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gee this is sounding like bilby:
most of me wants to believe she DOESN"T have sensory issues
but a small part of me wants it to be true, so that maybe some of her "issues" can begin to get better (or the way i handle them, improve - once a therapists points me in the right direction.
I think we're all "on the spectrum" too- we all have our quirks and thresholds but for most of us they're minor & manageable.
I'm glad it helps to see that a very difficult child grew to a normal adult. It's really helping me believe that with some therapy & understanding this will all be different in a few years time. I'm seeing my childhood in another whole light now... it makes me really wish my Mum was still here though so I could find out more and possibly find ways to help my son :(
Oh.my.fugging.god.
If R doesnt stop freaking out because I put his blankie in the wash...............at his fugging request mind you..................Im going to go mental. I can see its going to be one of those days today, yesterday was a rippa too.
Hugs Freya. We're having one of those days so far too. The current obsession is 'watching moon'. Which roughly translates to - I want to watch something on TV which has moons in it. So every single DVD that has a moon on the cover gets dragged out and presented to me - how the hell do I explain that just because there's a picture of a moon on the cover doesn't mean it's about moons!!! And then there's the opening sequence to EVERY dreamworks movie, which has the little guy sitting fishing on a crescent moon. Which, because we have all of our DVDs on the harddrive, the first few seconds display as the preview thumbnail. So of course he sees moons everywhere. I'm really looking forward to when he finds a somewhat attainable obsession, normally they only last a week or so but this one's being rather stubborn, probably because I've never been able to satisfy it.
Anyway, you're allowed to giggle at my dilemma, or if you know of any kid-friendly shows about moons - hit me with them. And I hope that you can find a blanky solution. I don't suppose you can try sleight of hand - put it in the machine but quickly take it out and hide it so that it doesn't actually get washed? Or does he need to see it actually washing?
I heard from another ASD mum that when kids go into meltdown mode it causes an adrenaline rush, which can take a couple of weeks to stabilise. So something triggers a meltdown, then they have all of this excess adrenaline sloshing around their bodies for a while. So a 'meltdown' can actually be more of a cycle than a single event. It was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me, because DS had a big meltdown a week or so ago, and since then his sleep has been off, he's been very flappy and generally 'more' autistic. And the littlest thing triggers him off at the moment, maybe because of the adrenaline. It was an interesting theory though. It was anecdotal, I didn't find any supporting research (but then I didn't look particularly hard) but it makes a lot of sense.
Hugs Suse- Bear in the Big Blue house has a friend Luna who is a moon (obviously) she is in the show quite a bit.
My OT said sensory kids like that feeling of being "hyped" and will hype themselves up to get that feeling, when they do it its "stimming" cause they are trying to stimulate themselves. Riley spins around a lot when he is stimming and will bump into things like a pinball.
If you can ever go to a Sue Larkey seminar or read her books they are awesome. I also borrowed "The out of Sync Child" from Christy and have since bought "The out of sync child has fun" which is heaps of sensory activities in it and is well worth a read.
Suse, that theory holds some promise I think! Because it would explain why Ripley has been feral since yesterdays meltdown; he was absolutely feral at swimming lessons, his teacher is the sister of his godmother so she knows a bit about his issues and even she said its the first time she has really seen anything bar really poor concentration first hand. He wouldnt sit still, fell in the pool because he didnt want to sit on the edge like normal, kept running back to me to be silly.
The blankie needed to be washed, unfortunately I usually do it on daycare days when I "forget" to pack it in his bag but Ive been working the past week so it hasnt been done. And it did have pee on it *sigh* He's shut up about it now.
Ive also noticed he's started walking on the knuckles of his toes more and more lately. I keep having to tell him to stop it.
Update on our psych stuff - turns out the main psych wants R to do the Griffith and the Standford Binet; and from there the ADOS (or if its cheaper for us to do all 3 together then thats what we'll do). So now I have to wait for an email with the medicare item #'s from the psych so I can ring and see how much we'd be covered for before we make a decision.
I googled and found a kids animated movie called "Fly me to the moon" which looks good. The book "Goodnight Moon" also has an animation that if on video and used to be on youtube so that may be available too- the moon is in the pictures a bit. Good luck!
What's the deal with walking on the knuckles of their toes? Does it damage their feet? Maybe I should be telling my son to stop too? He doesn't do it for a long time though.
Meow - you are a champion! Off to google! Thanks heaps!
Found a trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_-g3t8KpN0
Wow! He would like the awesome full moon at the minute then!
