jews d

in
the

continued from page 10

“I suffer with the families and I give hope
to the families, and I love watching the
children as they progress. I am dedicated
to each little human’s potential.”

Gretchkos humbly considered, his fair
share of post-speech media attention.
In addition to the video of his address
that went viral, WXYZ-TV named Ben
its “Person of the Week” in late June.
If Ben was to be the catalyst for addi-
tional coverage, Lisa and Steve wanted
it to be for the greater good of the
community — especially families deal-
ing with autism.
To that end, the Gretchkos recom-
mended that I focus on the person
who created the roadmap to success
for Ben. He’s a man Lisa describes as
“truly a hero among us” — Dr. Richard
Solomon, M.D., medical director of the
Ann Arbor Center for Developmental
and Behavioral Pediatrics.
Solomon, 68, was born in Ohio,
but his Michigan roots run deep. He
earned his bachelor of science degree
in psychology from the University
of Michigan in 1971 and his medical
degree from Michigan State’s College
of Human Medicine in 1981. He lives in
Ann Arbor with his wife, Linda, of 45
years. They have two children and four
grandchildren, all living in Ann Arbor.
After reviewing Solomon’s curricu-
lum vitae, 17 pages worth, it would be
hard to imagine finding someone with
a greater breadth and depth of knowl-
edge in the field of development and
behavioral pediatrics. Over the years,
he’s worked alongside and was influ-
enced by some of the most renowned
visionaries in his field, including
pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton, Dr.
Stanley Greenspan and the late great
Fred Rogers.
All these experiences laid the
groundwork for Solomon founding
his signature program — the PLAY
Project, an early intervention program
to help children with autism.

— DR. RICHARD SOLOMON

JERRY ZOLYNSKY

AN INNOVATIVE MODEL

Dr. Richard Solomon observes Zayne
Muth, 5, from Fremont, Ohio, at play.

PLAY, an acronym for Play & Language
for Autistic Youngsters, represents an
evolution in autistic therapeutic care.
It was born out of Solomon’s years
of research, diagnosing and treat-
ing children across the wide autism
spectrum. At its core, PLAY relies on
a Parent-Implemented Model (PIM)
of therapy whereby parents (with the
child present) are shown how to follow
their child’s lead and receive intensive
training and therapeutic modeling by
a certified PLAY consultant who cre-
ates specific strategies unique to each
child’s developmental needs.
“PLAY is not a one-size-fits-all pro-
gram, but it’s creative, rewarding and
fun,” says Lisa Gretchko. “Dr. Solomon
and our PLAY consultant instructed us
on how to adjust each interaction with

Ben to ‘fit’ Ben’s development stage
at that point in time, and to help him
reach the next stage of his develop-
ment. If you ask Ben what he remem-
bers of the PLAY Project, he’ll tell you
that Steve and I played with him a lot!
It’s a very cool and innovative therapy.”
The PLAY consultant observes,
supervises and videos each family
engaging with their child in the com-
fort of their home. The videos are then
analyzed and adjustments are made
on an as-needed basis. Think of it as
the parents being the captains of the
ship and PLAY is the rudder, keeping
moms and dads on course through the
rough waters of creating a connection
with their child.
While the parents, the children and
the PLAY strategies for a particular
child go through a maturation process,
one thing remains consistent for all
youngsters with autism — the critical
importance of early intervention.
“We start as young as 12 months,”
Solomon says. “Children with autism
have a unique capacity to make new
connections in the brain — called
plasticity. Because of plasticity, chil-
dren with autism, if they get intensive
early intervention (ideally before age
6), can become fully functional in soci-
ety after starting with very little com-
munication or interest in others.”
Ben Gretchko, Solomon told me, “is
the poster boy for the potential within
the child and brain plasticity.”
PLAY has evidenced-based science
on its side. In 2009, after a three-year
randomized controlled trial of the
PLAY Project Home Consultation
Model, funded by the National
Institute of Mental Health, indepen-
dent researchers from Michigan State
University were able to confirm that
the PLAY model was, in fact, yield-
ing significant, positive results in the
reduction of autism-related symptoms.
Findings of the study were published
in the October 2014 edition of the
Journal of Developmental & Behavioral
Pediatrics. To this day, it remains one
of the largest, most comprehensive
studies of its kind.

‘THE FUN DOCTOR’

To his patients and their families,
Solomon is known simply as “Dr. Rick”
or “the fun doctor,” whose prescription
for success includes connecting and
building trust among his often fearful
and fragile young patients in a way
that leaves them smiling and laughing.
Getting down on the floor and playing
with toys with a young patient is stan-
dard protocol.
An initial visit with Solomon usually

continued on page 14

12

September 21 • 2017

jn

