Aspergers/Autism/Sensory Integration Chatter #2

[~Saram~]

Sorry lesty - I've forgotten how old your Ds is but we use our DS obsessions to work for us.

- if I need him to do something, go somewhere that I know he won't be comfortable we will take a pokemon book or his DS

- we make it part of his daily timetable - ie get dressed, have breakfast, put your shoes on THEN play with pokemon cards

- finish your homework then we will play pokemon

His obsession drive me bonkers for over 2 years now the only thing he wants to talk baout at pokemon/digimon/bakugan and who beats who and who evolves into who. I pick him up from school - how was school? Did you know that a grass type pokemon would beat a fire type if..... And the only time he wants to play with me is if we play "pretend mode" which is basically us acting out a pokemon battle. We have tried distrcting /trying to get him interestd in other things but it always come back to pokemon.

Good luck finding what works for you

[lestyrox]

Thanks so much everyone for your replies and support

Well i dropped Ethan off at day care today and i talked to the staff about my concerns with Ethan's behaviour. Well it seems they all noticed it too. Apparently last week he gathered up a handful of rocks and then lined them up, he'd then run around around the rocks, mess them up and then do it all again. One of the staff wanted to see what he'd do if she took the rocks away so she picked them up and apparently he got pretty upset. She gave them back and then he started the whole thing again.
There were other things they noticed too, they noticed he was great with his fine motor skills but awkward and 'floppy' with his gross motor. They didn't want to tell me because they wanted to wait a few weeks and see if it improved but since i brought it up they were keen to talk about it.
In a way i'm glad they noticed these things so now i know i'm not just being paranoid but at the same time i'm so sad because now i know that there is a big possiblility he has ASD. I know he's still the same little boy and i don't want to jump the gun and diagnose him without even seeing the doctor but i just know, i just know in my heart thats what it it. I guess i've known for 2 years really.
So i asked the staff to watch him today and let me know if they've noticed anything when i pick him up at 12:30pm. I'm really nervous for him today because its raining here so he can't go outside to play which means he'll be stuck inside with 29 kids and i don't know how he'll cope. When he was younger he used to get overwhelmed with a lot of people around. I asked the satff to call me if he gets upset and i'll pick him up early.

Anyway so i'm looking forward to his doctors appointment on Monday. I know the doctor can't diagnose him straight off but i'm at the point now where i just want to have an answer so i can educate myself to understand his needs and wants better.

I feel like i've been blind to things he does that are obvious traits of ASD. I remember reading signs and symptoms of ASD on the net and thinking 'hmmm Ethie doesn't do that, or that' but now that i've been watching him more closely i realise he has a lot of traits. These are the things i've noticed

*Obsessions that dominate his speech and play
*echolalia
*repetive speech patterns- repeats the same thing over and over (usually about his obsession with plugs and sinks)
*repeditive body movements- he'll jump twice on the spot when i repeat whatever he's saying back to him...only picked this one up a few days ago.
*Runs with his head to the side sometimes
*lines things up
*flaps his arms occassionally
*strange fears
*fixated on unusual parts of things. For example he loves Hi 5, one of the episodes had the gang pretending to be cows in a paddock and the sun was shining in the sky. Now everytime he sees or talks about Hi 5 he says 'mooooo yellow sun' over and over even if he's watching a different episode. He'll also say it at random times.

So thats where we're at. Thank you all so much for taking the time to comment and offer advice. Its nice to know i'm not alone in this.

* forgot to mention, Ethan is 3 in August*

[christy]

I've had a really hard day again...

Is it just me, or do you girls ever wander if someone else would do a better job at this than you? Today I just feel like Matilda would be better off in someone elses care....

[barbie-up]

Lest - with my son and creche - I asked them about him, when he was about 2.5 and someone from the council came out, an inclusion support officer, and they work with the carers to get the most of out his time there. That woman also suggested we see a paed.

It's hard in the beginning, when you don't know, the more you read, the more you think that's what is wrong and you can't get appointments made quick enough.

It's also hard when other mums think you are over reacting, but when there are lots of little things, they do add up to something.

Christy - no one does a good a 'job' as the mum. We're ace. I can't imagine how hard it gets.

[lestyrox]

Well Ethan had his appointment with his doctor today and he suspects he has Aspergers. He's referred us to a pead who specialises in ASD so now we just have to wait for an appointment.
I feel relieved in a way. I think getting it all out in the open has helped me come to terms with what is. The main thing now is to get a formal diagnosis (which i'm 100% the pead will diagnose ASD) so that Ethan can get into a program. i just want the best for him, i think this diagnosis will help me and DH to understand Ethie better and thats a very positive thing.
I took along a 3 page list of all the things i've noticed that are 'different' about Ethan and the Dr. has faxed that to the pead. so he can get a clear idea of Ethan's quirks.

