneously and appropriately asking questions, e.g. "where’s Alice?", "what’s in there?" She was using some pronouns and several prepositions spontaneously, appropriately and accurately, e.g. "I clapped", "Pooh Bear is under the basket". Her use of adjectives improved, e.g., "it’s light blue", "it’s blue and green and orange". Her jokes became more sophisticated, e.g. she would feed a toy dog and would say, "Scally burped! Naughty Scally". She used social language, e.g. to say, "sorry Mummy" if she had done something wrong. She could tell us what she did on a day, e.g. "Mummy and Daddy and Evie went swimming", "Mummy and Evie went to Lookout", "on Sunday we went to zoo". She made up stories imaginatively, e.g. she told us about a monster, she would describe its size, appearance and colour, and what he did. She could re-tell a story she had heard, e.g. she could tell a simple version of the Christmas Nativity story. Her ability to request improved, e.g, she would say, "I want ‘Not Now Bernard’ video", having seen that video advertised in a television trailer.

She was using more normal intonation, and was sharing moments with peers and adults. Her articulation was improving, such that strangers found it easier to understand her. She would greet or say goodbye or goodnight to people spontaneously. She involved herself with quite complex scenarios with her toys and she loved dressing-up. We could bargain with her and explain what was going to happen, such as saying that Daddy had gone to work, that we would go later to visit friends, and what we were going to have for supper. She was no longer reinforced on the home programme immediately by food or toys, but either just by verbal praise or by means of a star chart for doing really good work. She had basically learnt to obtain reinforcement from the task itself.

Now (April 2000):

Evie’s receptive language skills have dramatically improved, and this is demonstrated across a range of settings and people. This is also backed up by her improvement in the formal language tests. Her expressive language is frequent, meaningful and appropriate. Pragmatic use of language is now improved, even in the last six months since the recent Pragmatics Profile was carried out.

In summary, the following key areas of progress have emerged this year:

• She is showing a more profound understanding of spoken language;
• She is learning new words and phrases naturally;
• She is making links between her areas of knowledge and past experience;
• She is starting to predict the future;
• She is using abstract linguistic concepts such as certain pronouns and prepositions appropriately;
• Many of her language skills are also being displayed in her mainstream settings;
• She is using language to recount past events, to share ideas, to enjoy stories, to communicate detailed preferences, to show off her creations, to socialise, and to display considerable humour and enjoyment of life.

Reading Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

Evie had no letter or reading skills.

Two years ago (Feb. 1998):

She could read about 100 word-cards (taught using the "look and say" method).

1 year ago (April. 1999):

We started Evie on the Oxford Reading Tree Scheme, and she spontaneously requested and shared these books, as well as reading them by herself. She loved them and delighted in making drawings from the scenes described in the books. She could read many books at Level 2 and 3 and some favourite books at Level 4 on this scheme. She was also progressing well on phonic reading both in the Lovaas programme and with lessons with a Montessori (mainstream school) teacher. As well as spelling words we asked her to spell, she would ask to spell more. For example, if we said, "spell rug, rr-uh-guh" she might say, "where is Noddy?" and she would get the pot of letters and spontaneously spell, "Noddy on rug". She delighted in spelling and would often get the pot of letters and spontaneously sit on the floor spelling words out of formal teaching sessions, asking for my help if she needed it. She would also spell things if requested without the aid of a pencil or of letter templates, for example, we would ask her to spell "wet" and she would sound out the letter phonic sounds.

She was well on the way to becoming an independent reader. She read many types of text – simple recipes, poetry, reading scheme books, and a diary. I wrote a diary entry of what we did together every day, in fact she largely dictated the story to me. She watched intently as I wrote it down. She loved to read and re-read this account.

Now (April 2000):

• Reading for Understanding:

• Literacy Hour:

• Story Time:

• Stories out of therapy time - trips to the theatre and cinema:

Numeracy Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

She could not articulate any of the numbers and had no knowledge of numbers at all.

Two years ago (Feb. 1998):

She could count to five and answer the question, "how many?" up to five.