How about a docco on the moon landing??
Christy - I think it would be great if you could print off the thread to help out. I also was speaking to Lu a fair bit through PM's about specific services in her area. If I can find the info again, I will PM it to you.
My brain in fried, so I will come in another day.
Christy- I think its an awesome idea to post them to Nick. He will also have Lu's blog about Cyclone too which is good.
Lilima, I ran out to the street this arvo when you dropped off dinner but you had already left :( I wanted to say Hello! Thank you so much for dinner, the lasagne was awesome!
Yeah Christy - Wanted to give you guys your privacy. Hope it was Ok. I am no goumet cook! My parents live so close by. Just the other side of Canterbury Rd. I could walk there!!! I grew up in the area, so when I saw the address, it was weird, as I knew exactly which street it was!
i'm still picking up my jaw off the ground about lulu...
i havent been in here for ages, and have been checking her blog daily wondering why she hadn't updated :(
Im in shock i really am... she was so inspirational to me - full of advice for me with Nate...
Oh I am just overwhelmed at this news :(
Just back from the opto. Princess is 'extremely long sighted'.
He also was pointing out some 'spectrum' traits of hers.
He said to her "Start at one and then go on with 2, 3, 4, 5."
She did 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and stopped. And I noted to him that you need to do this. If you are telling her she needs to pick up her toys, you cant say "dolls and stuff" or she will only pick up the dolls. You need to itemise every single item. If you do that and miss just one item, sure as beans that item will stay right where it is.
Pains my bank account, but they are trying to get her glasses in by saturday at the latest so she wont have to start school without them.
Sorry a selfish post here... we are just starting to move house... which is a nightmare at the best of times. Trying to explain to DS1 that we have a new house now etc and argh!
Anyway some good news, met with the deputy principal today and he will have an aide start with him on Wed, so pleased! They are more than willing to work with us and implement the things we are doing at home and in therapy. I feel so much more relaxed about it all now. I'm sure he'll be fine :D
Take care ladies x I'll be in and out over the next week or so until we get moved completely (hopefully next weekend!)
HA- hope the glasses go well. Love her literal response :D
EK- Hope the move goes well! We're moving next weekend!
Christy- I hope the info has been helping and Cyclone is doing okay.
Has anyone tried any natural therapies for autism? Im considering getting a hair analysis done for my son to check his levels of minerals and heavy metals and possiblly do some detox if needed. He's such a fussy eater I cant see us getting anything in but apparently clay baths work for getting rid of mercury, which is often found to be high in children with autism.
Also, can I ask how everyone here feels about vaccinating? We vaccinated our son and I'm still thinking it was a good idea and the science doesn't show a link but, you know, mother guilt creeps in...
Thanks meow, hope your move goes well too x
We have immunised and will continue to do so. Our boys have weaker immune system from being born early, so the vacs are a bit of a booster and peace of mind. I don't think they have anything to do with Autism, Brendan has been "different" since he was born.
I've had Brendan at a naturopath to look at diet, by reducing dairy and wheat we have seen some improvements.
Meow - we did all the the needles but will be missing the 4yo ones...they are the ones that really effected W badly and I wont go there again. W was different from birth BUT I noticed a big backwards change in behaviour after getting them...coinsodence :dunno: but im not going to risk it with M
Sal - I think I could get away with moving with the boys...IM terrible and change their rooms around every 4 - 6 months so they dont get to comfortable KWIM. My mu thought I was insane until I explained it to her...its wroked for us thankfully. As for foods, we have a one that will eat ANYTHING :dance: and then the other end...W will basically only eat white foods - potatoe, cauliflower, milk, cheese, fish and chicken, eggs...oh and a bit of carrot and brocolli..and zuchini if I make penguin quiches and chocolate. NO fruit...he's tried it and wont eat it :( Im happy to get that into him atleast.
M is now starting *finally* to talk....I heard him and N on the swing out the back this morning and he was saying....stop and go....together. He's being more communitive but OMG I am over the screaming...the high pitched tones that make my eye ball's want to pop!!!!
HOpe everyone is staying cool in this heat...I cant believe how quick my clothes have dried today
M had her first years vaccinations... but hasn't had anymore. DD2 hasn't had vaccinations at all. I was planning on delaying the schedule and will be starting DD2 now on them, but I'm not sure about M.
M's sick right now... gees it makes life easier.....
Oh crap Christy :hug: Just what you don't need right now.
