Routines and Autism

Routines are a Key part when you have a child who is anywhere on the Autism Spectrum. The reason is because they like to have their day Structured so that they know what is going to happen each hour of the day. when you have to break away from the Routine in any way IE doing anything special then sit the child down and Explain that this is something special. You can also if you use a picture Schedule have a special picture for each special Activity, so that the child knows what is going on and is clued in. Routines are also good for all Children not just kids who are on the Autism Spectrum. They help kids learn how to do things and it can also help in learning to tell time.

how can you explain Spring Break without a Melt down

This is what worked for us, We just out right told Paul that it was spring Break and had him look out the window to show that there were no buses running each day. When he asked why we said because its spring break eventually without mentioning the word school to him we get though the day without any Meltdowns from about noon on its a normal day for him but the Morning can be rough if you do not choose your words wisely unless you want to have a Melt down.

Autism Song - You Don't Talk To Me

wow after reading and listening to this I have some Ideas as to how to help my lil guy that wears his heart on his sleeve.... just a while ago I said " I love you Paul" Paul says " I love you too Mommy" and gave me a great big hug there is no greater joy than hearing those words from a child who has been diagnosed as being on the Autism Spectrum

Mother's view on Autism

this is a very eye opening video!!! It really made me really start to look inside myself and I really realized that I have things as a Mom that I need to work on when it comes to how I handle different situations with my son it will really make you think...

found this book about Autism online here is what it is going for on Amazon .com the local Barnes and Noble told me that thier price was 14.99 for those interested

Pauls school day 3/1/11

When I get Paul off the bus in the afternoon, the first thing that I or my Husband usually do is we check his backpack for the sheet (shown above here) that tells us what he has done or has not done that day. .  Well today when I pulled out this little sheet I got a surprise.   He had apparently gone to the bathroom of his own accord which is awesome.   Potty Training has been a Sensory issue that we have really been working hard to overcome with him.  for the last 2 to 3 months and this tells me that he is finally getting it.  when I asked him what he wanted for lunch he said "a sandwich please mommy"  so I said   "OK what kind"   Paul says  " chicken and cheese on a Bagel please mommy"  So that's what he had for lunch.  Now he is very nicely playing fireman with his sister,  well till she has had enough of it.  I may not post his daily sheets every day but hopefully this will give those of you who want to know about Paul's progress a glimpse into how we are working with him.  He truly is now making leaps and bounds of progress it seems.  As I said in my last post  the teacher that he has had these last two years that he has been in school has been the only one who has been able to get this much out of him.       

Our Jouney in Finding out our Son had Autism

As a Mother, the worst fear is that something is seriously wrong with your child, as you help and watch them grow up.  For me, that Fear became reality in the winter of 2007/2008. We could not get a appointment until June of 2008. It was then our son was diagnosed as having Autism Spectrum Disorder.  We took our son to Riley Children Hospital in Indianapolis to see Dr Plawecki and his team of Child Psychiatrists. They determined that he was on the "fence" of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Meaning that while he does show signs of Autism, he does not exhibit all of them all of the time. He would be considered to be a "High Functioning Autistic child." Not in need of medication to control his Autistic moods. Like everyone else he has good days and bad days.  Shortly after our son was diagnosed, we got Him in to a program called "First Steps" here in Indiana. They were awesome in helping us to get Him in to the right direction. Teaching us the steps towards helping our son to learn and help figure out ways to get him be where he should be for the age he was.  We as a family went through two different home studies, with two different ladies to come see our home and how he reacted to them and the different toys they brought. The toys were to see how he played with them and figured out what to do with them. I remember one being a car, and he just kept played with the wheels, rolling them round and round. They said that was typical and when he would run in the house he would hold his arms out to the side. He also could not talk, it was more of a garbled words(jargon), run together that made no sense. At the age he was, he should have been able to be understood much more than what he was. They told us that was for sure a couple of things that shows he is Autistic.  Plus the report we had from the Riley Children Hospital going in to the depth of his Autism helped. It took almost and month before we had any Therapist helping him. First Steps had 3 different Therapists coming to work with our son. Each one would come one day a week to see him.  We had a Speech Therapist, a Developmental Therapist and a Occupational Therapist (OT).  They would work with him with different toys, and do various things to help him with his sensory, and words.   When our son turned 3, he was then allowed to go to the local school system. In our Township they had just opened a school to help children with Autism, Downs, ADHD and a few I had not heard of.  Our son started school a few days before his December birthday. He was allowed to go for a couple of months before they could figure out what his needs were and then tell us what they suggest to help him. We then sat down with the teacher, psychologist, and the director of discipline with the school district and found a plan that would best fit our son for his Early Childhood Education. This was also based on him being a child with a Autism Spectrum Disorder and for him to eventually to be able to move in to the regular school system for children that did not have any disability.  Our son is now 5 years old and  attends a Developmental preschool. The teacher our son has had the last two years has been able to pull more out of him, and has helped him be able to share and be better socially.   She has also suggested Developmental Kindergarten to help our son succeed in 1st Grade.  In the Last two years alone he has made leaps and bounds of Progress going from not talking at all to 5 and 6 word sentences.