One Year Ago (April. 1999):

She understood the concept of zero. She could count to fifty. She could do addition worksheets, e.g. "3 + 7 = ?". She could do subtraction from 10 with encouragement. She knew her Montessori Short Bead Staircase, which is one of the basic steps for work in Montessori mathematics. (She learned this after a couple of demonstrations.) She could manipulate Montessori number rods and Montessori Seguin Boards and perform related bead work (teen counting and 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 matching). She could count backwards from 10. She could measure objects using a centimetre ruler and could write down the results in a worksheet format. She could manipulate worksheets to do with money, e.g. counting the number of pennies in a purse, drawing the requisite number of pennies, counting and writing the total of different objects. She could do dot-to-dot puzzles up to 20, and could do worksheets such as colouring x number of items, or drawing x number of items. She could recognise and name the coins and notes of the English currency system.

Now (April 2000):

Evie has continued her work with the Montessori mathematics beads. She has demonstrated understanding of number by learning to match the written labels to the requisite number of beads up to 100. She has learned to work with a Hundred Square, and can name all the numbers and find numbers, beginning to see the patterns, e.g. 10, 20, 30, etc. She has worked with tens, units, hundred and thousands, again using specialised Montessori equipment. She learned to do basic addition and subtraction using a range of tools. We are also working on improving her independence, that is, having her complete mathematical worksheets on shape, addition, subtraction, matching, etc. Evie is also learning how to use number lines to carry out addition. She completes worksheets using a range of mathematical concepts, with the tutor situated some distance away, perhaps even leaving the room for a time, to simulate the independent work skills needed for a school situation. We also play a tape of school-room sounds (her actual class at school engaged in a group activity) to teach her how to attend to a task whilst coping with background school noise. She is coping with this very well. Evie has also learnt to recognise fractions, is learning about time using a clock, and can demonstrate an understanding of number concept in everyday contexts, e.g. counting out items for her teddy bears to have a tea party. We are working on play with toy money to generalise her understanding of the money system.

Numeracy Hour:

In addition we have been working for some time with Evie using a new style of teaching to allow Evie to participate in the Numeracy Hour. This involves front-of-class type teaching, so that Evie sits on the floor with her peers, answering questions. This has included things like singing a number rhyme together, then she participates by coming to the whiteboard and writing the sum, e.g. if we sing "Ten Green Bottle", and two bottles fall off, she will spontaneously write the full sum, 10 – 2 = 8. Similarly she enjoys playing games with normal peers such as "Five Currant Buns". The LEA Educational Psychologist has observed Evie performing these tasks (although not with other children present) during home visits this year. Evie happily does this sort of task when normal peers come round to play (they love playing "school"). In addition, we are targetting skills observed in Evie’s school-class, including counting animals, sorting them, and doing subtraction and addition sums on individual slates.

Before the Lovaas programme:

She would not even hold a pencil. When we started the programme she had a palmar grip at best. She would not scribble much less draw or write.

Two years ago (Feb. 1998):

She could write her own name, produce half-a-dozen simple drawings and copy a dozen letters. She had a tripod grip.

Ono year ago (February 1999):

She could competently produce all lower-case letters of the alphabet and was learning some upper-case letters. Her grip was improved and the formation of the letters more fluent. She was starting to copy whole words. When she drew something she spontaneously asked the tutor to write the words underneath, e.g., she asked us to write, "green monster and Superted", and she copied this on ruled paper underneath. She was also starting to produce spontaneous stories, which she asked the tutor or parent to write down.

In addition she had learned to spell 3-letter phonic words on request (e.g. "spell ram"), and she could do this either verbally or in writing. She was also starting to write her own words and sentences spontaneously, e.g. "the princess was playing at top of castle", although the spelling was not necessarily accurate for some non-phonetic words. She would also now spontaneously label her drawings, using whole sentences if necessary, again guessing the spelling where necessary, or asking for help.

Drawing: was much improved too, and she spontaneously drew whole scenarios both in and out of formal teaching sessions. For example, she drew a Superted, Rupert Bear and monster scene from her imagination. She would spend many hours during the evening out of formal therapy time simply drawing and writing, and involving those around her in her "stories".

Now (April 2000):

Evie can now write simple stories, e.g. of past events, such as a day at school. This is partially assisted, for example, she will ask for help with the spelling of a word. She enjoys making a drawing to accompany it, and has made several books during the year of which she is very proud:

• A home-made "Where’s Spot?" book;
• A home-made ABC book;
• A home-made Zoo book;
• A home-made Animal ABC book;
• A home-made School book, where she fills out an entry for a session in school, complete with drawing;
• A current home-made book, where she describes school or other events, such as her recent trip to a cinema.

