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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 4/13/2008 8:50:10 AM | I have a now 5 yr old with autism which by the way is doing wonderful, specially with behavior. I've been blessed to have several people in the family that happened to be in the mental health such as a psyquiatrist,psycologist and my brother which is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with lots of experience on the autism spectrum.
Tips that helped me:
Not the time to whine or think about if it was your fault or not, time to work and work hard, this will be the best gift you could ever give him.
When there's a tantrum in public, do not look or think about what other people might be thinking, do the right thing and do not give the desired item or task he's requesting with a tantrum. I had one that lasted over 30 minutes in the mall, so i've been there.
Reinforce positive behavior so that bad behavior will diminish. Positive behavior isnt necesarily something he did...could be something he didn't do. And do pick your battles, you will never be able to fully control any child, not even "normal" ones.
Do not change your routine to adapt to him, such as not taking him to places because it's too crowded or noisy. In the beggining it was hard, lots of resistance but now a days he can be in crowded and noisy places without having to cover his ears or scream. Your child will adapt to absolutely anything you want him to adapt to, might take a little extra work. Just at all times reassuring that everything will be fine and that you will be there to make sure of this. (even if you think they can't understand you or hear you,they can)
I personally didn't get involved in anything to raise autism awareness in the beggining because this is precious time that I had to use for my child, I left this for the more seasoned parents. But I do strongly suggest becoming part of a support group for advise,support and somewhere to vent and be understood.
Most of behavior if reinforced will progress. Bad behavior can be reinforced by talking, looking, spanking, using time out or delivering what's desired. When my son was violent I was coached to make sure I was away from him or dodge him so he wouldnt hurt me. This alone hurt my feelings alot because I wanted to comfort him during this hard time, but had to toughen up. And I have the scars to prove this :)
I was lucky to be single when my son was diagnosed, I say this because during his early intervention nobody was there to sabotage his program and I didn't have to share my time with anyone. So yes, if you are a single mom consider yourself lucky.
Tired? Yup, you will be, but believe me if you do what you need to do now, there will be plenty of time to rest.
In my son's case, his negative behavior decreased by 70% when he was able to communicate.
My trophy today is to see my child behave better than "normal" kids. For him to tell me that he loves me. For him to tell me, mommy if you're upset you need to take deep breaths lol. For him to hug me or ask for a hug when he's not feeling well. For him to tell me.."momma don't tell me I can't do it" (non bad behavior related). For him to be mainstreamed by kindergarden and to be a loving child that cares about other people and loves to play with other kids and adults. Also, for him not to have to be on any medication in order to control his behavior or sleeping habits. Wow so many things to be grateful for, but those are some of them.
Anyways, dont be shy to ask any questions you might have, you can email me any time! Good luck in your journey raising that little angel! | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 4/13/2008 4:19:41 PM | Hi,
I have a son that was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and I am involved with the autism awareness/autism speaks origination. What kind of doctors have you gone to? My son goes to a really great one, if you are in the St. Louis area I could give you his name and number. Let me know.
Lara33 | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 4/13/2008 10:43:13 PM | | My cousin has an autistic child due to the 'shots' with murcurey about 10 years ago. He tends to talk and alot but the kid is a genious when it comes to numbers. He also has assburgers as well as autism. I find that kids with this sort of thing are very smart/artsistic is some way. I pride mothers who are raising autistic children as its not the easiest task ever. (excuse the spelling its late) | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/11/2008 9:40:33 PM | theres a show here in canada called "the hour". jenny mccarthy was on it about a week ago, and her son evan (whos now 4 i think) was diagnosed with autism at 2.5 after having a certain vaccine followed (over time) by seizures.
she was also on oprah, telling her story of how she changed her sons diet (gluton free) and had made videos of herself playing with toys so her son would watch and soon follow. instead of just turning wheels on a car, she would show him that it moves. she also taped herself rolling a ball, etc. after 7 months, jenny said she took evan back for tests and the dr's said he didn't need anymore help because his autism was almost gone.
my g/f just had her son (3 in june) diagnosed as well, so i went to the oprah website and looked up the show with jenny. she had a few q&a, and also she has a book out called "louder then words". i've heard a few mothers rave about it.
heres her on the hour (i thought it would give you some insight):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=A1u1rOVzkEc
heres the oprah link:
http://www.oprah.com/search/search_results.jsp?querystring=jenny%20mccarthy&fromSearchPage=yes
im sorry i don't have much else to tell you, but it sounds like you're doing everything right so far.  | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/12/2008 5:19:49 AM | I have read many articles about autism, This one was the most helpful, I read it every now and then, just to keep my focus...
