Autism

It is early days yet, but a 6-year-old girl that my granddaughter cares for has had promising results using M***** S****.

She is a twin, and their mother was an alcoholic. They both have some learning disabilities, the girl in particular. She seems to show signs of Asperger's (a form of autism), but that hasn't been tested yet.

Every day, her teacher fills out a sheet giving her either a smiley face or a frowny face for various skills and/or behaviors during the day. These include how she completes a task, or how much help she needs when introduced to a new task.

A few months ago, I gave her a bag of M***** S**** chews. Cassandra, my granddaughter, reported that she was getting more "smiley faces" on her daily papers. However, they did not order more.

About 3 weeks ago, Cassandra was over and we were discussing the girl again, and decided to order 5 months' worth of the M***** S**** for the girl and the I*********** for the boy (so he wouldn't feel left out). At first, I wanted her to give both to the girl, but felt that just using M***** S**** would be a good way to see if they are helping her in any way.

After 2 weeks of using M***** S****, Cassandra reports that, not ony is she getting more "smiley faces" on a daily basis, but her teacher actually praised her. Apparently, the class had been introduced to a new "station" on the computer, and the girl was able to do as instructed, without needing additional instruction - unusual for her.

Cassandra also told me that usually, when told to clean her room, she never completes the task, and is easily distracted (not unusual for a 6-year-old). A few days ago, she was told to clean her room, and she completed it without prompting.

Also, Cassandra was reading a book to the twins and usually, the boy can get the words and repeat them, but not the girl. This time, the girl was able to repeat the words and actually read them from the book without prompting. Something she has not been able to do before.

As she gets a sheet on a daily basis, we will be able to continue to track her progress. For now, we feel that M***** S***** are helping her in her daily life.

Mary L., Katy, TX

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