It's hard in the beginning, when you don't know, the more you read, the more you think that's what is wrong and you can't get appointments made quick enough.

It's also hard when other mums think you are over reacting, but when there are lots of little things, they do add up to something.

Thanks Barbie- up. Thats so true. The more i read about the traits of ASD the more traits i noticed in Ethan, looking back i now realise he displays lots of traits, starting from birth really.

I think it was really good for DH to come along to the appointment today. He wasn't 100% convinced Ethan was that different. I think he was in denial and it was frustrating because everytime i'd point out an autistic thing Ethan did and DH would just shrug it off and say 'i used to do that when i was little, he's just quirky'. I think now he can really see what i've been seeing all this time. And as you said, its all the little things that added up and opened my eyes to the bigger picture.
Its interseting because the Dr. asked DH and i if we had autistic tendancies and we both do.
I have sensory issues and OCD and DH hates crowded places and used to 'space out' as a kid. Interesting.

Anyway so now we are just waiting for the appointment with the pead. As Barbie-up said, its funny how once you notice the traits you can't wait to get a diagnosis. I'm past all the umming and ahhing, now i just want to get a diagnosis and work out the best plan of action for my little man.

[~Saram~]

LR - pleased to hear you are getting some help. Hope all the appointments go well. Good luck.

Well it's school holidays and DS has had two breakdowns already - one at the beach today :-(. We have been working on his running off and at least now he stops before he completely disappears. Went to a party in a huge park on Thursday and he kept me bloody running from one end to the other - at least I am keeping fit.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

[MBP_Mum]

Hi all, sorry i have been MIA but it's been a busy few weeks.
Korbin has his speech assessment appointment tomorrow ...FINALLY!!! & $500 later He then has his first psychologist appointment on Thursday, we have three of those. I seriously think he is getting worse in some areas, and better in others.

Could every please vote for my photo of him funds will go towards the Autism Advisory and Support Service. (Page make take a bit to load)
This is a great shoot of my little man.

Thank you & i hope you are all well. ((HUGS))

[Lulu]

Hey girls, I've been ghosting in and out of this thread for quite a long time. DS is a bit of a puzzle to us all, sometimes when I think he is showing Aspy traits, I get convinced and I come in here to find the 'real' side of it, rather than googling. I hope you don't mind. Mitch and Matilda were very, very alike as babies/toddlers but Mitch has evened out somewhat. We have a few obsessions and he still overloads very very easily. He had a very basic assessment awhile back which (for me) ruled out ASD but sometimes I'm just not sure. I find it hard to work out if it's his environment (im convinced his father has ADD or is on the spectrum - he STILL walks on his toes).

Anyhoo

I think it was really good for DH to come along to the appointment today. He wasn't 100% convinced Ethan was that different. I think he was in denial and it was frustrating because everytime i'd point out an autistic thing Ethan did and DH would just shrug it off and say 'i used to do that when i was little, he's just quirky'. I think now he can really see what i've been seeing all this time. And as you said, its all the little things that added up and opened my eyes to the bigger picture.
Its interseting because the Dr. asked DH and i if we had autistic tendancies and we both do.
I have sensory issues and OCD and DH hates crowded places and used to 'space out' as a kid. Interesting.

I was speaking to an Aide at his Kinder who was assisting a little girl with Autism. This lady is utterly convinced there is usually a parent or family member with at least ASD - she said usually once the child is diagnosed the parental traits are recognized too.
Last week I read the most fascinating book called 'Not Even Wrong'. I really recommend it. The author was a researching a young man known as The Wild Boy born in the 1700's - it looks like this Wild Boy may be the first recorded case of Autism.

During this research the authors own son was diagnosed as well. His research was fascinating, apparently half of the Microsoft workforce have ASD! Massive percentages of ASD kids have parents in the Science/Engineering fields, and the rest are artists.

It's a wonderful book and I think it gives great insight into the inner (and brilliant) workings of these wonderful little minds. Please see if you can get a copy, highly reccommended. xoxoxoxoxo

[MantaRay]

Lulu, I think you are totally right. I work in IT and I am sure that many people I work with are. And I think both DH and I have some traits.

We get J's final results on Tuesday week. It will interesting to see what they say. I'm pretty sure they aren't going to say ASD but he certianly has traits and in the last couple of weeks with school holidays and change of routine we have seen more of them than usual. This must be obvious to others also - his swimming teacher told DH on Saturday (when he mucked around through his whole lesson) that she knows what it's like as her two kids are borderline everything too (and this was without us telling her anything about J's assessments). And the kindy teacher has mentioned some of his ASD traits also. It's interesting now too that for the first time DH is starting to refer to him as borderline ASD, something which I didn't think I'd ever hear him say!

I am thinking of you Christy. I hope it all goes well.