[This article was published in the "Our Voice," the newsletter of Autism Network International, Volume 1, Number 3, 1993. It is an outline of the presentation I gave at the 1993 International Conference on Autism in Toronto, and is addressed primarily to parents.]
________________________________________
Parents often report that learning their child is autistic was the most traumatic thing that ever happened to them. Non-autistic people see autism as a great tragedy, and parents experience continuing disappointment and grief at all stages of the child's and family's life cycle.
But this grief does not stem from the child's autism in itself. It is grief over the loss of the normal child the parents had hoped and expected to have. Parents' attitudes and expectations, and the discrepancies between what parents expect of children at a particular age and their own child's actual development, cause more stress and anguish than the practical complexities of life with an autistic person.
Some amount of grief is natural as parents adjust to the fact that an event and a relationship they've been looking forward to isn't going to materialize. But this grief over a fantasized normal child needs to be separated from the parents' perceptions of the child they do have: the autistic child who needs the support of adult caretakers and who can form very meaningful relationships with those caretakers if given the opportunity. Continuing focus on the child's autism as a source of grief is damaging for both the parents and the child, and precludes the development of an accepting and authentic relationship between them. For their own sake and for the sake of their children, I urge parents to make radical changes in their perceptions of what autism means.
I invite you to look at our autism, and look at your grief, from our perspective:
Autism is not an appendage
Autism isn't something a person has, or a "shell" that a person is trapped inside. There's no normal child hidden behind the autism. Autism is a way of being. It is pervasive; it colors every experience, every sensation, perception, thought, emotion, and encounter, every aspect of existence. It is not possible to separate the autism from the person--and if it were possible, the person you'd have left would not be the same person you started with.
This is important, so take a moment to consider it: Autism is a way of being. It is not possible to separate the person from the autism.
Therefore, when parents say,
"I wish my child did not have autism,"
what they're really saying is,
"I wish the autistic child I have did not exist, and I had a different (non-autistic) child instead."
Read that again. This is what we hear when you mourn over our existence. This is what we hear when you pray for a cure. This is what we know, when you tell us of your fondest hopes and dreams for us: that your greatest wish is that one day we will cease to be, and strangers you can love will move in behind our faces.
Autism is not an impenetrable wall
You try to relate to your autistic child, and the child doesn't respond. He doesn't see you; you can't reach her; there's no getting through. That's the hardest thing to deal with, isn't it? The only thing is, it isn't true.
Look at it again: You try to relate as parent to child, using your own understanding of normal children, your own feelings about parenthood, your own experiences and intuitions about relationships. And the child doesn't respond in any way you can recognize as being part of that system.
That does not mean the child is incapable of relating at all. It only means you're assuming a shared system, a shared understanding of signals and meanings, that the child in fact does not share. It's as if you tried to have an intimate conversation with someone who has no comprehension of your language. Of course the person won't understand what you're talking about, won't respond in the way you expect, and may well find the whole interaction confusing and unpleasant.
It takes more work to communicate with someone whose native language isn't the same as yours. And autism goes deeper than language and culture; autistic people are "foreigners" in any society. You're going to have to give up your assumptions about shared meanings. You're going to have to learn to back up to levels more basic than you've probably thought about before, to translate, and to check to make sure your translations are understood. You're going to have to give up the certainty that comes of being on your own familiar territory, of knowing you're in charge, and let your child teach you a little of her language, guide you a little way into his world.
