Sandy Learned About NPT Through Others & Saw Results
This excerpt was taken from a blog a Mom wrote on 11/08/13 called Putting Ourselves In Devon's Shoes. We added a few clarifying statements in parenthesis to make it clearer to our readers.
"...In the last portion of our (team) meeting we paired up where one person would be themselves but have a stim. Their partner would then spend the next couple of minutes trying to get him to do what they wanted them to do. When time was up, they would switch to joining (a technique in a different program that is somewhat similar to Parallel Play in NPT), while being loving and present. Then 'join' the person by mimicking while not being present and finally doing their own thing NPT (Natural Play Therapy) style (Solitary Play).
We have never done this experience in the almost three years we have been doing our program and it was an unforgettable experience. For once, we got a taste of what it might be like while he's stimming. It was unanimous that being interrupted sucks! It was described a unhealthy, annoying and invading. Funny how most people wouldn't interrupt an adult doing their own thing without asking for permission first, but with a child or a person who has 'special needs' it's totally fine because we are trying to 'teach' or 'help' them.
Interestingly, most people felt that when the facilitator was doing and NPT (Solitary Play in NPT) that was when they felt most relaxed. That was also when they were the most curious about what the other was doing. Although a couple of us preferred the loving and present joining, as we felt well supported we were also aware of what the other person was doing.
With NPT there was no concern for our partner, as team member Selena put it. We could sense that they were in a happy place and for Elizabeth it was nice not having her partner check in on her as we would do when joining. Elizabeth felt it was too much attention on herself and got an insight on how Devon might have felt in her early days of joining where she was constantly staring at Devon. Trista said when the 'facilitators' switched to NPT there was a sense of comfort and peace over the room, almost like a white, sheer curtain was floating down on us.
Talk about a neat experience and a great way to get an insight into Devon's world!"
We have never done this experience in the almost three years we have been doing our program and it was an unforgettable experience. For once, we got a taste of what it might be like while he's stimming. It was unanimous that being interrupted sucks! It was described a unhealthy, annoying and invading. Funny how most people wouldn't interrupt an adult doing their own thing without asking for permission first, but with a child or a person who has 'special needs' it's totally fine because we are trying to 'teach' or 'help' them.
Interestingly, most people felt that when the facilitator was doing and NPT (Solitary Play in NPT) that was when they felt most relaxed. That was also when they were the most curious about what the other was doing. Although a couple of us preferred the loving and present joining, as we felt well supported we were also aware of what the other person was doing.
With NPT there was no concern for our partner, as team member Selena put it. We could sense that they were in a happy place and for Elizabeth it was nice not having her partner check in on her as we would do when joining. Elizabeth felt it was too much attention on herself and got an insight on how Devon might have felt in her early days of joining where she was constantly staring at Devon. Trista said when the 'facilitators' switched to NPT there was a sense of comfort and peace over the room, almost like a white, sheer curtain was floating down on us.
Talk about a neat experience and a great way to get an insight into Devon's world!"
After learning about NPT through our website, videos, and from NPT Child Coach Jeannene Christie, Sandy created a video blog to describe her freedom from rules!
Watch the video HERE and explore her blog further!
Watch the video HERE and explore her blog further!
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