In addition, Evie is also learning to play a range of literacy-based games, which she plays both at home and school, such as Rhyming Lotto and Hangman. Hangman is a great favourite of several of Evie’s normal friends, and she will play this game with her peers. In addition Evie will now spontaneously write future events that she is looking forward to, e.g. on her calendar, and will come to show us.

Information Technology Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

Non-existent.

Now (April 2000)

Evie has attended school on Wednesday afternoons since September, where the teacher sometimes runs a computing lesson. Evie gradually learned to sit and listen to an explanation of the activity, and then to take her turn doing the activity on the computer, with assistance from her Lovaas shadow.

In addition, we are doing computer studies with her on her home programme. She has learnt the basic parts of a computer, and can now name the monitor, disk drive, keyboard, mouse, speaker, modem and printer. She can use a range of Dorling Kindersley software, a favourite being, "Now I’m Reading". She shows great enjoyment, laughing at the funny parts of the software. She especially enjoys a guessing game and a spelling game, and her mouse skills have really improved. She can now move the mouse competently and drag items independently, and can enter and exit the software herself.

Before the Lovaas programme:

Evie was physically very able, but very difficult to control and could not wait her turn.

Now (April 2000)

So far Evie has been allowed to attend school on only two Thursday afternoons to join her class at PE. She enjoyed this, and has made a start getting used to the routine of changing, following instructions to her group and to the class. In addition we practise balancing, movement and bean-bag skills with her on the home programme.

Design and Technology Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

Evie had no concept of planning, and would not even colour things, much less make something constructively.

Now (April 2000)

Evie’s abilities in design and technology have significantly improved over the past year. She has improved fine motor control with basic tools, including scissors, glue, masking tape, sellotape, etc, and she is experiencing the different properties of various cards, papers, fabrics and wood. We have recently added a new element to prepare her better for school and to expand her listening and planning skills. The tutor runs a front-of-class type session, whereby Evie sits on the floor in Circle Time format with her "peers" and the tutor plays the role of the teacher, going through a list of instructions to make something. Evie responds to simple questions, and reads the instructions when asked. After that, she goes to the craft table to use the appropriate materials, using the written instructions as a guide. Here we are targetting independence, where Evie is expected to make the item using the finished product made in advance by the tutor, and / or to watch carefully how the tutor makes her item. We are also encouraging Evie to ask for assistance, to request us to pass materials, etc. She also does this activity with her normal peers on play dates, and the skills are establishing themselves at Rainbows, junior church and school, although more work needs to be done to increase Evie’s independence at school. Again, we play a tape at home of class-room noises to help Evie learn to work against a background noise.

Excitingly, as a result of the work at home on the design and technology side, Evie will spontaneously make items, both in and out of formal therapy hours.  Once she has made something, Evie will take it to the tutor or to another person (for example, the leader or teacher if at school) and say, "Look, <teacher name>, I made an <item name>".

Religious Education Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

Evie had no concept of this subject. On Sunday mornings we sometimes kept Evie at home because she was difficult at church. When she did attend with a one-to-one church volunteer, she showed no interaction at all with the other children and could not understand what was said. She would sit on her own separately from the other children.

Now (April 2000)

• RE Skills

• Social and Communication Skills in the Church Setting

Art Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

Evie would not hold a pencil or crayon readily.

Now (April 2000)

Evie’s drawing and painting skills have considerably improved over the last year. We have undertaken a lot of work on the Lovaas home programme helping Evie to be more observant of her world, and to add details to her drawings. She will spend many hours drawing and painting spontaneously out of formal therapy hours, often taking her ideas from books, films or real events in her life.

Music Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

Evie showed some response to adults singing songs and nursery rhymes.

Now (April 2000)

• Musical Skills

• She can sing and perform appropriate actions to a bank of selected songs which contain the basic elements which children need to learn;
• She is learning to walk and clap the pulse of the song;
• She is learning to walk and clap the rhythm of the song;
• She is learning to select written notation for a song;
• She is learning to throw a ball in 2-time, 3-time, or 4-time;
• She is learning to clap in 2-time, 3-time, or 4-time;
• She is learning to conduct in 2-time, 3-time, or 4-time;
• She can sing some of the songs in Solfa, using the appropriate musical hand signals.

