Breaking the barriers: Three therapists work to improve the quality of life of children with autism

In a small beach of San Isidro, Facundo Ortiz (35) Wait for Tomer. When he arrives, a Monday after his school routine, they make a big hug. The boy with coppery waves can not hide his joy. Facundo is a psychomotor specialist and has been following him since the age of two. The 7 year old is special: he has an angelic face and a smile that makes everyone in love. Moreover, it is in the autistic spectrum.

Facundo is also special and has a lot of sweetness. Empathic, happy, full of peace. Although, perhaps, his most transcendent quality lies in the fact that he believes deeply in his children and, from there, helps them to realize their full potential. And more importantly, to improve their quality of life. Theirs and their parents.

Tomer has the mesh and, holding hands, they go down to the small beach. Short and sweet, they sing: "We will row in a small boat, quickly, quickly, quickly, in a small boat …". They are waiting for windsurfing specially designed by Facundo for the child. Climb and start to sail.

Tomer is happy, focuses on the movement of the board, on the pursuit of balance. Facundo, he supports it. The water games begin, they are splashed and little by little the boy becomes confident. Ortiz continues to challenge him and soaks him more and more to relax him. And the magic moment arrives: Tomer seizes the sail and sails alone, under the supervision of the therapist.

The postcard is perfect. All the plot for this: the serenity of the Rio de la Plata, the smile of a child loaded on a blue board, its shiny melenita bulge, now, golden. Facundo looks at him with pride. Your little pigeon is surfing and challenging the limits of autism, breaking down all the barriers. A wonder that occurs when effort, faith and love come together. Nothing more and nothing less.

"You can not stop the waves, but you can learn to surf them," said the therapist in an interview with Infobae, along the river. And he paraphrased Michelangelo: "The sculpture was already inside the stone, I had only to remove the marble that remained."

"It was his words after finishing La Piedad," he explained, "he always saw the sculpture, never the stone, that's exactly what it's all about when we Let's look at the hidden potential of autistic people – the large amount of "no" that both the child and his family receive, we have to manage prejudices, eliminate the excess of stimulus that triggers disruptive or painful behaviors, and with a chisel and a toolbox, in each particular case, start cutting the supports that a person needs to deploy that potential. "

Under this concept is positioned on "yes, they can" to start building from there, and so when you stop to see a heavy stone appears the sculpture. "This vision produces feedback from and to the child and others whose scope breaks the mold," said the instructor.

"Autism is not a problem, but a challenge: ours and the child, it is to co-regulate by eliminating the excesses of stimuli, offering opportunities for Functional activity, allowing the child to understand the symbolic codes.It is fundamental to strengthen the socio-emotional development, to tighten the bonds more than to generate obedience, to seek friendly environments without stress or stimuli that trigger disruptive behavior, to believe in them, to participate, to help them understand the world, to develop an activity and to give love there is no contraindication to a love excessive, if pathologies are badociated with its absence, "explained Facundo.

Ortiz is convinced of this concept of disability and strives to spread it throughout society. Thus, he explained that, today, we think more about the difficulties of the person (whatever his disability), the responsibility lies with this person and his "problem". He suggests reflecting on the supports they need to carry out an activity: "So we all get involved, we have to think about what I can do, school, club, shop, cinema, neighborhood, to the community to provide more supports to improve their quality of life and their family, what pieces of marble I can get rid of, what excesses of excitement (disruptive, distracting) I can eliminate so that this child can regulate and that then I bring for it to engage and display an activity that has added to the commitment, to the love and to the presence that we can provide from the relational ".

Under this design, this dream was thought for Tomer and his family. "The child is in context and it is very important to find activities involving family idiosyncrasies." The little horseback rides like his sister and is a lover of the water like dad who windsurfing. "And if perseverance, patience and affection accompany us without faltering, I may also be able to windsurf like the father," he concluded. And he said that he admired guys with neurodevelopment problems, because when other kids play or rest, they have to work and follow many therapies. That's why he recommended finding these recreational and therapeutic spaces outside of an office and in exchange with the community, in their daily and family lives.