Maz - we vaccinated Euan, and have vaccinated Annika but on a slightly delayed schedule - we omitted the newborn HepB vac and didn't do rotavirus. I was pretty cautious of vaccing her as Euan was diagnosed only a few weeks before she was born. Not sure if it could have been a factor with W, but boys go through a testosterone surge at the age of four, I know a few mums of spectrum boys who say their boys were absolutely unmanageable when it hit. Not telling you to try and change your mind about M's vaccs, either way you'll make the decision that's right for you. :hug:
Hi everyone that I haven't said hi to - BBL, gotta get E ready for EI.
Christy - sorry to hear that M is sick atm
Suse - I didnt even think of testosterone....it was aveyr hard stageand it started approx 2 days after W got his 4yo needles. Wonder if they have one at 8 aswell cause by hell that was even worse. I have delayed M's needles by 6 months and span them out so both V and M only have the 4yo...yes Im hesitate....once bitten twice shy isnt it lol.
Our big thiin atm with W is getting him to pull his loose teeth out. He has his adult teeth growing behind his baby teeth on the bottom and over the top of them on the top. He just wont pull them out and its driving me insane. Hard to keep them clean...and yep I bet my arse we're gonna need braces
Ahhh M wouldn't pull her tooth out either... it wasn't until she was playing with something in her mouth that her tooth flew out.... I wonder if that's one of their "things"
The thing with Matilda being sick is that she's "normal" you know? She watches TV, doesn't panic, or stress.... she just draws, plays with play dough and watches dvd's.... No meltdowns.... I almost like it.... just I don't want to deal with the meltdown if she misses her first day of school....
What a horrid weekend :( Hope you guys had a better one than us. I'm so proud of Brendan though... he's held up so strong I'm just waiting for when he crashes. Thankfully we have a psych appt on Friday.
I will be out for most of the week as we have massive clean-ups under way now (for those who don't know yet, we lost our roof in a storm on Saturday and some of the ceilings collapsed (while we were still in there!))
Much Love x
Just dropping by to say hi to everyone.
Christy- Must be hard seeing her "normal" when she is sick.
We did immunisatins on schedule.
All activities go back this week. Been doing social stories, but I am sure there are going to be lots of tears this week. Wish me luck. E is starting Childcare, and she is such a mummy's girl. I am sure I will need to pry her off my leg. Then J will see this, and start up as well!
Sally I was following your facebook. Its absolutely unbelievable that storm :o I can't believe the roof of your house was gone. The photos are so freaky. Your boys were so good to hide under the bed like that.
Wow earlykids!! Good luck with all the cleanup...what a stressful time.
Good luck to everyone off to school at the moment too.
Thanks for all the replies about vaccinating. We did a delayed, partial schedule with DS1 and will do the same with DS2. I just hope we're not being foolish by vaxxing DS2- part of me wants to make sure we dont break him too but then another part of me thinks that's silly and it's not my fault.
I still can't believe it, it hasn't really sunk it yet. I think it will today for most of us. Tristan is wonderful, he doesn't appear to be affected. However Brendan is :( If I walk out of the room he freaks out and screams and runs around looking for me :( It's made it very hard to sort things out or do anything, but we'll get there.
Thanks for the thoughts x
Early Kids - I must of missed your earlier post! How scary. Lucky no one was injured.
Thinking of you xxx
Sal, I hope things have improved , how scary losing your roof. The pic on your 365 is scary.
well Mr H starts back at school next week and at the moment I am a defeated Mumma. I put in a request that he not be put in the class that was going to have 1 teacher 3 days and another 2 days as I know he wouldn't cope. They have obliged me with that wish and have put him in a class with 2 boys who have been involved in incidents with Mr H which resulted in Mr H requiring hospital treatment. One boy 2 yrs ago got H to lick and kiss toilets at school. Then mid year last yr both boys where at a get together parents had organised at a park when they turned on a BBQ and told H to touch it it wasn't hot, well H just does what they tell him and of course he ended up getting rushed to hospital with burns.
So I am now worried that he is being put in a bad situation as these boys know he will do what the say... I have spoken to the deputy principal and made her aware but am not overly happy with her way of dealing with the issue.
Also H has still not received any help at school what so ever, Autism SA are due out the next week to see him and set stuff up but at the moment he receives no support , no help and no understanding... I am starting to wonder if I should move him to another school, just so hard as they have always been wonderful with my other child.
hi,
im just really looking for an outlet at the moment and to gain some knowledge on what im looking for and what are obvious signs that im overlooking..