And the outcome, if you succeed, still will not be a normal parent-child relationship. Your autistic child may learn to talk, may attend regular classes in school, may go to college, drive a car, live independently, have a career--but will never relate to you as other children relate to their parents. Or your autistic child may never speak, may graduate from a self-contained special education classroom to a sheltered activity program or a residential facility, may need lifelong full-time care and supervision--but is not completely beyond your reach. The ways we relate are different. Push for the things your expectations tell you are normal, and you'll find frustration, disappointment, resentment, maybe even rage and hatred. Approach respectfully, without preconceptions, and with openness to learning new things, and you'll find a world you could never have imagined.
Yes, that takes more work than relating to a non-autistic person. But it can be done--unless non-autistic people are far more limited than we are in their capacity to relate. We spend our entire lives doing it. Each of us who does learn to talk to you, each of us who manages to function at all in your society, each of us who manages to reach out and make a connection with you, is operating in alien territory, making contact with alien beings. We spend our entire lives doing this. And then you tell us that we can't relate.
Autism is not death
Granted, autism isn't what most parents expect or look forward to when they anticipate the arrival of a child. What they expect is a child who will be like them, who will share their world and relate to them without requiring intensive on-the-job training in alien contact. Even if their child has some disability other than autism, parents expect to be able to relate to that child on the terms that seem normal to them; and in most cases, even allowing for the limitations of various disabilities, it is possible to form the kind of bond the parents had been looking forward to.
But not when the child is autistic. Much of the grieving parents do is over the non-occurrence of the expected relationship with an expected normal child. This grief is very real, and it needs to be expected and worked through so people can get on with their lives--
but it has nothing to do with autism.
What it comes down to is that you expected something that was tremendously important to you, and you looked forward to it with great joy and excitement, and maybe for a while you thought you actually had it--and then, perhaps gradually, perhaps abruptly, you had to recognize that the thing you looked forward to hasn't happened. It isn't going to happen. No matter how many other, normal children you have, nothing will change the fact that this time, the child you waited and hoped and planned and dreamed for didn't arrive.
This is the same thing that parents experience when a child is stillborn, or when they have their baby to hold for a short time, only to have it die in infancy. It isn't about autism, it's about shattered expectations. I suggest that the best place to address these issues is not in organizations devoted to autism, but in parental bereavement counseling and support groups. In those settings parents learn to come to terms with their loss--not to forget about it, but to let it be in the past, where the grief doesn't hit them in the face every waking moment of their lives. They learn to accept that their child is gone, forever, and won't be coming back. Most importantly, they learn not to take out their grief for the lost child on their surviving children. This is of critical importance when one of those surviving children arrived at the same time the child being mourned for died.
You didn't lose a child to autism. You lost a child because the child you waited for never came into existence. That isn't the fault of the autistic child who does exist, and it shouldn't be our burden. We need and deserve families who can see us and value us for ourselves, not families whose vision of us is obscured by the ghosts of children who never lived. Grieve if you must, for your own lost dreams. But don't mourn for us. We are alive. We are real. And we're here waiting for you.
This is what I think autism societies should be about: not mourning for what never was, but exploration of what is. We need you. We need your help and your understanding. Your world is not very open to us, and we won't make it without your strong support. Yes, there is tragedy that comes with autism: not because of what we are, but because of the things that happen to us. Be sad about that, if you want to be sad about something. Better than being sad about it, though, get mad about it--and then do something about it. The tragedy is not that we're here, but that your world has no place for us to be. How can it be otherwise, as long as our own parents are still grieving over having brought us into the world?
Take a look at your autistic child sometime, and take a moment to tell yourself who that child is not. Think to yourself: "This is not my child that I expected and planned for. This is not the child I waited for through all those months of pregnancy and all those hours of labor. This is not the child I made all those plans to share all those experiences with. That child never came. This is not that child." Then go do whatever grieving you have to do--away from the autistic child--and start learning to let go.
After you've started that letting go, come back and look at your autistic child again, and say to yourself: "This is not my child that I expected and planned for. This is an alien child who landed in my life by accident. I don't know who this child is or what it will become. But I know it's a child, stranded in an alien world, without parents of its own kind to care for it. It needs someone to care for it, to teach it, to interpret and to advocate for it. And because this alien child happened to drop into my life, that job is mine if I want it."
