This is the story of a 14-year old girl who is suffering from autism. Her parents are concerned about her silence and peculiar habits.
A mental illness can make one do and experience extremely peculiar things and in my profession, the same doesn’t surprise me anymore. I have come across clients who would look at water and see blood, close the door thrice before leaving in order to avoid bad luck, etc. To the outside person, these things would seem- for the lack of a better word- ‘insane.’ But to those suffering from a mental illness, such things seem normal and necessary.
The same was the case with a 14-year old girl, who is suffering from Autism. This is a developmental disorder where the person lacks the ability to communicate and interact. Her parents came in for a consultation with their daughter, worried sick to their stomach.
“She has been behaving very strangely of late,” said the mother, adding. “Our daughter has always been a very silent child. She doesn’t speak at all. We often try to make her talk but we fail. This part of her behaviour is something that we are used to. However, what she has been doing lately has gotten us really worried.”
I was listening to the woman, as well as carefully observing the girl. She seemed extremely disoriented and least concerned with the ongoing conversation. The girl sat there silently, with her head hanging low. She would rarely look up and when she did, she didn’t make any eye contact with me. Her eyes would search for things in the room that she could focus on.
“When the sun sets, she starts lighting candles. She places these candles throughout the house,” said the father, and my attention shifted immediately to what he just said. I prodded him further and he added, “My daughter gets into this ritual every evening, without fail. And when we tell her to stop, she gets aggressive and starts throwing tantrums. She refuses to listen and goes ahead, without caring about anyone or anything. There’s nothing we can do except for letting her do what she wants to.”
This struck me as extremely unusual as well as intriguing. Not very often do I come across cases of clients with autism. But what the client’s father just disclosed goes into my collection of peculiar incidents that I have heard about/ seen throughout my career till now. The mother further informed me that their daughter also has an obsessive habit of cleaning.
“She cleans the whole day. It’s almost like there’s nothing else she’s passionate about. Our daughter gets these fits of cleaning and when she gets into it, she’s unstoppable,” said the mother.
The lady also expressed her concern over the fact that her daughter’s inability to interact and communicate may ruin her future. “If she doesn’t speak, how will she survive in college, get a job, settle down, lead her life?” asked the mother with exasperation.
I could gather that the parents are really scared for their daughter’s well being and future as naturally, any parent would be. It was vital for me to make her interact and get rid of her peculiar habits. As in every case, I advised the parents that their daughter undergo Neurofeedback sessions.
After just a few sessions, the client has begun to speak and interact with her parents. She is still slow in the process but is certainly not silent like before. The 14-year-old has also started to obey her parents and her practice of lighting candles has reduced significantly. She also doesn’t get her cleaning fits as much.
All in all, I can see a significant change in her behaviour and this is just the beginning. She has a lot more sessions to undergo and I can’t wait for the day she looks straight into my eyes and smiles. Her speaking to me would be the next step and I’ll be assured we are on the right track!
