autism becoming less

[alibaba24]

I was ustgoing to say If know one as complained just let him crack on

 

[alibaba24]

all the best for tomorrow starry

 

[Starry Night]

Thank you. Today we're having what I have started to call 'an autism day'. Many meltdowns over seemingly nothing, stimming, and avoiding contact.

 

[alibaba24]

Thank you. Today we're having what I have started to call 'an autism day'. Many meltdowns over seemingly nothing, stimming, and avoiding contact.

sorry to hear that. meltdowns are no fun at all. I remember age 3 being very challenging for my little girl . I think her lack of language and sensory sensitivies probably triggered meltdowns . what type of stimming is he doing/

 

[Starry Night]

He normally punches the inside of his hat but today he wasn't wearing it (he's going through a robot phase so wears a Darth Vader helmet now) so he was finger flicking a lot and hitting chairs and couches...and me. Also did more head-banging today. He also throws toys or any other hard object when he's upset. Today he had a meltdown where he wouldn't even let me touch him at all--not even a pat on the back. So I had to let him sit and cry on the kitchen chair. He then just lay there staring at me and DD and ignored any attempts on my part to speak with him.

He had other meltdowns too. They don't really get to me too much because I don't take them personally and they sort of roll off my back. But I did feel for the poor little guy. He seemed so overwhelmed. He does have some self-soothing techniques though.. When he feels a meltdown coming on he usually sends himself to his room and cacoons himself in his blankie and comes back out when he's ready. But today was a little too much for him, I guess.

 

[alibaba24]

I was a headbanger. I also used to try and bang my sisters head

i think its great he knows hes getting overwhelmed and can go to a place where he will feel more settled x

 

[Starry Night]

Sorry for the late reply. Trips to the city usually take awhile as we tend to make a day of it and we were visiting relatives in the evening.

So it turns out that my son IS on the spectrum. We were mostly expecting that. What we weren't expecting is that he qualifies more for the classic/moderate autism. That was a little bit of a shock. We had been assuming it was a very mild case.

BUT the child development doctor was very encouraging and said that the test can only show where he is NOW and is not an indicator of where he could potentially end up. The fact that he's semi-verbal and able to learn (we told her he knows his letters and can count to 10) that those were already leg-ups and increase his likelihood to improve and go on to have a full "normal" life.

All the information on the services and what-not was rather overwhelming though. It's going to be a crazy ride.

 

[Thurinius]

Sorry for the late reply. Trips to the city usually take awhile as we tend to make a day of it and we were visiting relatives in the evening.

So it turns out that my son IS on the spectrum. We were mostly expecting that. What we weren't expecting is that he qualifies more for the classic/moderate autism. That was a little bit of a shock. We had been assuming it was a very mild case.

BUT the child development doctor was very encouraging and said that the test can only show where he is NOW and is not an indicator of where he could potentially end up. The fact that he's semi-verbal and able to learn (we told her he knows his letters and can count to 10) that those were already leg-ups and increase his likelihood to improve and go on to have a full "normal" life.

All the information on the services and what-not was rather overwhelming though. It's going to be a crazy ride.

Hugs to you. But as they said it is no indicator of where he'll end up. Things can change so quickly. One year ago my son was entirely non verbal. Last week he made a decent stab at singing happy birthday

 

[alibaba24]

Sorry for the late reply. Trips to the city usually take awhile as we tend to make a day of it and we were visiting relatives in the evening.

So it turns out that my son IS on the spectrum. We were mostly expecting that. What we weren't expecting is that he qualifies more for the classic/moderate autism. That was a little bit of a shock. We had been assuming it was a very mild case.

BUT the child development doctor was very encouraging and said that the test can only show where he is NOW and is not an indicator of where he could potentially end up. The fact that he's semi-verbal and able to learn (we told her he knows his letters and can count to 10) that those were already leg-ups and increase his likelihood to improve and go on to have a full "normal" life.

All the information on the services and what-not was rather overwhelming though. It's going to be a crazy ride.

I am also very suprised that they put him into the more moderate side of the spectrum

the great thing is though like you said just because they have put him their now doesnt mean he will remain there. He is going to progress and move on the spectrum . theres so many succcessful adults on the spectrum try not to get bogged down. I know that is useless advice because when I find myself in the midst of something I get such bad anxiety.

the fact the doctor told you he has a very good chance of having a "normal" life is def what to keep in mind

also I think in this day and age we all know someone on the spectrum. a friend of my mum her son was considered quite severe. I think he is only around 8 now and hes in mainstream doing great he picked up an award the other day too which is great i dont think i ever got an award in school lol

 

[Starry Night]

Thanks, everyone.


Because of his first assessment a month ago we already got over the worst of the shock. I do feel like I need a day of "down time" just to process what our life is going to be and all I'm going to have to do. I'm quite the shy and timid person so I have to gear myself to be more assertive and be his advocate. Right now that is really intimidating me. The doctor has already sent in all the referrals for me but she said I need to bug the speech therapist near me as the 2 year wait is unacceptable. I don't want to be "that" mom, but for my son's sake I need to.

 

[alibaba24]

Once you have accepted this news fully and connect with others who are further along the journey you will find yourself gaining that confidence .

when my daughter first started speech therapy etc I was too nervous to say anything.

now I just get on the phone to them / doctors etc anytime I need something

hang in there

 

[pinkpolkadot]

Just caugt up sorry! Starry Night, I think even if you already know, just being told officially can make it all seem very real I guess, hope you are OK. It sounds as if they were very positive about the future so that's great.

I know what you mean about being 'that parent' I have already called to chase DDs appointment as we haven't heard yet and I felt like I was being annoying. I guess we will get used to doing it though and gain more confidence

 

[Thurinius]

Starry night - I'm an introvert, pretty meek and mild. I wanted to be a laid back parent. I decided to send my asd son (though I didn't know he was asd at the time) to the nursery that had no uniform, where there was little structure but just play.
Turned out to be a huge error. My son needs structure, the uniform helps him know where he is going each day.
As he's a placid, quiet boy I know he could quite easily be left to his own devices by teachers and thus not progress. So like you I am steely myself to be that 'mum' because I have to be but it doesn't come naturally yet.

 

[Starry Night]

Thanks.

I'm not planning on starting DS in mainstream school until kindergarten. It does seem one of our options for therapy will be Floor Time. I think we can choose between that or ABA which the province will fund. We have to book an informational seminar that discusses both options but so far DH and I are leaning towards Floor Time because it seems more like a preschool and is with other autistic kids and we think that would be good for him. He seems to thrive behind around others. Our church's kids club doesn't start until Grade 1 but the church down the highway includes kids as young as 3. So we might look into that in the fall. He is doing well in Sunday School so I think that would be OK.

I was talking to a friend and she used to be the president of the PTA at our local school and she said our school has really good Educational Assistants and Occupational Therapists. I found that encouraging.

And today I got DS to write his first letter. I have a Draw App on our laptop (which also has a touch screen feature) and he wrote the first letter in his name. I helped him write a few other letters but he liked to write that letter over and over on his own.