• Social and Communication Skills at the Music Lesson Setting

Social Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

None. She could not interact, greet or play with anyone. She was best with her mother and ignored other children. Eye contact was very poor.

Two years ago (Feb. 1998):

Parallel play at pre-school with normal children. Fond of tutors, involved in party games with peers. Close to parents and maternal grandmother.

One year ago (April 1999):

She would play one-on-one with an age-matched peer, e.g. dressing-up games, having a tea-party, participating in a board-game. She made two very good friends at her Rainbows group whom she plays with in their home or at her home. She was fond of all family members, including grandparents and young cousin. When people come to watch her working on her home programme she would greet them and spontaneously get them involved, e.g. holding their hands to join in with singing, drawing pictures for them, giving them lots of eye contact and cheeky grins. She would tell them stories e.g. recounting what she did yesterday or earlier in the day. She was very pro-active, involving others, and she loved to show off her own work, for example, she now spontaneously came to us to show her drawings or writing, and would then spontaneously get some blu-tac to attach the artwork to the wall. She clearly took pride in what she produced.

Now (April 2000):

• Peers

• Adults

School Skills

Before the Lovaas programme:

Evie attended a normal pre-school, St Mary’s, Sandhurst, where she exhibited difficult behaviours, as well as the Margaret Wells Furby Children’s Centre, where she did not socialise with the other children. She was at that time effectively mute and her receptive understanding was poor.

After one year on the Lovaas programme:

Evie attended St Mary’s with a trained Lovaas tutor. A report from St Mary’s Pre-school, Sandhurst, showed that Evie was settling in at Snack Time, and was observed to play nicely alongside the other children. Her difficult behaviours had subsided and the Supervisor who wrote the report described Evie as a changed child.

Now (April 2000):

Evie has attended mainstream local school part-time (one session per week) from September 1999 until March 2000 when we received notification from the school that Evie was at last to be allowed to attend school the two sessions per week as specified in her current Statement of Special Educational Needs. Evie learned the following skills by attending school for one session a week:

• She has accustomised herself to school routines, including classroom and playground;
• She plays social games with the other children including "Duck, Duck, Goose", "Eggs and Ham", etc;
• She enjoys the climbing-frame and shows off her skills to the other children;
• She has learnt to sit nicely at Story Time;
• She has shown that she is able to operate in a noisy environment and concentrate on tasks that are longer and less focussed than most of her traditional home programme tasks;
• She has shown that she is beginning to interact with adults in an unfamiliar situation, including spontaneously showing work to the teacher;
• She is beginning to read to the class teacher, but this needs much more work. It is unfortunate that not enough time has so far been available to allow Evie to do this and that the teacher has failed in specific goals agreed at joint meetings to facilitate this;
• She is beginning to interact with the other children, is learning their names, and greets them spontaneously;
• She is beginning to answer at Register time appropriately;
• She greets her teacher and head-teacher spontaneously;
• She participates at group craft time, including tidying up;
• Evie’s class-teacher is beginning to reach out to Evie to include her more as part of the group, after Ms Rees wrote suggestions based on a review meeting with the LEA Educational Psychologist, the head-teacher, Evie’s Lovaas Consultant, and Lovaas shadow. It is disappointing that this is tardy and limited in nature, however;
• Evie coped extremely well at Christmas time when numerous sessions were set aside for the school production. The first time, when Evie and her shadow were given no advance warning, Evie experienced great anxiety at a new room, teacher, and lesson. Once the school provided the music and song-words, we were able to go through the songs with Evie at home, and within a few sessions at school Evie was settled enough so she could join in with the songs and watch the performing children with obvious enjoyment;
• On the very occasional times when she has become anxious or upset, this has been dealt with swiftly and successfully by Evie’s Lovaas shadow, without undue disturbance to the rest of the class. The LEA Educational Psychologist has stated that Evie does not exhibit behaviour that could pose a problem to the other children;
• Evie enjoys school tremendously. She is making friends with the children and visits some of them at their home out of school, or has them over to visit with her. Several of the children have actually asked to visit Evie, which is significant in terms of how she is perceived by her peers, and when they come to visit, they enjoy their time with her. Evie shows affection to these children and they reciprocate this affection. This was shown quite clearly recently when Thomas, a school friend, came up to Evie in the playground and told her that he was very happy that she was in his school.