My son has Adhd and has also got signs of autism but dr will not diganose him due to his vocabulary and speech..
He told me my son has signs of High Functioning Autism but he still cant seem to wrap his head around my ds's intelligence and therefore can not be diagnosed with autism.. I just want a full diagnosis to help my ds and also take some weight off my shoulders
Some things he does just so you can tell me what you think:
He constantly is hiding under tables and chairs basically anything he can fit under.
e.g- today he had a sepcialist appt and my son spent the time under his desk (dr's desk)
He acts like he is a baby and always causes a commotion when out in public. drops onto the floor and becomes limp and babbles like a little baby and will yell out silly noises
He is ok on eye contact but will only give eye contact to people he trusts
My son also has adhd so at the same time he is hyperactive its very confusing..
I have to basically tell him 2 days in advance where we are going to try and prevent a episode but usually doesnt matter his always going to do it whether i like it or not
He hates crowds if i take him into a shopping centre he will get frustrated and revert to baby like behaviour
He is extremely sensitive to noise even if my dd cries he covers his ears and even a car door shutting.. This due to ongoing hearing probs since birth but still highly affects him
He will never eat food with out wanting to know what it is all about and smelling it and looking at it
He also gets extremely aggressive if you breach his space boundaries and can not play with anymore than 1 child before he goes off his rocket and i mean extremely violent
so much more but i dont want to go on and on,,
Im just really at a breaking point, I know his only 4 and i shouldnt look into it so much but its that out there it gets pointed out to me.. he has been expelled from pre-school abused at prechool due to his issues by a teacher, i feel like im going to lose my son and never see the real him ever again...
I really just wanna break down and cry cause i just want him to be at peace and happy.. and i know his not... even looking in his eyes i see dispear..
Tan, You need to do what is best for Mr H, and I remember reading that post. Those boys are the worst thing for him right now. If that means a change of school then it is definitely worth looking at.
Zaki, Contact someone at the NSW Association for Gifted and Talented Children (NSWAGTC). They are a wonderful group of women, some who were in the same position as you with higher functioning spectrum children. They might be able to help you with a contact for a paed that DOES accept HFASD and can get him the help BEFORE he is too old for the funding. There is a cut off and it sounds like his Dr is messing you around.
Had our Paeds appt yesterday. She is looking at Spectrum for Princess. Have a battery of blood and urine tests for her including iron, lead, thyroid, blah blah blah. That is going to be fun, but she told me to take it to Lismore Base because they have the people to help.
Also she said that due to the HG I suffered and Princess' low birth weight we will have future weight problems. It is hard because she is constantly hungry. I am going to go talk to a chemist to see if there is something we can do about that. Its just started on her too, she went from healthy weight to at risk in just a couple of weeks.
Dream of perfection shattered =(
She things Tsunami is ADHD as well, but as I said to her, he isn't hurting anyone or anything, including himself and so if he is, its only his lack of concentration so I would prefer to NOT medicate my boy just for that. So she told me to use fish oil to see if that helps, obviously mentioned diet but we have already been eliminating our nasty numbers.
With Chill, she just thinks that the stuff that is worrying the school is not entirely a "him" issue. He is in survival mode after the last school and she feels that its not really anything she can help with but will keep seeing him more sparingly as she doesn't want him to develop depression and anxiety from it. (For those that missed, he was shoved into the path of traffic and threatened with a knife at his last school - hence why we moved).
Tan, sounds like a change in school might be the way to go :( :hug:
Zaki, I can see some similarities between your DS and my DS1 :hug: hang in there, no advice, just hugs :hug:
HA, Massive HUGS :hug: for you too, what an overwhelming day. How old is princess and how much does she weigh?
We are still trying to settle in to the house, every bit of wind and DS1 freaks out and says "roof not come off" :( poor thing, he's terrified now.
I found something that helps calm him down today... it's not exactly the best thing, but it is at the same time iykwim. It's my vibration machine! He sat on it for about 2 mins and is now still calm after 30 mins! :o:o that's a record for us!
Firstly I'm so sorry for the selfish post. . . .I have not had a chance to read this whole thread yet.
I finally did it. I got the courage to have a good chat with DD's daycare teacher today about my suspicions that DD has a sensory disorder and her teacher did agree that DD has certain traits.
I have suspected something for a couple of years but the only thing thats held me back is the fact that DD is actually very social with other children so I kept telling myself that she is okay.
The main traits that DD displays are:
She wont look you directly in the eye
She is always on the go running around etc.
