Learning to Speak Each Other’s Language

When Michael and Shannon began the adoption process of three-year-old Moriah (Mia) from China, they knew ahead of time there would be obstacles to face. Mia was born with a hole in her heart and she was completely blind in one eye. The couple welcomed her into their lives with open arms and began their life as a family in Colorado.

When Mia was five years old, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder after a developmental screening and behavioral analysis. Autism affects an individual’s ability to communicate and engage in social interactions effectively. What began as small manifestations of self-injurious behaviors, soon turned into something Shannon could no longer ignore. Mia began applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy shortly after her diagnosis. ABA therapy is used to treat issues with communication, motor skills, and behavioral disorders through reinforcement strategies. Little by little, Michael and Shannon noticed an immense improvement in their little girl.

Some examples of ABA therapy strategy include breaking down lessons into simpler tasks where each task is rewarded with positive reinforcement for correct behavior.

In 2019, Michael was relocated through the Air Force to San Antonio. It was then that the family sought help from Dr. Melissa Svoboda, section chief of the department of neurology at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. Dr. Svoboda specializes in Autism, Cerebral Palsy, developmental delay, and other neurodevelopmental disabilities. She is medical director of The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Autism Program and serves as the Hospital’s director of the San Antonio Applied Behavior Analysis Project.

“Autism a spectrum disorder,” said Dr. Svoboda. “It is our job as the experts in Autism to correctly sort out these children using a team approach to diagnose each individual patient correctly and provide their parents with the tools they need to continue moving forward with an extensive treatment plan.”

Once patients are successfully diagnosed, they remain under Dr. Svoboda’s care until they are adults. After a multi-disciplinary evaluation, parents are asked to return to The Children’s Hospital the same day to receive the results, diagnosis, and thorough packet of information for the family to take home and go over, together.

Mia and Dr. Svoboda have been working together for three years now and Mia has made a drastic improvement. Mia also works with a speech language pathologist and an occupational therapist during her treatment days at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. Although Mia is non-verbal, she is now able to use an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device to communicate her wants and needs with her parents.

“As a mom, you want to see your child learn and succeed and that was difficult,” said Shannon. “Mia speaks her own language and The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio has taught us all how to better understand one another.”

Mia visits Dr. Svoboda and her team of specialists at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio’s Autism Clinic once a month and continues with ABA and speech therapy.

You can help kids like Mia get the specialized care they need. To learn more, please visit ChildrensHospitalSAFoundation.org.