Amy Jamison-Casas, M.S., CCC-SLP
Amy Jamison-Casas, M.S., CCC-SLP: mother, advocate, speech-language pathologist.
While Amy has almost twenty years of experience as a speech-language pathologist, she comes to us today inhabiting the first role she ever played in the field of autism...mother. Amy is a proud mom to an amazing 31 year old man, Steven. In 1996 at the age of 3, Steven was diagnosed as “severely to profoundly autistic” and Amy was given a grim prognosis.
In a pre-Internet world, lack of easily accessible information was an issue as Amy tried to learn about autism. Add to that her small budget and the lack of knowledgeable professionals in her area, her first resource idea was to head to her local public library. Her search revealed only two books related to autism in the card catalog: Bruno Bettelheim’s The Empty Fortress: Infantile Autism and the Birth of the Self, and Temple Grandin’s Thinking in Pictures. In that first encounter with theories about autism, Amy recognized quickly that there were going to be some very different views on the topic and she would have to choose, now and continuously, what concepts she would embrace (or not) as she learned to be the mom Steven needed her to be. After reading the first few chapters of each book, she chose the way of hope, quickly placing the Bettleheim book back on the shelf to gather the dust it deserved. She gobbled up Temple’s story and the rest is history. (Amy is a self-professed fangirl of Temple and Temple’s momma and credits them both for sparking her unwavering optimism regarding Steven’s possibilities.)
When professional after professional would turn Amy and Steven away citing they had done all they could do for him, and that she should just accept that Steven would never be able to communicate or develop typical milestones, Amy began to search farther out for information on her own. Through the years (when Steven was in elementary school, the internet arrived and this search became easier) she discovered many wonderful supports that she could customize to Steven’s needs and strengths. First came The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)© that taught Steven to functionally communicate and provided a means for him to request and comment. Next, Amy found a psychologist who instructed her in techniques with Applied Behavioral Analysis where
Steven learned to follow directions, imitate, and match...all skills that are imperative to other learning. Sensory Integration Therapy helped them regulate his sensory needs. Visual strategies and social stories helped support his need to understand what was expected of him in a friendly-to-Steven way. Years later, she would spend a week at the The Autism Treatment Centers of America (a.k.a. Sonrise Program) soaking in how to spot “green lights” of learning and she and Steven’s interactions become more playful and rich with joy. She found the Relationship Development Intervention protocol which gave ideas on how she could alter her manner of speaking and listening to make interactions with Steven more engaging. She read lots of books, went to lots of seminars, and learned from other mothers and various professionals who would show up here and there with fresh, new ideas that might help her support her son.
In between all that, somewhere she obtained her Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of Arkansas-Fayetteville in 2007. She wanted to support other mothers along with their children, honing her developing skills in advocacy with her lived experience in order to become the kind of resource that was absent when Steven was little. She currently holds licensure for speech-language pathology in Arkansas and California, serving children and adults with a variety of needs via online therapy modalities. Amy herself lives in Southern California with Steven and her husband,Carlos. Steven has a little sister, Lacey, who is an animator living in Utah with her husband, Chase. Steven has a bonus sister, Samantha, who lives in Arkansas and works with little ones on the spectrum and a bonus brother who is currently studying Physics at the University of Arkansas (Amy’s Alma Mater).
Amy refused to believe the negative predictions about her son, but acknowledges that every single movement forward required endless elbow grease and years of frustrating attempts to keep all the players in his life on the same page. The pandemic brought so much pain to so many, including her family. However, Amy also believes that the sudden halt of the noise of humanity bustling around with all their expectations and schedules and noise gave her and her amazing husband the chance to work from home and be round-the-clock consistent with Steven’s care in a way that had not previously been available to them. This provided the opportunity to see what Steven was capable of when everyone on his team was united and consistent. Amy learned what great composers know... the rests in music are just as important as the notes played.
Amy is excited to share the little things that can be big things with parents who need hope. Amy believes that it’s never too late to learn and grow. You can contribute to Amy’s online Facebook Group All Things Autism by Amy Jamison-Casas, M.S., CCC-SLP | Facebook if you desire to participate in a community that shares ideas and tips on how to support our neurodivergent loved ones joyfully.