She is very very clumsy. She seems to trip over thin air and always has bruises on her legs
She is very tactile. hates cetain textures, dislikes anything woolen, hates getting creams or sunscreen put on, hates toothpaste on her toothbrush etc
She is very into routine and really strugles with change. She will have a major meltdown to the point of being inconsolable at anything that is different.
She has an awesome long term memory and is very intellegent. Boy is she intellegent.
She has been quite slow to TT and still refuses to poo in the toilet
She kind of seems to lack empathy.
I'm sure there is more that I just can't think of right now.
I have made an appointment with our local child health clinic to get the diagnosis ball rolling. Can anyone here tell me more about what the process will be? Her daycare teacher said they will probably send them forms to complete about her behaviours at daycare and may also visit the kindy to observe her.
This is all very new to me
MamaSpice - your DD sounds like my DS (he isnt much younger than your DD, a Jan 08 baby!) except my DS can look you in the eye sometimes. We're currently trying to figure out our best avenue for assessment. Our first step was to go see a child psychologist as they are the ones who can do the assessments. He is in speech therapy atm and should be in occupational therapy but unfortunately we cannot afford the private costs right now. Your DD's daycare teacher most definitely should put any observations in writing, my DS's daycare teacher is currently doing a social and behaviour observation report up for us. You've come to the right thread for advice and support, the ladies in here have been wonderful to me since we started on this rollercoaster!
Ugh. Things are not good with us. Rip's daycare teacher pulled me up last week to raise concerns over his social behaviour. He has become quite a loner at daycare now, he doesnt play or speak with any of the other kids, not even his little twin 'girlfriends' from whom he was inseparable before the christmas break. She mentioned it again this week; and that she was going to start observations and write up a report for us to give to his assessors. Even she said he isnt the same kid he was 6mths ago.
We're currently saving up for his assessments because the wait lists for public assessments is a million months long. We should have it all done by April.
Hi Freya, yes DD does sometimes look you in the eye too but mainly if she comes and tells you something. If you are trying to initiate a conversation with her though she won't do it.
i'm going to see what going the child health clinic road is like but if there are big delays I'll have to just get a referral to a specialist I think. But yes they're sooo expensive aren't they. I have to take DS to a paed on monday and it's costing $275.
DD's teacher is very switched on about sensory disorders etc. DD had a little boy in her class last year who has aspergers. Her teacher says that DD's traits aren't as severe but suspects she could defiantely be mildly affected.
The Spectrum and other cognitive disorders are so varied its amazing! Ds was informally assessed using the CARS assessment for ASD by his speechie and scored highly on it, yet Ive had a few people tell me because he is often loving and isnt completely socially inept that he couldnt be ASD. They seem to forget that ASD can vary in traits from child to child.
Sounds to me from what you described your DD could be a Sensory Seeker. My DS is a seeker, which is why he has a huge tendency to be overtly physical/aggressive and exaggerated in his everyday life. If he cant be stimulated by it he doesnt want to know about it. He touches, he tastes, he smells, he even deliberately hurts himself in order to process life. Its quite full on sometimes. If anyone looked at him they'd think I abuse him with the amount of injuries and bruises he has.
Yes that's very true, it varies so much doesn't it. DD is not very affectionate. She never has been. But she can be on the rare occasion when she wants to.
This weekend has been a weekend full of meltdowns. DD has had several, rangeing from about 20 minutes to an hour. She kicks and screams and cries and yells. :( I'm so surprised we havent had the cops land on our doorstep yet.
I try to be really patient and try to explain things to her and get her to settle down. And I try to distract her attention to something else. DH gets to a point where he can't take it and just yells at her (which obviously doesnt work, it makes her worse)
What do you do in these situations? I just don't know the best way I need to approach calming her down? HELP???
Hi ladies just popped in for an update.
Mr H is going well at school, this year they actually had Autism sa go into the school before the kids started back and talk to the teachers.
He has his own desk and while it is in a group of tables he doesn't share his, he also has his own pencils etc again (we had major problems with this last yr).
So far things have been going smoothly, the school and teachers are aware of the problem with the other children and have been monitoring this. Hamish is also in a group that go to a social skill class, they are learning about real friends.
So far all I can say is the school seem to have done a huge back flip and the support is there this year, Hamish is not made to sit on the floor , he is allowed to sit at his desk but is still required to listen and participate. Floor time has always been a major problem for him, he cant sit still, doesnt like having the children to close etc.
I believe the reason for the backflip is due to an increase in children with ASD diagnosis.