Dear Maria (Practitioner),

Jessica received AIT in August (2005) – 5 months ago, when she was approximately 3 1/2 years old. Before AIT, Jessica had a limited vocabulary of under 10 functional words and could make two-word requests (“want cookie”) only on occasion, she is now able to clearly articulate complex sentences of 4 to 5 words several times a day, and does so spontaneously. Within 6 weeks after AIT, Jessica appeared to process other’s statements more quickly, responded more quickly and appropriately to other children and adults, and also became more responsive to music (dancing, humming, and now even singing along!)

We credit Jessica’s AIT treatment to Maria and her team as a key variable in Jessica’s overall growth, since the explosion in her language this past fall also enabled her to make huge strides in her social skills. Whereas prior to AIT, Jessica’s play had mainly been “parallel play” and she was hesitant to approach peers; following her treatment, Jessica learned to actively engage and maintain interaction with other children (those equally and even more verbal) in both the special needs and typically developing communities.

Please also know that before, during and after AIT, Jessica received other therapies through her full-time school for children on the Autistic Spectrum. However, the greatest leap in her development was seen in the 2-3 months following AIT, and Jessica has maintained a steep growth curve in all domains since then.

Currently, we are in the process of transitioning Jessica to a new curriculum in which she will spend half a day at her current school, and half a day with higher functioning children in a less restrictive classroom. Jessica’s dramatic improvement in language and social skills – due in great part, we believe, to Berard AIT with Maria – is the driving factor behind this transition.

Susan