son recently been diagnoised with asd...

Latisia - posted on 09/27/2009

My son is 8, wish ASD.. The toys that usually catch his attention are cause and effect. When younger he loved the sorting toys with sound and stacking. Then he loved stacking large lego blocks. Now it is actually the old fashioned jacks and the toy where you push the top and it spins. Guess it would vary on what keeps him interested and focused on it.

Heather - posted on 09/27/2009

There are sets of blocks available that have faces with written emotions on them to help you get your child to express their feelings and many many book available. I went to a seminar where the speaker was Dr. Ortiz who founded the Aspergers Ysndrome Institute in PA. He has many resources on his web site. www.asperger-institute.com

Celina - posted on 09/26/2009

OH... I forgot. Sometimes there are food triggers. For us it is dairy & wheat. We don't avoid it, but just attempt not to overload.

Celina - posted on 09/26/2009

Sorry! Big typo!! It's Ms. HYDEN... not D.
I'm so sorry!

Celina - posted on 09/26/2009

My son is 3 yrs old & has the symptoms that Ms. Dyden's son has. I have asd & my husband also. Poor little dude didn't have a chance. Although, because I get overstimulated in crowds & brightly lit, noisy places, I know how to help him. It's innate behavior for me. For a long time, he didn't like toys that flashed & made a lot of noise. Now he thinks they are funny. He gets nervous around babies that throw things & fall down a lot because it seems chaotic. We take him to busy places for short periods of time to train him & we always explain what the situation will be like. He shows anger/frustration issues, but I explain very calmly to him what he might be feeling & it helps to calm him. I had a lot of tactile issues with food & other substances, but like my friend says, "They don't go to college in diapers & pacifiers." To me this means, they get tired of what they are eating & will try something new. Early on, I gave him back rubs & held his hands & played with his toes, because he was showing signs of being nervous when he was touched. Now, he doesn't jump when we go to touch him.
He is very happy & loves being around other children. He started reading simple words before he started talking. He wants to learn about symbols. Anything with symbols, so I use that as a tool & we tie everything together. Letters are symbols, street signs, labels... etc.. Because of this, he is also learning to add & subtract. It is intriguing.
We just started Little Gym to help with social interaction, listening skills, following instructions & risk taking. My son, also, won't really go down slides & is very cautious when climbing.
I could go on & on. Many times, the only thing that will calm him is to repeat over & over in a calm voice that he is okay. I never say that nothing is wrong, because to him it is very wrong. I ask him to let me give him a hug & repeat "You're okay, Honey. You're okay." He believes me, then we try to solve the problem. Sometimes, when the tantrums are so bad that he doesn't hear me, I step back until he starts to calm down, then we just sit for a while & I hold him, reassuring him that he is okay & everything is fine. We talk about what happened & I ask him if he is ready to move on. Fortunately, I am a stay at home mom & I block out twice the amount of time to get errands done because even if he doesn't have a meltdown, I get very over-stimulated & need a break or to just go home.
It is very rewarding to be able to stay at home. I have been homeschooling him & will continue to do so.
I'm new here & am grateful to find this group! Thanks for sharing everyone.

Becky - posted on 09/26/2009

My son with ASD is 10 yrs old now. He has been in Speech and language therapy since he was 3 and went thru occupational therapy and physical therapy. He wouldnt play or climb on playground equipment go on swings etc. He also would not eat anything sticky like peanut butter, syrup, ice cream. Geting him to play in shaving cream was a task but he eventually went with it and loved it. He also has sensory integration dysfunction and loud noises and unexpected sounds would freak him out. He would cover his ears and scream to drown out the sounds. His teachers atschool say he does this still with fire drills and the hurricane drills. He is now in anger management because he still has difficulty expressing feelings of anger or frustration when someone doesnt understand him he started cursing like a sailor. He like to figure out how things work and he gets preoccupied with taking apart electronics and making new things out of the parts. He is obsessed with the weather, especially BAD weather and electricity.. He is also in therapy for OCD. It gets difficult at time because other parents thinks its a lack of discipline or bad parenting why he is so odd and sometimes unruly. Its hard explaining to them that he cannot help his behaviors. He has trouble reading peoples social cues, doesnt understand jokes and takes EVERYTHING you say literally.

Jessica - posted on 09/26/2009

I 100% back up the v-tech and leap frog toys too...my son also really favored the Fisher Price Geo Tracks train sets, which turned out to be a technique in calming him down later on. There's something about the assembling that keeps the hands busy and soothes.



We struggle with behavioural issues here as well...sometimes it can get pretty hairy! I honestly found the best soother...my own voice. The more calm I stay, the shorter the "episode". I try to sympathize with his frustration....also it helps to keep track of what "sets" them off. What are the triggers. I keep a little journal and it helps me to find common things and from there we try to avoid those situations.



I found out everything I could about my son's diagnosis. I googled and googled and googled. Having a better understanding of what was going on gave me better insight on how to handle it :)



All the best...

Christine - posted on 09/25/2009

aww hunny your welcome some of these groups I got when my doctor sent me to a pediatrition they got me alot of help see if you can get any help that way there are also groups your son can join it might help after school activities also theres goverment grant out there to help you family fund trust shame of it is its not widley known they help you and your family financially with outings ect they are online as for dealiing with it remember your not alone im here to help and we can only deal with things if theres someone willing to help and giude you through im always here hunny if you need a freind love chrissy xx

Tania - posted on 09/21/2009

thank you chrissy i will look up that group.

i do find it hard but i guess you just find a way of dealing with it .

thanks again love.

Christine - posted on 09/20/2009

aww hunny I know how hard it is my son has autisum and i know at times you feel all alone but I had alot of help from a group calles star fish see if theres any local groups near you it does help love chrissy

Tania - posted on 09/18/2009

thank you so much for all your ideas will try these.

thanks again

Judi - posted on 09/17/2009

We started DIR/Floortime, again cause and effect toys, shaving cream on the shower walls or a slippery mat that he can drive cars thru, playdough, magic mud, swings, slides, rolling him up in a blanket. Glove puppets anything. Our spare room now has hooks in the ceiling to hold big pieces of lycra that Ricky climbs in to by bounced, wobbled in, or rope to swing on. We also do speech and OT, music, group. But anything that gets him engaging with you/dad/therapist/peer is good.

Michelle - posted on 09/17/2009

My son liked anything that was a cause-effect toy. Anything that would light up, play music, or move when he pushed a button was great for him. He also liked the books that played music when buttons were pushed. V-tech and Leapfrog were great toys for him. They are fun and teach many different reading/math skills to young children. We started ABA, speech, and OT therapies immediately, which helped him learn to communicate and therefore cutting down on frustration. A trick our OT tought us was to sit him on a sheet that was on the floor, then use it like a swing. I was able to do this by myself for a while before he got too heavy! Jumping, bouncing, swinging, and giving lots of deep pressure (big, hard hugs) helped calm him down. I hope this helps!