Brenda - posted on 06/02/2011 ( 8 moms have responded )
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Well, we officially have our diagnosis for my five year old. Now begins the fun part of trying to get his therapy and support groups going in our area. It is certainly a good thing I didn't have any luck with finding a summer job! So far his Adderal has helped him immensely with his focus. He has actually been able to write in the last two weeks. We're hopeful that we are going to make his future as bright as possible now. Lots of work and patience for mom, but the funny thing is that the reason we didn't notice the issues before is because of the attachment parenting style I have. I already parented to his needs...so I didn't think about how problematic some of his behaviors were, and I could always manage his tantrums. But for AS kids like him it is sometimes going to school that causes it. Now we just have to work with the school for next year. However, the good news is that his teacher used to teach children with Autism, so she already has a lot of experience managing the meltdowns a child like him could have.
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I have a "sort of"diagnosis on my 7 yr old son, but I knew at 2 yrs old. Just spent 5 yrs fighting the system to give it a name. Once I decided that I knew what was going on I tried to find out everything I could and just tried everything I could and went with whatever worked. The hardest thing for me has been other people who look at you and judge you as being the parent of a "bad child" and having to daily deal with the battles of eating, sleeping and toileting with a 7 year old which I thought would be well and truly over with by now. AND that is the tip of the ice berg. Aspergers is a daily challenge but thankfully with information comes power and there is plenty of information out there now with heaps of ideas to try. Thank goodness for him, we love him soooo much.
Jessica - posted on 07/09/2011
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I used to nanny two autistic children, just wanting to suggest try eliminating gluten and casein from his diet, it really helps with the meltdowns, I could always tell if one of the kids got ahold of something at school.
Brenda - posted on 07/06/2011
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Thinking of ABA, but we haven't gotten there yet. I'm still trying to get an application into regional center. For the DX I had taken him for an ADHD eval and the pediatrician suggested aspergers. I had already scheduled an appointment with a therapist, turns out he specializes in autism spectrum disorders, and we did a lot of neurological testing and questions and came up with aspergers.
Nathan's symptoms were obsessing over things, getting "stuck" on something (think total one track mind), thinking others know what he's thinking (Mom I wanted you to give that back, not put it in the trunk!), but mostly the meltdowns are what concreted it. Every day, at least once a day he'd have a total tantrum over something, screaming and yelling.
Wolfmama - posted on 06/22/2011
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My brother has AS and it wasn't diagnosed until he was 19 (after a heart-wrenching suicidal attempt), and so I ma glad that you are finding some help in living with AS. Now my brother is a happy, well-adjusted 21 year old but had we known more about his unique perspective on life, I think my parents would not have been so hard on him. Now he's attending college for graphic design and sends me humorous emails every week, so the help he has been getting has been beyond awesome. He told me recently that he isn't going to led his 'disability' allow him to make excuses about things but now he can accept himself better now that he knows that he's different and that's okay too. Made me cry. As for schooling: my brother loathed it. He walked out of highschool in grade ten one day and told my parents he was never going back. And he didn't. They allowed him to complete his schooling long-distance and being able to work at his own pace helped a lot.