"Children in the spectrum of autism need intensive intervention, but that does not only involve hours of practice, it is about co-regulating and generating adaptive and functional games and activities in friendly environments with one that is there for the affection to motivate, Modeling and sharing If we find them in the community, in everyday life and according to the tastes and interests of the family is a sure success. " And he explained that the number of autistic children is rising sharply and that it is therefore necessary that society be better prepared. "It takes a lot of work with parents, who have a lot more recreational activities and fewer hours of therapy, because quality of life involves more places of entertainment," he concluded.

Manuel Arroyo (35) studied, from small, music and piano. And in high school, he discovered that he was very interested in psychology. By his grandfather, he learned music therapy. Thus, the native of San Miguel de Tucumán, decided to settle in Buenos Aires to study it. Barely received began clinical practice with children with pervasive developmental disorders and autism spectrum disorders.

Today, she works at the Carolina Tobar García Hospital Infanto Juvenil as a music therapist. In addition, he is the co-founder of the ESIAT (Interdisciplinary Team for Comprehensive Health Care and Treatment). The therapist explained music therapy in the following way: "Music is used to respond to different types of needs, be they physical, mental, cognitive or social, people are built from sounds and music. , from the first expressive-communicative exchanges of a baby with his mother, laying the foundation for the future development of language in its different forms and aspects of our personality, as well as throughout our lives through songs that configure and build our identity, our way of connecting. "

In the TEA – explained – music therapy aims, in general, to develop social skills, to improve communication and socialization, to stimulate interaction, areas that are affected by this type of disorder. "This produces an increase in the recording of oneself, the environment and others." Throughout a music therapy process, it is sought that different musical experiences allow the expression of different aspects of the patient's inner world and that this experience can be shared. with another, in this case the music therapist, who gives meaning to this expression ".

Thus, it becomes a tool that allows communication of emotional and emotional states to those children who have difficulty expressing themselves through verbal language.

Arroyo, like Ortiz, knows patience, knows how to wait, confident in the results. "The processes are usually very slow and often, the changes observed are minimal." The moment when an advance is reached, which can be a look, a small gesture or a sound different from the one that has been given, has as much power as it brings about a change, not only in this child but also in my home. is a huge bonus, as it becomes clear that what we 're supporting, sometimes for a long time, betting on improving the quality of life of this patient, leaves an imprint that, as small as it' s it may seem, opens a whole new world to explore. "

María Correa (31) is an educational psychologist and also works as an equine therapist to improve the quality of life of autistic children. The young woman working in El Granero, a civil society badociation that offers a therapeutic and recreational space to rehabilitate and integrate people with developmental difficulties, said: "Working to improve the quality of life and it's very rewarding because I do it through the tool that I love most, the horse ".

He explained about this therapy: "It covers the integration of many disciplines, because every aspect of a person's development is taken into account, that is why it is recommended to people with autism." as it promotes their development in all areas, riding a horse has a physiotherapeutic impact on the rider, stimulating his musculoskeletal system and the physiological function of the internal organs ".

Among the benefits and benefits listed by Correa: "It helps regulate muscle tone, promotes sensory integration, boosts awareness and body image, enhances balance and psychomotor coordination, among others . " In turn, the speed over the horse promotes attention and concentration ".

Considering that people with autism present difficulties of communication and social interaction, equine therapy stimulates them. And explained that, as the therapy develops in contact with the horse, it must be connected, communicate, to achieve what is proposed: go step by step, jog, gallop. In other words, it promotes socio-emotional reciprocity and non-verbal communication.

The therapist explained that the goal was for children to enjoy the path of rehabilitation and improve their quality of life in a different, open and natural space, whose center of action is the horse and its environment. "Horses do not discriminate, they do not judge, they do not need to talk, they recognize love and they do it," he said.

"Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by communication difficulties and social interaction and repetitive and restrictive behavioral patterns, it appears before the age of 3 years and a great heterogeneity in The clinical presentation of symptoms may occur with or without intellectual deficit and with or without impaired language, although in a high percentage of cases these difficulties are badociated with ASD.We can now determine the severity of ASD (mild (moderately or severely) It is important to emphasize that ASDs are not emotional, but neurobiological, "said Alejandra Marcos, a graduate in psychopedagogy and a specialist in cognitive neuropsychology.