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in the trenches with a child with Autism. I have gotten a call about a situation that is coming my SW way and need your advice. Here is all I know at this point...
Boy was taken into care back in 2002. DX of Autism around this time. Don't know what end of the spectrum. At that time he used a communication board for when he couldn't remember the words. He had a very specific way of playing...cars had to line up just right, everything in a certain order etc. He would rock quite a bit to calm himself but for other sensory issues as well. Like the radio too loud in the car. At the time he was 2. SW closed case and didn't hear from anyone in the last 6 1/2 years. Now there is a situation happening so we get a call. Hopefully this doesn't come to a head and things will work out for him and his family.
What I guess I am asking is based on the little information we have, is there anyway of guessing what life would be like bringing this child into our home, even temporarily if he needs a place? Do Autistic children get worse with age? We know he has had services up until this last summer and assume all was going well. How do they do in larger families?
The only 2 Autistic children that I have met were completely on the opposite ends of the spectrum...one aspengers and one child was severely Autistic. Tantrums galore, no speech and only wanted to play his video games so I don't really know what to make of Autism. I am doing my research and gaining knowledge but sometimes the statistics just don't show what really goes on behind the scenes. It just gives a bleak look at life.
Well let me know what you think. I know I was rambling. It is just hard to tell the story...without TELLING the story. If you get what I am saying.
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a couple of words for you....
ROUTINE, ROUTINE, ROUTINE!!!!
and
PICTURE SCHEDULE/OR SCHEDULE (if he can read)
that way you can change daily things without it becoming drama....as long as he is prepared for it.
sounds like he was using communication boards at an early age effectively? This will help....but the two words I gave you is usually a staple no matter where in the spectrum....I've seen all sides and the middle.
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My son is 4 and was diagnosed with mild to moderate autism this past July. He doesn't really do daily routines but has things that he has to do in a certain order or he will have a meltdown. Like taking the same route to school, therapy, and families houses. Or his bed time routine has to be done in a specific order.
My son has a large vocabulary (thanks to therapy and school) but doesn't know how to use it properly most of the time. With therapy and interventions my son has improved alot since being diagnosed. His speech has tripled, his sensory seeking behavior is under control (thanks to chewy tubes and weighted blankets), he has less trasitional meltdowns (thanks to picture boards), and is actually doing really well. You will need to make some accomedations to suite his unique needs and it may take some time for both of you to adjust to each other. If you have any more questions pm me. And I hope this helps some.
And just wanted to add. That yeah sometime life is challenging with a child with autism but it is equally rewarding.
I may be doing things all wrong, but....I'm not much for schedules or routines. I couldn't remember to follow a schedule if my life depended on it. But, so far, my fs is making great progress. Basically we're just living our lives.
Tantrums are a part of our lives right now--but he's gone from pinching, biting, scratching, hair pulling and spitting just to get his way to only the occasional acting out. And that's in under three weeks. Plus he's made HUGE progress with "easy touches".
With my fs, I think more than schedules, it's being safe that has made the biggest change----and getting him on some laxatives.
But what's it like:
Honestly, the biggest challenge I face is my own inability to be adaptable.
He's a sweetie, and a little charmer. But, its pretty clear that he ruled the roost and he managed to get his way through temper tantrums (biting, pinching, spitting, hitting, kicking, clawing.) When stressed he'll do all of the above to himself as well as others.
(The little guy's eyes bugged out when I calmly told him to keep biting, that I'd been bitten by bigger things than him and wasn't impressed. He hasn't bitten since ;) )
Due to sensory issues, he can be a bit unpredictable. For instance, he can be laying on your lay relaxed, and suddenly bite. As we've worked on the differences between easy touches and hurting.
His language comprehension is great, though he's non verbal. Non verbal, of course, means the only way he (currently) has to express his wants is through tantrums.
He's bright, and as he's begun to feel safe, happy and cheerful. On good nights, he'll sing to the stars in his bedroom at bedtime.
He eats up affection--really enjoys being cuddled and just smiles and laughs when we tell him how much we love him.
But he's unpredictable--sensations do not mean the same thing to him as to us. While I carried him from the car to a store in the rain, he clawed my eyes. My mother who watched it happen, said it was as if he thought I was the one hurting him with the rain.
He's very obedient.
In someways, he is atypical of autistic children. He makes a LOT of eye contact, imitates (not just mimics), initiates a lot of contact and is has very animated expressions--and he's not a button pusher. But he has a lot of other autistic traits----which goes to say no two autistic children are alike.
I wish there was more RELIABLE information out there. So much about autism and for families of autism seems to be generated for or advanced by families struggling with denial about the disorder. Soooo, tried and true methods and research get pushed into the background, and realistic information is marginalized.