Communication Breakdown

The Boulder Valley School District has a hard time learning how to teach kids with special needs.

A A A Comments By Julie Jargon Thursday, Dec 16 1999

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His investment seems to have paid off.

The television monitor in Jack's cottage is on, but the volume is turned down. John Jones is talking about how far Jack, now five, has come in the more than two years since he started ABA. Jack is now getting up to 45 hours of ABA per week and knows 300 nouns, three dozen verbs and all of the prepositions, and he can build short sentences. Someday, when his health improves and he's emotionally ready, Jones plans to enroll him in a regular public-school classroom.

Star pupil: Jack spends more than forty hours a week learning everything from daily tasks to vocabulary words.

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The little boy's laughter can be heard from the next room while his muted, smiling mouth lights up the screen.

It's time for a break now. Jack comes in from the hallway and notices that the television is fixed on his empty classroom. He starts flipping channels, searching in vain for Teletubbies. His tutor has Jack's shoes and a cue card with a picture of a swing set. Jack takes a shoe from his tutor, rips off the Velcro strap and slides his foot in, all by himself. He knows he's going to go outside and play.

When he returns, he runs to greet his dad. Jones crouches down and asks him his name. "Jack," he answers. Jones asks him where he lives, and Jack immediately spouts out his address and says that it's in Boulder. Jones then asks what his phone number is. Jack is swift in his delivery. "He used to be completely unresponsive," Jones says. "Talking to him was like talking to a brick wall. Now he can express his needs and wants.

"This kid has been set free."