If that prospect excites you, then come join us, in strength and determination, in hope and in joy. The adventure of a lifetime is ahead of you.
Reprint permission: All articles published in "Our Voice" may be freely copied and shared for personal use, and reprinted in other publications, provided the original author and publication credits are included in all copies or reprints. If you reprint any of my articles, I would appreciate being sent a copy of the publication containing my article. My mailing address is:
Jim Sinclair
P.O. Box 35448
Syracuse, NY 13235 | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/12/2008 7:27:33 AM | They have now linked autism to mental health issues in parents.
Also prems are more prone to autism, their rates of autism are 25% HIGHER than full term babies. | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/12/2008 6:32:33 PM | | I have a 12 yr old beautiful daughter who was diagnosed with (moderate to severe) autism when she was just 2 1/2 yrs old. She started babbling and made eye contact, then it was like a switch went off and all that stopped. She was in her own little world for many years. It is not important to me why it happened to her, just how could I help her. I wasn't at all worried about having her potty trained at that point. Her day mostly consisted of just spinning things, or herself. She lacked the ability to communicate in every way. I was in fact on welfare at the time, and the social services office set me up with some excellent help. The hospital she went through the evaluations for was also great in giving literature and reference numbers. Occupational therapists, speech therapists and autism teachers visited my home about 3 times a week till my daughter turned 3 and could attend a special school class environment. That was the roughest day of my life: having to put a 3 yr old who could not communicate on a private bus and send her off for the day with people I barely got to know. If you have a child with autism, the best bet for that child is outside influences on getting the child the help they need. Help as soon as you get the diagnosis I think is the key to making sure they will be able to be mainstreamed into their best they can be. btw the potty training came very easy at 5 yrs old so don't worry about that yet. Get the child help in being able to communicate first. My daughter is now in the 6th grade and is independently maintaining her own high honor roll (without help from anyone except the caring and devoted regular teachers in public school). It is very difficult for anyone else to see the autism in her, but the kids at school know that she is different as she is social but not attached to friends yet. (still a work in progress!) Sometimes even my older children forget that she has the autism, but it is still there. My advice: seek help in all avenues with hospitals, doctors, social services (even if you don't qualify your child might), internet and library research and keep reading these wonderful ideas expressed by people from all walks of life. | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/12/2008 7:17:09 PM | I don't know too much about Autism...but as far as safety goes....I was watching something the other day where they have little GPS tracking units for kids/adults with special needs. You wear it like a wrist watch and it can track within a 1 mile radius. I thought it was pretty clever.
~Welder's Girl~ | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/28/2008 8:40:54 PM | Very good article! My son, age 9, has Asperger's. I consider myself very lucky because he is very communicative and is pretty much able to "blend in" with his classmates, sort of.
But yes, autism is not a death sentence. You learn to deal with it - you learn what works and what doesn't, you get the help you need, and you go on with life.
When I tell people he has autism/Asperger's, people go, ''awww... I'm sorry" and I'm like, " Well, God gave him to me because He knew I could handle it!" There are lots worse things than autism. LOTS worse.
I would not change a thing about my son. He is a very creative writer and artist, and I am lucky to have great support at his elementary school. They treat him as if he is made of GOLD.
To the OP - get all the help you can. Get an IEP once your daughter starts school. Keep on everyone. | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/28/2008 10:09:41 PM | Hi there,
I don't really have any advice to give; just a story to share. My daughter was diagnosed with Autism at age 2 1/2; many of the same things you're describing. She is 5 now.
These past years, she's had lots of speech therapy; most importantly lots of unconditional love. She is an incredible little girl; playful, affectionate, intelligent and independent.
There was a year or so where she would barely respond to our voices; now, apart from toilet training, she functions just as well as any other child her age now. Her "symptoms" are more like ADHD than autism these days.
