Rahkeenah Peters shares her heartfelt journey as a mom to Yasmeen, her young daughter on the spectrum. From the early days of diagnosis to navigating therapy and daily challenges, Rahkeenah has witnessed Yasmeen grow in amazing ways.
Though non-verbal, Yasmeen is learning to communicate, express emotions, and engage more confidently with the world around her. Her story is a powerful reminder of the impact early intervention and unwavering love can have.
Through patience, support, and a positive outlook, Rahkeenah celebrates every step forward. She wants to encourage other parents to continue believing in their child’s potential, regardless of the pace of progress.
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Autism Therapies and Solutions
Rahkeenah’s story: Therapy and challenges
My daughter, Yasmeen, was diagnosed with autism in 2022. She is non-verbal and currently uses gestures, such as leading and pulling us by the hand, to communicate her needs.
She attended occupational therapy sessions following an Ayres Sensory Integration approach. The therapy focused on self-regulation, emotional reactivity, and her visual, auditory, and tactile tolerance.
It also focused on promoting engagement, communication, play, and independence.
Yasmeen has a low neurological threshold for visual, vestibular (movement), tactile, and auditory (sound) stimuli. This makes it challenging for her to focus on the task at hand, as she rapidly shifts from one activity to another.
Yasmeen has challenges with grooming activities such as brushing her teeth, cutting her nails, and washing her hair.
Rahkeenah’s story: School and progress
She started attending school in January 2024 and is thriving. She is currently potty training, which is going very well. While she has challenges with following instructions, she generally responds quickly to them now.
Yasmeen shows self-injurious behavior and pulls her hair when frustrated. Yet, meltdowns at school are rare since she is much less anxious and used to the environment and routine. She is now able to identify emotions using PECS.
She can mimic tunes such as “The Weather” and “Hello” song. With prompts, she can identify the days of the week and is learning the months of the year. She knows and can identify her nose, mouth, eyes, hands, and toes.
Yasmeen can identify numbers one through five numerically and tries to vocalize them. She can also sign number one. She can identify the colors yellow, red, green, and blue using color balls and with prompting.
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She can also show a color when asked for a specific one, when given two options.
She often wanders around at school because she does not know how to play independently or appropriately during free play time. However, she enjoys structure and can copy other people’s behavior in play.
After observing first, she can also copy modeled behavior regarding class setup.
When working on puzzles with knob pieces, she can insert four of the pieces independently. She also shows positive progress in her ability to tolerate environmental sounds.
After four years of sleep difficulties, my husband and I were finally able to get a full night’s sleep.
Rahkeenah’s story: Early intervention and positive effects
Early intervention is essential because it can have major long-term positive effects on the child. It is the best chance for them to develop to their full potential. The sooner a child gets help, the greater the chance for learning and progress.
I am proud of my daughter and ourselves for our progress thus far. Never ever give up.
There may be times you feel discouraged, but have patience. Know that with education and your understanding of autism, you will find your way.
Having an optimistic outlook on life has been my superpower as a mother who cares for her children. There is a purpose for everyone on this planet.
This article was featured in Issue 172 — Hooray! Navigating Autism and the Holidays.
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