new to this

Catherine - posted on 05/08/2012

yea, my son is obsessed with game consoles, he is 5 and can tell you what year, what eddition, secret tricks you name it. he was reading at three spelling just after, his speech is brilliant! but he is imotionaly immature and flys off the handle over the smallest thing. He gets upset with us if he looses a game, its our fault by default! he throws things, hits things, hits us and his siblings, threatens us with violence, things you expect an out of controll teen to say! he is an extremely picky eater and i have to cook him a seperate meal. His motor skills are fine although he lacks interest in doing anything physical.

on the other hand, he is georgeous and loving, everyone who meets him falls in love with him and he can be the most loving creature, full of compliments, hugs and kisses and he really makes us so proud when he achieves at school, when people ask about him i'm always bragging, but there is always a niggle at the back of my mind that there is something not quite right, he is very figity and waves his arms and tenses his face when he is excited, now that is an autistic trait i think.

he is under child mental health at the moment, they have expressed that he could be on the mild end of high functioning asperges, well if that behaviour is mild, i hate to see him in 8-10 years time!

I dont know what i hope to get out of a diagnoses, perhaps just some behaviour strategies, i think the younger the child, the easier it is to routeenly put the strategies in place so that he knows how to 'throw a strop' and then leave it at that and carry on with life, that would be the most welcome outcome so fingers crossed.

My advice is to carry on, whether or not your son is diagnosed with anything, just take all the advice, perhaps dealing with certain things in an asperges way? and leaving the other things to nature, my brother is what we call 'mainstream' but he was terrible with food, fought with everyone in sight, just so out of controll at that age, but now he manages a department in a major travel company here in the UK! we have an onler brother with asperges, so my mum just dealt with them both in a similar way, :) keep smiling, your child is a creation of beauty and will love you no matter what xx

Jamie - posted on 10/08/2009

my son has aspergers and it took a long time to get to that diagnosis do research and stick to your guns about your feelings.

Barbara - posted on 10/08/2009

Its like you described my 5 year old. I took my son to play therpay cause i thought my divorce had stressed him out way too much. We found out 6 months later it was autism and a sensory processing disorder. Chandler has a very small select group of friends and doesnt like change at all. He just started "big" school and is having trouble but they are working to help him. My son like your loves to be held and cuddled all the time. Out of the 5 kids hes is my little cuddle bear. Loud noises can be a nightmare out in public but sometimes if we hunt for the source of the noise and he can see what it is, it helps calm him down. Chandler is very visual. He has therapy 5 days a week and loves it. talk to your childs school or call the local chapter of the autism society and they can direct you. They were a hugh help for me

Vicki - posted on 10/07/2009

My son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 21 months old. He would scream when the doorbell rang, line up his cars, and stare at a ceiling fan for hours. He's 10 y/o now and he's grown out of almost all of these. Meds have helped him calm a lot of his anxiety. It was hard to give him Rx at first, but when I saw how much happier he was it was easier to get over. My son is also a picky eater. Some things he eats now are the same few things he ate at 2 y/o. Keep trying different things all the time. Good luck.

Susan - posted on 10/07/2009

Hi, we are still new to this as well just getting my 5 year old dignosed before his first year of school. Routine is big with him and we found certin food is also. If we give him a bowl of noodles between 11 and noon he is much calmer but if he gose past noon without luch he will melt down. We found out he has Autism and have him in a special kindergardin that includes theropy with aa daily routine. In the first 3 weeks it has worked maricales! Talk to his doctors and get him tested it helps so much.

Shasta - posted on 10/07/2009

Okay, First, denial is so common at this stage. So, you're not alone there. Second, If he's otherwise doing well in school, I would probably leave him there. I know how horrible it can be to have your child the target. My son has been a target every year that he's been in school. One thing we have done this year that helped a little is to get a book. Written by an Aspie (someone with Asperger's) for children. It's meant to help the child understand themselves. There are a surprising number of them out there. One my son really likes is a Koala named Caleb. (His name is Caleb.) It's written from the point of view of an Aspie in several situations and how they feel and respond. But, there are a whole lot. You can search for Asperger's Books for Children or go to the Autism Society of America's page and go to there bookstore. My son's teacher read one of these books to the class and let Caleb try to explain if he wanted to what it feels like to be him. Now, he still faces teasing on the playground, but his class is much much more understanding and don't tease him. In fact I found out at his open house last night that one of the little boy's in his class has taken on the roll of protector toward Caleb. He steps in when others bully Caleb. He also is Caleb's "hall buddy" to help with transitions. While your at the Autism Societies web site...you may want to request the "First Hundred Days" pack. It's really a great resource. :)

Clair - posted on 10/07/2009

i think most of my problem is denial on my part, it breaks my heart when he come home from school and he tells me how kids make fun of him or bully him. the other day a child in his class had a birthday and the normal thing to do is to sing to the child and celebrate but one of his problems is the birthday song, when he hears it he has a melt down. He knows to leave the situation but when the other children catch on to this and see his reation they seek him out and start singing it to him. the teachers do their best to stop the taunts but when you have a ratio of 25 kids to 1 teacher alot goes under the rug.I have thought about home schooling but then i want him to be able to socialize and not isolate him...ahhhhhhh what to do what to do!!!

Shasta - posted on 10/07/2009

Add toe walking, or another self stimming behavior? Oh yeah...sounds just like my 7 year old Aspie. Just remember your not alone if and when the diagnosis comes down. But, anyways. There are three key words to remember with an Aspie child...1. Routine 2. Routine 3. Routine. Aspie's really thrive with a set routine. I'm not saying do the exact same thing at the exact same time a day. But do the same types of things in the same order can even be amazing. Also, remember that some of the times that your son may seem to explode out of no where, to him isn't out of no where. Watch carefully, maybe even keep a journal. Watch what was happening when he had the meltdown (the technical term for the nasty tantrums Aspie's throw). What he did. And, how you react. Then see how he reacts to your reaction. This can help you learn some triggers for him, some warning signs that meltdowns are immenant, and how to help him through it. Any time you need to talk feel free to message me. We've been living with the diagnosis for 3 yrs with my oldest son, 2 yrs with my middle son, and 7 months with my youngest. So, I've picked up a few things here and there that may help. :)

Erin - posted on 10/07/2009

i'm new to this also, my son is 4 and lives by routine, if routine breaks he's a mess and misbehaves. lucas hasn't been diagnosed either but also comes up in conversations. if something happens and lucas gets upset we find it if he keeps keeps himself busy, he has a little sister that he doesn't cope with sometimes. buy him a pet to look after, we got lucas a bug catcher which he loves, he gets upset and looks after his snails. also a portable dvd player will give him abit of time to wind down in his room. even try a strict routine, like i said i'm new and its not diagnosed, but we found these bthings to help. Please let me know if i was the littlest bit helpful, its hard when we don't understand much.