All I can really suggest is to get all the therapy you can, and to love your little girl just the way she is. All the best,
ER | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/29/2008 6:56:30 AM | my heart bleeds for u , stay posetive tho and give her lots of encoragment. my son is eight and is profound autistic and learnin difficulties so a real houdini and tazmanian devil mix/
he runs off and has got out of all sorts of situations . do not underestimate their inteligence. i have my house likd fork knocks now cos his life is at risk ,being on my own ,his dad legged it the usless git.
slappin find somethinthat immitates it she likes the feel of it, least she is toching u so its like wanting to be in ur world . my son was lost for so long. reward reward and posetive chat works with him . we say the work no too much these days.
maybe encorage her to stroke u instead of slap .prob the noise she likes so maybe somethin that makes a noise . lots of free macdonalds music type toys that she has to manover and telly tubbie toys from car boots anythin that makes a noise or gives a sensation .
when she gets upset think of what has happened way before the explosion . usually somethin happened five mins ago . sorry i am going off but its the only way i can remember.
use toys that are for babies and interact like she is a baby / start from the beginning and do what she does. this is off sonrise prog which has worked for more able autistic but very expensive
my son would do anythin for a balloon lol fills them with water in the bath . my life is a bit better now , got locks on all doors and he has to request to go where he want s wit pecs . picture communication system or use pics from magazines etc.got swings and a trampoline in my garden and he loves it . trampolines are great for brain . also cut her down on her sugar . makes them crazy inc orange juice so he has lemonade . used to be just water untill a fantastic nanny felt he was missin out . thats the trouble wen people interfere. most of alllchillllll out dont make autism take over ur life . take a b reak now and again and remember ur needs. keep routines and try and stick to them . it will make her feel safe. and use pic diary so she can see wot happens next. thank god u caughtit early best of luck and anytime u want to chat . drop me a line ok lesley x | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/29/2008 9:54:39 PM | | i have a niece that autistic, they do not feel the same way we feel as in touch or even pain, as far as training, she will get it at her own pace, forcing will not work, its more detrimental to attempt force, as the schools found out, she is going on 3, as far as door handles they have door locks that are plastic snap covers which just turn around and around when a child trys to open them without gripping the tabs on each side, you can break her of hittin people, by repeating the word no in a very firm (not yelling voice and placing he hands back at her side when she does that.autistic children tend to be in their own little world recognition of things around them seems almost impossible at time, however we have found that she likes a certain color, happens to be red, red blanket red balloons, you get the idea. also they tend to do repetitive motions like rocking, sometimes when upset or self stimulation. my niece hasnt figured out the chewing thing as of yet, so she is still on baby food or things that will slide down like soupy oatmeal, this is not to say all autistic children are the same, far from it, but they do share similar traits, have you seen the movie rain man, ? in actuality, the real rain man is still taken complete care of by his father, this is a life long issue that is hard on some families, some can cope with it and some will send their child to assisted living, its a very personal choice only the parents can make, you can check different websites, there is one i dont recall off hand that has a diet that helps autistic children, or so it claims, and from controlled study it can actually make the child funtion on a more normal basis, hope this helped in some small way | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 5/29/2008 11:19:55 PM | Heavy Metal Detoxification - See a Naturopathic Doctor, many of kids who have autism also show signs of heavy metals. Heavy metals in the system can create all sorts of havic within the internal organs, which can then affect different areas of the brain. Face it...if you were feeling sick internally all the time, you ability to learn would be completely difficult.
Diet - avoid wheat, corn, dairy, sugar, for awile and see what happens, stick to lots of veggetables that dont cause gassiness. Avoid hamburger and beef which can be hard to digest, eat more fish.
Audio Therapy - Almost all kids who have autism also show signs of hearing problems but by undergoing a regular hearing exam show that their hearing is fine. When the middle ear is weakened, the sense of balance, and the processing of information is that much more difficult, making regular learning skills impossible. Audio therapy helps strengthen the middle ear.
Sensory Integration, to work on bringing all the senses in sync
Vision Therapy, to strengthen the eye muscles
Hyper-baric Oxygen Therapy. By breathing 100% oxygen under pressure, the body is able to create new blook vessels blood cels (or something like that) which can increase awareness and alertness.
Special Olympics - whichever sport the prefer - the social aspect, the athletics, the bowling...try to get them involved physically as much as possible.
