I named my business "Synergy Autism Center" to convey the fact that the stereotype of "autism" is derived from its root word "alone." I worked hard to find the opposing concept of what it means to travel life alone.... the closest I could find is to travel life experiencing moments of synergy with others to aid in your learning, loving, growing, and finding yourself.
We
see “Synergy” business logos plastered on the sides of vehicles
and buildings in our world today. Companies want to quickly share
with you that they encourage a collaborative process at their
company. They are telling you that they foster synergy in the
delivery of services to you, the consumer. They are making sure you
know that they believe that they can create something for you that is
even greater than the sum of each parts or people alone, through
their business practices. Yes, this feels overused and I have certainly battled that overuse fact over the years. However.....
Synergy
invokes a visual of cogs working together in motion.
The beauty comes when you realize that each cog may be a different
size and have different attributes but reaches out to engage and
interact with the other cogs to set things in motion. Synergy
requires each cog to connect physically with the other cogs to make
something happen.
Here at Synergy, we come to families with knowledge of both typical development and autism. So I ask you to take a moment to think from a developmental perspective for a moment. Imagine
a young child (really try to visualize this moment, if you would). The child reaches out for a trusted caregiver’s arm
when the caregiver is talking with someone else across the room. The
child may be vocalizing while touching his caregiver’s arm. The
caregiver may disengage with the other person and turn to engage with
his child who is bidding for his attention. Each is a cog and now
they are engaged. The synergy between parent and child has begun. The
interaction may be very brief to secure something the child wants,
but often, with very young children, the interaction, the engagement,
is now in motion in a back and forth sequence. There is a rhythm to
that engagement as each cog responds to the other as they work
together to achieve a whole that is greater than each of their own
sole energies.
Now
try to imagine a young child
who is either simply quite content to play on his own with toys, not
frequently reaching out for his parent. When the parent reaches out
for that child, the child may struggle to shift from what he is doing
to engage with his parent. The initial moment of those cogs
connecting is awkward or disjointed.
We typically allow our children to initiate that synergy with us,
without even having to make it a conscious decision. We simply focus
on the tasks at hand of keeping our child safe, fed, and well rested.
The child initiates the synergy for engagement. However, sometimes,
that child has a sensory or neurological system that makes that
synergy between parent and child a bit more chaotic or awkward.
Excellent parents allow the independent exploration and honor the
child’s need for solitude or less engagement. They notice that the
child may become overstimulated if they try to engage too much. They
notice that the child pulls away when they try to initiate the
synergy with them. They are respectful parents who honor what they
think is the child’s message to be left alone. So they do except
when the child needs or wants something tangible.
However,
now imagine that this child is experiencing the world
more fully than anyone you have ever met from a sensory perspective. Imagine that the child has
a sensory system that works differently and may be more sensitive.
The child still is motivated to interact but is simultaneously
feeling and sensing the world around you more richly and sometimes in
seemingly more chaotic manner. Many adults on the autism spectrum report this as their experience.
By
understanding and respecting
the child’s experience, we can offer engagement and connection with
a whole new approach: slowly, deliberately, allowing processing time,
and with respect. We can now allow the child to shift his attention
from whatever it is that he is doing or observing to you, his guide.
We allow the child the time to seek those moments of connection. We
can now allow the child time to connect to you so that synergy can
begin. Now that we know that the child is motivated and how to
engage that child, moments of connection and subsequent synergy can
be created. Through synergy with his parent, he is able to learn more
naturally and more fully, borrowing energy and information from his
parent to then try out and maybe even create synergy with other
children and other trusted adults now and in the future.
By
ensuring synergy between parent and child, we support the development
of joint attention and reciprocal engagement.
Then, the interventions that are chosen for that child (ABA, RDI,
DIR, etc) are more effective and tailored for that child within his
family culture. True synergy at a higher level has now also been
initiated for and with that child.
