Rodin Taylor's Theory: Holding The Autistic Child

Rodin Taylor a speech pathologist is added to Ann Marie’s therapeutic team, she advises Catherine that all children have some form of communication and her objective is to change Ann Maries learned communication structure into a more conventional form. Within the first half hour session Catherine struggles yet views Bridget putting temperamental Ann Marie into a chair and repeating this action until Ann Marie looks for Catherine. Bridget then states “look at me” then observes whether Anne Marie does so on her own, or with encouragement, or not at all. When Ann Marie displays the preferred behavior, Bridget then positively applauses her, “Everything was prompted, physically, and verbally if this sounds contrived and forced, it’s because it …show more content…
Dr. Martha Welch’s holding theory, includes forcefully holding the autistic child, an hour per session while attempting to unite. Catherine makes an appointment with Dr. Welch and is smitten by her, but has concerns due to fabricated responses and the holding therapy video seemed fraudulent, because the child in the demonstration video was not autistic. Catherine still agrees to meet twice a week. The first few weeks Catherine is bitten, scratched, hit and eventually, she changes from trying to get a resolution to simply holding her child for an hour, singing to her, at which point Anne Marie seems to relax, with an increase in alertness and noticing people post sessions, therefore Catherin is convinced holding therapy, and Dr. Welch, are her saviors. While in holding therapy, Dr. welch encourages Catherine to yell at Ann Marie during unwanted behavior and explains Anne Marie does understand, but essentially does not care, then invites Catherine and Ann Marie to become a part of a holding therapy documentary, filmed in Connecticut. While filming the documentary Catherine advocates holding and behavioral therapy, and writes Dr. Rimland a letter discussing various therapies she is using. When the holding therapy documentary is completed Catherine is sickened by the finished product. Her personal testimony was modified to sound as if she only advocated holding therapy for autism. Dr. Welch notes it will cure many diseases caused by mentally unfit mothers, “no matter what I thought I had known about human egotism, the desire for recognition, the desire for fame, I still couldn’t understand why Martha Welch had allowed this distorted view to be broadcast” (Maurice, 1993,