My daughter is turning 14. Getting her the proper diagnosis took up her first 11 years of her life, I am just starting to sleep through the night after the last 3 years of intense therapy, which is all listed above. Yesterday she picked up a book and started to read, and she can laugh now, and loves her new friends in Special Olympics, she looks me in the eyes and can hug me now too. Her social aspects have improved tremendously. The behaviour outbursts are much less. Her independence has increased as well.
Its been a long hard journey, and wish I had this information available to me years ago. Good luck to you, and stay strong! | |
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| Cure autism? Decide for yourself...
Posted: 6/1/2008 12:26:01 AM | Dear-est Every-one...
Contrary to what the Physicans Association of BC and the Canadian FDA would have you believe is nothing more than random luck ... thousands of parents claim their children have been cured of all symptomologies related to Autism. Children and Adults alike can recieve treat-ment. Chelation Therapy is the method. However, for children under 9 yrs old the length of treatment is much more expedient. The Naturopathic Physicians Association of BC can refer patients to naturopaths that specialize in this field. As there are many. There are many chelation therapists who are not Naturopaths...and also...one can find effective chelation therapy products on-line.
Both the Physicians Association and the FDA have no 3rd party to regulate them unbiasly. They support soley orthodox allopathic western medicine only. Anything else is boycotted and definitely no research dollars are invested in exploring or validating alternative medicines. However much money is spent suing people who claim to have cured/cure Autism (or many other conditions/diseases). Thus, no alternative practicioner is allowed, by law, to claim this. Hence... be educated when seeking advice. Stay open-minded and do your research. Most alternative medicine treatments are denounced as expensive, unaffective and a waste of time... but think for yourself. I have thought for myself and thus..cured myself of many things from cancer to allergies....naturally.
Jenny Garth claims her child was miraclulously cured via these treatments and has written a book on it. Some people say it is from candidiasis overgrowth in the intestinal tract in addition to the mercury/metal build-up affecting ones neurology.
England has an entirely different approach. A friend who was trained as a psychiatrist in England claims that England is much more pro-gressive in their appraoch with Autism. Typically they dont believe in administering conventional drugs and see the condition as a probable gift... as a very high ratio of these children become prodigy's. They have a drive to finish everything to the point of obsession. The quadrant of the brain that is not functioning properly...is delayed in its function...but other parts of the brain may over-compensate by working even better! They focus on helping the parents deal with the behaviors and ideosyncrasies that they must cope with, and channel effectively.
I do not know a lot about Autism and I am not an expert. I do know that Bill Gates has one type of Autism however. As did Mozart. Maybe Bill Gates should write a book!
www.cureautism.com is an interesting place to start...but there are numerous ones. Dig into your search engine and get the ball rolling.
Many BC Naturopathic doctors have information on-line. See them via web-sites or request testimonies from other parents via a practitioner and the inspiration will keep rolling in!
Much Love and Goodness to you all!
Genuinely,
Georgia | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/1/2008 10:20:24 AM | Well ive got an autistic brother, an worked with adults with profound learning difficulties for years, also my sister runs two homes for the autistic trust...................... the slappin is probarley just a habit she has got into, may be as simple as she likes the sensation it leaves on her hand, or the sound (if ur sure its not her way of communicating, as alot of autistic youngsters use violence as commnication). Before dealing with it u need to establish if its, violence, communication, or sensation seekin.
I would strongly suggest u keep her mixed with other kids as much as possible, and structure her life to the extreme (alot of parents feel that too much structure can make the child less adaptable, but to the autistic child this couldnt be further from the truth). They thrive on order and routine, and anxiety levels lesson dramatically. Things like the fear of the door open may lesson, dont hold me on that one though, once an autistic child has a fear of something its very hard to alter (change is very hard to deal with).
One last thing while she is very young she will more than likely have big problems trying knew foods, especially in her own home. Try her on new foods in different settings. Keep trying on this one, obviously with no pressure.
Good luck
x | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/1/2008 10:35:11 AM | Also my little brother who was diagnosed at 2 - 3, was diagnosed with full autism, problems communicating, bad eye contact, etc.
He is now doing so well, it is even hard for a specialist to spot his autism, he is in a main stream class with loads of friends. Has a brilliant sense of humour, good eye contact, brilliant mobility.
