ASD (AUTISM)

anthonybksh

I am in a different position. As someone with aspergers syndrome, I am technically autistic myself. Unlike most austistic people I am vry verbal but it is obvious that the world that I live in and that of most other people are very separate. I think other people find me frustrating at times as I do not operate on the same basis as other people. I am not inclined to take a hint and need to be explicitly told what people mean.
My priorities may be different to yours. When I was a teenager I read nuclear physics books and had minimal interest in having friends. For some autistic people, human communication through speech is not a priority. Depite this, they may still want to know that you, as a parent, care for them. Like all children, they want security.
I can't tell you how it is to be non-asd and have an asd child but I can tell you how it is to be the child. The child is vulnerable. He/she will often be teased and made fun of. They will need some protection but they will not understand this. Being non verbal makes it harder. I never had that disadvantage but life was hard when I was in primary school anyway.

applebee

Hi i am a single mum with a child with autism and yes it is hard but i wouldn't change him for a second the autism makes who he is as a person he is 8yrs old i found out he had autism about a week before he started schoolis at a public school and is treated the same as his classmates but has no real friends as Auristic children tend to be loners but he is doing well as school writing and maths are a issue but his reading is his strong point as is the computer, loud nosies can still be a issue but the thing that sets him in to a "meltdown" are automatic doors he will not go through the unless they open for him and him only so going out with him is a bit of a mission, he finds it hard to get his point across at times but if you give him time he gets there even if its a hour or even the next day ,he cant tell me what he has done today but if i asked him tommorrow what he did today he could tell me. As for your daughter have you thought of putting pictures on the fridge or somewhere where she can get them pictures of some one hurt or sick o a cup for a drink etc the way she can start communicating with you with the picture and the word if we put the hard yards into these children they can do anything the docs told me my son would never mount to anything but there very wrong hes 8yrs old and has the spelling level of a 10 1/2 year old.

Anonymous

My son, before he started talking, we put photos of a few foods and a few drinks on the fridge with the name of it typed underneath. It takes two adults, one to guide the child - to the photo-pick an item-take it to the other adult. Eventually, I was fortunate that my son did learn to talk, and although he is still very autistic, he is very affectionate as well, and will talk endlessly about video/computer games

cricky

Im a mum of two as well, boys that is lol, my eldest at 4 years is autistic, and we find his frustration, echoes our own frustrations lol.
My son has only since october 2010, actually started putting words together, and thats help from kindy, he has his own special needs lady there every day for two hours, and a speech therapist goes to the kindy to assess him as well, his affection is infectious, and he seems "normal" to anyone else who doesnt understand the condition, as there are moments when even i forget he is Autistic lol

What does get me is the constant whinging and whining that he seems to do frequently, and his 2 year old brother is copying, as in " monkey see, monkey do" lol

We have big issues re toilet training, he is still in nappies, not through laziness on ours or the kindys part, but he just does not seem to "get" that you do your business in the loo.

Ah welly we will eventually get there.

mummy3

My 6 year old son has high functioning Austim and global development delay. He did not talk until he started speech theraphy at 4 years old. He would only make very high pitched vocal noises before this. He would get very frustrated and have melt downs when we didn't understand what he wanted. So we had to get him to physically show us what he wanted.
He still has regular speech theraphy and is now starting to form sentences but they are similar to what my 2year old speaks. But progress :)
He gets stimulated easily and still regresses to the high pitched vocal noises and baby noises.
He attends main stream school and the school was able to obtain funding so he can have a carer with him during the day. His intellegence level is high and he can process things at a higher speed than normal but he cannot express it. He is fantastic at computer games. He thrives on anything to do with movement. His needs are very visual so we have lots of visual aides.
He is not yet toilet trained and this is a real battle area.
He does not really require a set routine but does need to be pre-prepared with what is planned for the day. We and the school use visual charts for this.
He is very affectionate with us but does not like the other school children in his space.

We have been very fortunate to have had access to resources where they have helped us develop strategies for dealing with the everyday ASD struggles.

We are blessed to have him in our lives and don't wish to change him but rather help him to be everything he can be.

pipsqueak0810

My almost 3yr old Daughter has been given a paediatrician diagnosis of ASD but we are still waiting for her final assessment in November. She is rather high functioning (so more Aspergic than Autistic in the older terms). Our ups are how affectionate she is becoming (she was a VERY unaffectionate baby), her quirky sense of humour, her knowledge...she LOVES dinosaurs and can pronounce the names better than myself and my husband.
Our downs are her sensitivity to sounds. She can not stand her sister (9 months old) crying, shopping centres, vacuum cleaners, washing machines...pretty much anything that makes a loud noise!! It makes everyday things like grocery shopping and housework extremely difficult.

