Autism

Sorry Joelle, not me but sounds like he's doing great things.   It can't be easy for you but you're doing an amazing job!

Hey Joelle, sorry I can't help but I know one of the woman in the due feb 2010 forum has a nephew with autism... I'll mention this to her for you ok!

And yay for your boy clapping and the other new things too!

Hi Joelle, as mentioned above by NKAP9, my wee Nephew (now aged 4 and a half) has an Autistic spectrum disorder. To be honest, I'm not too sure what type of Autism it is exactly but I know that it has been tough on my sister. He wasn't diagnosed until he was about 2 and half but we always thought there was something 'different' about him. He too was slow to start speaking, and even now he is quite difficult to understand. We all know what he is saying because we are used to certain words etc but to a stranger, they'd have no idea.
He is the most loving little boy and so much fun. To me, he is just a normal little boy except for the lack of speech.
The things my sister finds the most difficult are little things like telling people no when they try to give him a sticker or a stamp on his hand. To most kids, they'd LOVE that but it terrifies him. My sister finds that people tend to be quick to judge and look at her as if she is a mean mother not letting her son have a sticker.
He has come ahead in leaps and bounds since the birth of my wee daughter, now 7wks. We weren't sure how he'd react to her as he'd never met a newborn before but he is besotted. He has started recognising emotions for the first time ever. And he is full of kisses for her. Until she was born, he'd never kissed anyone but now he kisses anyone that crosses his path lol
He is started to put sentences together now. For example, if my wee baby starts crying he will say 'baby Isla is crying' or 'baby isla is sad'. That is a huge step for him.
Another thing he does is he is fanatical about straight lines. If we go into a toy store, he will rush in and straighten everything on the shelves. There daren't be a toy out of place, cause he will straighten it. Haha. Going to make a great merchandiser when he's older I reckon! His attention to detail is amazing so altho he is behind in some things, he is way ahead in so many other things.
I know it will be a huge life changing experience for you but it will get easier. I'm only speaking as an Aunty of an Autistic child so can't imagine what it is like as a parent but I know that my sister got thru those difficult first few months but now she does so well with him. It's just their way of life now and he is growing up to be a great little boy and I'm sure your wee one will be the same. There are a lot of people out there affected by Autism so there will be plenty of people for you to talk to.
Congrats on doing such a great job so far xo Take care

Hiya Joelle, sounds like you have a great boy there who loves life. I have no experience with Autism however my dad reakons he has a mild version of it and was telling me about this exercise that you can do which builds new pathways through your brain. It is supposed to be really good for hyperactive/ busy kids as well, and he said that it has made a difference to him.

Basically you put your left hand on your right ear lobe, your right hand on your left ear lobe (so your arms are crossed) then crouch down into a squatting position- as you do this you breath in a deep breath and then as you stand breath out. It looks rather comical, but worth a shot I reakon.

Good luck with everything

i can reccomend getting a book on activities to do with autistic children. they mention activites to do that co-ordinate them and help with the different senses, that need helping along

Hey Joelle

Goodness I haven't been on oh baby for soooo long...that happens when you have a busy nearly 4 year old autistic boy and a 2 year old bubbly handful 2 year old!

My son was diagnosed a year ago when he turned 3 he was not delayed with walking or motor skills etc but his speech was and he didn't get social interaction with other kids, his family and adults yes but not kids, so we knew something was different from around 2 and a half

We have gone down the biomedical approach , and saved up to see an autism specialist in Auckland called Dr Leila Masson, she was awesome , Ben is 100% times better than he was a year ago, he still is autistic but hes far calmer, speaking more a happier little man understanding things heaps more

Check her out online Dr Leila Masson.com i think!, Ben is now gluten and diary free ( a huge thing for most autistic kids) on a natural range of supplements, allsorts! Epson salts, the works! we sre stretched finacially but we see what it has done for him in a year so we are sticking to it as our thousands of other parents..it works!

If you want anymore information pm me

Emma :)

hi there
im so glad someone has brought this topic up.
my son (who has just turned 5 on friday) was diagnosed with moderate to severe autism and global development delay, in april.
he is my oldest i also have an almost 4yr old, a 2yr old and a 5mth old.
samuels problems to start off with seemed like it was just speech, i had no idea his (then) behaviour was a problem he was my first child i just put it down to thats how kids are and maybe i was just a bad parent god knows everyone else seemed to think i was. but after i had him refered to speech theropy, he was then refered on to early intervention teacher, who then refered him to paeds 1st referal to paeds got lost so instead of waiting 6mths it was almost a yr before he saw paeds. who very quickly picked that samuel was autistic and to be honest i wasnt even shocked he is a 5yr old who as far as communication and social is concered is only at a 2yr old level. mobility wise how ever he is beyond his peers and i now have people more surprised at how well behaved he is for a child with such difficulties.
we had his needs accessment done yesterday and apparently i will proberbly get a care package that will allow me to pay someone i know to take for the day a bit like home help etc.
the problem we have is that we dont do family outings becoz with samuels unpredicable behaviour we dont know if he is going to have a good day or bad, on good days he can be fantastic however on bad days i often have to walk away.

yay for getting all the help samuel needs james has just started school and we are waiting to see how he will go but everything is sett up for him

hi there,..
been awhile since i have been on here but thought i would drop in.
My 10yr old has autism and was diagnosed at 2 yrs old.
i have had 8 yrs of specialists, special ed, orrs funding, teacher aides, speech therapists, diet ideas, bad teachers, good teachers, main stream schooling, wrong decisions, right decisions, minor issues, MAJOR issues, tears, laughter and so on and so on

my family were lucky enough to be chosen recently to feature on a education dvd for families with a diagnosed child. it is called ASD plus- education for families...i think IDEA funded it.
the whole idea was to give a snapshot into a few yrs down the track and what to expect.

My advice....have strong support around you. its gonna be tough and emotional and you need someone there to pick you up each time.

remember the child you have now, will not be the child you have 5, 8 or 10 yrs down the track.
when Enson was 4 i thought he will NEVER cope with school....i was wrong.

slow and steady wins the race!!!! take it day by day, week by week. Dont sweat the small stuff and grow a thick skin.

diets and supplements caused major stress on us. not to mention financial strain. we ditched it all and have been fine.

he will ALWAYS be autistic...you cannot cure it. but he is learning to manage it and so can you.

lastly...choose your battles. if its a choice between brushing teeth or wearing a hat to bed then a hat to bed it is..haha

pm me anytime..

I have been dealing with this for 5.5 years years my son was diagnosed when he was 22 months. He started out on GF diet because it helped with his behaviour but since being at school he is completely on gluten and seems to be doing okay just his 7 year old attitude we have got at the moment.

He has come a long way as Aquarius has said a child now it is not the same child a year ago or 5 years ago they go so many milestones on achieving something like eating with a spoon. I think what my boy has achieved with the input from us and his therapists over the years is overwhelming of what he can do not what he can't do. 

He was feeding himself by the time he was 20 months and is great sleeper always has been 10-12 hours a night. He is toilet trained took us awhile but we got there in the end, loves when it is his birthday and having friends over he is just like one of them and has a big smile on his face when they sing happy birthday to him. He is still pretty much non-verbal with some sounds/words and repeating words because he has learnt to say it but doesn't understand the concept when to use it.

At the moment we are trying something out called neurofeedback where they do an EEG of his brain and find what his brain activity is doing.