Obviously it is still there, sometimes he gets very upset and confused and falls back to that helpless little crying toddler again. ( but hey some men deal with things worse).
Somebody with no awareness of autism would not guess he is any different from another child. I think this is wear most parents with an autistic child would like to reach. | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/20/2008 5:09:44 AM | | my son has autism and it has taught me so much about life in a different way, i have learnt to use some sign language to make him look at me when i'm talking to him, eye contact is very important, always give one command at a time as they only remember the last one and get frustrated because what they were doing wont work, keep a set routine, as for the door, if it leads to outside, put a safety latch or chain up high on the door that only you can reach, NEVER focus on what they cant do, it will come with time, always focus on what they can do and they will strive to improve that...here in australia we have a thing called early intervention, where the children with special needs go as well as kindergarton, it helped my son alot and taught me so much...there is so much advice i could give you but it probably all wont fit on here, if you want to know more just ask | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/20/2008 5:12:19 AM | | i totally agree with everything you have said, i have gone through it all as well, its certainly not easy, its the hardest thing i have ever had to do, watch my son get frustrated because i couldnt understand what he wanted or needed, communication is a huge factor in this illness, and i do commend parents who deal with a child that have this, as its made me more of a person than i thought i would ever be | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/21/2008 11:03:18 AM | | My 5 year old girl is mildly autistic. I took her to sharper mind center- sharpermindcenter.com and LOVED it! We did a detox program with her and speech immediately soared among other things. For us... it was fantastic. I also keep her on cod liver oil and GABA. For the first time she could sit and eat a meal, pay attention... really great. you can always contact me if you need more help or share stories! | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/21/2008 7:40:12 PM | | Well it depends on the doctors and the severity. I am a Autistic Preschool Teacher and the first thing to do is get early intervention for the child. The childs would recieve therapies speech, occupational, physical and behavioral if needed. Doctors are leary now of diagnosing a child, who wants a child "labeled". Consistency, and structure are extremely important. Potty training honestly I would not push it until the child is ready. Introducing the potty and if the child ever uses the potty make a huge deal and then you know she is ready. Start a timer for every 30 min - 1 hour and take her with lots of praises when she goes. It is hard but, you should have local services available free of charge. | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/21/2008 7:44:52 PM | | Sorry missed this part as for when the child gets out, alarms and have locks on the door where you have to have the key to open it. Watch out in the night time a lot of autistic kids are prone to wandering at night due to sleep issues that is why I would suggest an alarm. You can go to local electronic stores and by battery powered alarms that would just sound to alert you. | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/22/2008 7:04:43 AM | i have a solution to your problem, but i don't think you will like it!
i think a loving parent would do anything to help their child to live healthy lives
however the best thing for your child is only medicine in 13 of the fifty states
your child needs medical hemp! please before you shake your head no, google cannabis/autism
and you will hear it from experts!
my son also has mild autism he is seven! he is not on the oil yet (kids should not smoke it but should eat it) but as soon as i can afford to i am moving to california where doctors and laws are more progressive!
he will have a card, and will not be a criminal, but will function like the rest of his peers!
it is an amazing thing when a simple plant can save us, but everyone is so scared of it! | |
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| AUTISM..... Tell me anything!!!!!
Posted: 6/22/2008 6:28:25 PM | Hi
I have over 8 yrs experience working with children and adults with autism.
You should continue to read as much as you can (texts on behaviour modification and ABA, applied bahviour analysis will help). W-5 just had a special on an autistic girl who suddenly began to communicate using the computer at age 13, you may want to watch it. Your daughter is only 3 & it is very early. Work on life skills first, don't push the eye contact until later. For communication learn basic signs( you can use the internet). Use whatever she shows interest in for motivation for behaviours, like smarties for using the potty. Reinforce positive behaviours and ignore (the tech. term is extinction) negative ones. Look at what is available to you with government funding. You may be entitled to an ABA therapist/ special needs worker who can help you. If you need more info just ask. Having a child with autism isn't easy but, with the right support and early intervention you're daughter can succeed.
Safety issues...for the door continue using all the baby proof stuff if she is past that you can install alarms that sound when the door is opened.
I hope this helps! | |
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