Everyone has a voice.
Everyone deserves to be heard.
This is especially true for the group of children and adults who suffer from Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), including Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). This is a group of individuals who fail to use language or play to express themselves like others typically do. They also struggle to modulate their internal experiences and communicate their feelings with words. They rely on using actions to locate, soothe, and express themselves, through repetitive, self-stimulating behaviors like hand gestures, rocking, screaming, head-banging, or object-smashing, which regularly leave parents, teachers, and others confused, frustrated, and helpless. Often times any attempts to stop these behaviors are unsuccessful or backfired as the functions behind these seemingly meaningless gestures and actions are rarely or adequately understood. Unfortunately, many also assume that, because they do not express themselves properly, these individuals do not have feelings or socio-emotional needs.
Autistic individuals, on the contrary, have feelings, needs, and memories just like you and I. These individuals benefit from long-term, multiple-times-a-week psychotherapy, where there is predictable consistency and structure that remains relatively unchanged over time. Within this reliable framework, the therapist works towards mirroring, acknowledging, reflecting, exploring, making connections and meanings of their behaviors, feelings, and needs, and providing them with a vital, holding space for these loose, unorganized and yet complex, internal experiences. Very gradually they begin to form a better-defined shell, parameter, and structure for themselves, which provides the footwork to identify, and later regulate, their sensations, feelings and internal experiences. With a more-defined framework and mapping within themselves, this gives rise to the capacity for language, symbolism, creativity, relationship, and even humor!
Background
Dr. Cheung was originally trained under Dr. Ivar Lovaas’ clinic in Los Angeles as what we now commonly called an Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) behavioral therapist, focusing on minimizing self-stimulating behaviors, building everyday skills and “normal, socially-appropriate” behaviors. While this approach has its merit, Dr. Cheung sees that the emotional and inner psychic lives of this unique group of individuals is often grossly overlooked or even punished for not being “socially appropriate.”
Dr. Cheung has since been inspired by psychoanalytic works and theories of Anne Alvarez, Frances Tustin, Trevarthen, Bick, Winnicott, and Ogden, just to name a few, where he centers around his work on validating and cultivating the inner psychic, emotional and relational lives of individuals on the Autistic Spectrum in multiple-times-a-week psychotherapy.
For additional resources, please visit Autism Speaks and Golden Gate Regional Center.