Julian Malabello…

… began life in Subiaco, Western Australia, on 13th November, 1991. Julian was a healthy 10 lb 11oz boy, delivered by emergency ceasarean section following a complicated 16-hour labor. Julian was an extremely placid and quiet baby, who was more content to sleep than interact. I would need to wake him to feed him, as he would sleep for 8 consecutive hours, and be wakeful for less than an hour before falling asleep again. By six months of age, his wakefulness would last for several hours, but he was still sleeping up to 16 hours per day. By 10 months of age he was not showing a desire to crawl, and had only just started sitting. He would pull himself up to hold on to furniture, and he eventually walked at 14 months.

By 18 months of age, my concern for Julian's delayed development had escalated. While his older brother, Fabian, was at the early end of the developmental norms, Julian was at the opposite “late” end. As a mother, I tried not to compare the children's development, but Julian's disinterest in others was apparent to any outside observer. Julian did not play, or allow any interference in his "space" when he was self-absorbed. Any demand of his attention would result in tantrums. Several self-stimulatory behavior's had emerged, including running repeatedly backwards and forwards between two designated points, and lining up or spinning objects.

When he was inoculated with MMR vaccine, he had a severe reaction, with high fever, vomiting, and was listless. He became more remote following this reaction. His need for rigid routine increased. Changing any aspect of his environment produced severe temper tantrums. He became obsessed with water, closing doors, going in one specific direction, being naked (dressing Julian was near impossible). By age 2, Julian had several " baby words" including "ca" (car) and "ju" (juice). Julian would stare at objects for lengthy periods of time, and would line up toy cars, blocks - any objects within his reach would be placed in an exact straight line.

By age 3, Julian had stopped using the few words he had uttered - he seemed to simply lose his language. He never said "Mama" or "Dada", but would take my hand and lead me to whatever item he wanted, and would use my hand to touch the item. He had extremely limited eye contact, and at one point, we were all convinced he was deaf. A hearing test eliminated that theory. He refused solid food, and lived on apple juice and milk until he was nearly 4 years old.

Toilet training began at age 4, and he was dry during the day as long as I would take him to the toilet. He never initiated his need to urinate, but would co-operate if placed on the toilet. He had no self-help skills at this point, and did not undress or dress himself, or attempt to wash his own hands, or wipe himself with a towel following a bath. He would only drink from a bottle and would throw any unfamiliar item that was given to him. He would cooperate in undressing - anything to get those clothes off!

All attempts to have Julian diagnosed in Australia were met with resistance by every professional I had approached. I was repeatedly told that I was an "anxious mother", that "boys are typically late developers", and "don't worry". The complete dismissal of my concerns invalidated my training as an educator and researcher, and negated my competence as a mother. My extremely unfortunate personal experience of the patronizing and invalidating attitude of "autism experts" and other professionals is a commonly told story by mothers and families of children with autism.

An unexpected move to the USA in 1994 by our family resulted in Julian's diagnosis at age 3 years 8 months of “moderate to severe autism” by a diagnostic panel of 5 separate professionals in New York. Julian was initially placed in an early intervention program in Connecticut, USA, for three months, followed by a home program, then a placement at the Fred S. Keller School in Yonkers, New York, where he attended for a period of seven months. My experience at Fred S. Keller School initiated my interest in Behavioural Science.

Upon our return to Australia in 1996, we were faced with the dilemma of a complete lack of behaviorally oriented instructional programs for children with autism. I commenced my own home program for Julian. After making very limited progress using Discrete Trial Training, my sheer frustration in the lack of achieving the instructional goals set out for Julian forced me into extensive reading of Behavioural Science research literature to seek solutions. This prompted my return to the USA to source information through attending conferences. I was privileged to be trained in Standard Celeration Charting by Ogden Richardson Lindsley, I commenced implementing the standard tools of Precision Teaching with Julian upon my return. After two years of 15 hours per week of Precision Teaching, Julian's diagnosis had changed to "semantic-pragmatic language disorder". That still  holds many challenges for Julian. He is unique, as are all children, and certainly maintains an eccentric view of the world.

I refer to Julian as “joy on legs”. He is a wonderfully funny, friendly, affectionate, thoughtful, independent, tidy, problem solving, considerate, helpful, loving 16-year old, who enjoys cooking.  That can't be said for all teenagers! Julian currently attends Year 11 High School. He  is participating in a work placement program, and is an avid ice hockey player. Julian is a loyal fan of the Anaheim Ducks, and recently had the pleasure of receiving a personal message from the team! One of  Julian's goals is to make it to a Duck's game during the ice hockey season in Los Angeles in 2009. Stay tuned!