My big girl is attending a mainstream pre-school and has improved so much being there. Our next big issue we need to face is getting her to eat something that isn't a hot chip and getting her to show an interest in toilet training. Fun Times

Ali

I know this may not help, but there is a centre called 'The Listen and Learn Centre'. http://www.listenandlearn.com.au/

I myself have a mental disability and they have been absolutely amazing. Unfortunately there are only three in the world. But give it a go!

Anonymous

I have a daughter who is nearly 4 and has just been diagnosed with autism.She spins in circles but is very affectionate.She is learning to speak and has picked up quite a few words..now we have to work on forming a sentence:).She gets a bit of insomnia sometimes takes a while to get some sleep.

s

My oldest grandson is 4 and he has autism my daughter has to keep his routine the same. But he has improved with his speech by attending a special preschool I think he goes 1 or 2 mornings a week. In the near future he is going to have different therapies eg speech etc.

Nanna of 5.

Anonymous

It is so hard isn't it. I have a daughter with ASD and it is a struggle everyday. Can I suggest or you may have already done so. Make a communication book, with pictures. Also I taught my daughter sign language even if it is basic. A speech therapist would be able to help you make a communication book. I also am a support worker , this is how we communicate with a lot of clients. It is very effective especially with sign as well.

Be proud of your self you are doing the best you can. I know every day is a struggle my daughter is 12 and every day I thank god that we got through it. There has been alot of tears and alot of screaming. But I am so proud I was told when she started school that she needed to go to a special school. I decided to send her to main stream. She is now in year 6 and is doing amazingly. She performs in concerts and everything that is going on.
So keep your head up. Be proud, and it will fall into place.

angelskies

My eldest is mainly nonverbal almost getting there with the toilet training autistic with intellectual impairment, he is 9 and the light of my life, he makes me smile every day but yes it can be utterly heartbreaking at the same time.

he has come far he has a massive mario obsession and is better at most video games then anyone we know and draws amazing pictures, but I'd love to be able to have better conversations with him. or talk with him not at him you know?

there is a fair few of us on here!!

jacaxelach

just have to respond to you i live in the country
im a mum of six with three oler boys 21 18 and 18 all with adhd and odd
i look at them now they havent got that they have more asd tendancies
i also have three younger children ages 8 5 and almost four
my two youngest have an undigonosed asd and both have global developmental delays
five year old has just started school and its horrible for him he was getting bashed daily till i stepped in
the teacher we had worked with for six months up and left two days before end of school so we never met the new teacher till the day before school started
big mistake for asd kids they need more preparation time
school were requested to do assesments last year they failed to do it now there bitching cause there is something wrong with him grrrrrrrrrrr so angry want to shake the idiiots why cant they listen
both boys are very affectionate but its when they want to be u cant go hug and kiss them they will do it when they want to
youngest child is only just starting to become verbal
and spins and spins and spins
and has obsessions about pupies an duckies
he also does not sleep at all and we are now on the melatonin
my kids are so beautiful an d even though they have these issues well life wouldn't be worth living if they were not around

mistymae53

My child is beautiful too, and yes it is a heartbreaking journey, but your child like mine, is precious, a miracle, and though it's a hard journey, like myself, I'm sure you believe your child is a gift from God, as I do! Heaven only knows I know how hard it is, but with a child who has had a very serious illness, as well as other challenging problems to say the least, I am so grateful that my child against all odds is alive, well, and happy!

cricky

Hi there, i have a almost 4 year old boy who is autistic and has global developemental disability.

Our downs...

Our son gets frustrated really easy if we can not understand him or do/get what he wants/needs etc

The ups...

the affection he displays for us, he is a social wee man, so is on the lower end of the spectrum for this.

If you are a member of trademe there are topics on there re ASD and alot of mums and dads who can help with advice etc.

sherie333

I cant begin to imagine how that is for your daughter, yourself or your family. It brings tears to my eyes tryinh to imagine. But for how affectionate your daughter is im sure says how much of a real & loving mother you are. God bless you and your family. I wish you a very merry Christmas and all the best for you all in the new year.

P.S
I know nothing about your daughters condition, but have you thought about learning sign lanuage, it may be easyier for her to comunicate. Im not sure if this is an option, just talking out loud.

cricky

I cant begin to imagine how that is for your daughter, yourself or your family. It brings tears to my eyes tryinh to imagine. But for how affectionate your daughter is im sure says how much of a...

your suggestion re sign language is a great idea, we use a few with master four