All About Autism

[Double E]

einnoc,


U can try leap frog, is along bukit timah road.

Do u hv any family support like help fr your parents or in laws to look after your son?

[MummyOats]

Hi einnoc


Agree with what the other mummies said.. things will start looking up as your son progress. Every milestone he achieves will make you smile and treasure it so much more...even if it is he telling his first lies :imcool:

Do remember to take good care of yourself..get breaks.. don't get burn out.. we rest in order to walk a longer path.

CEL (a govt group) gives out a $300 subsidy for parents that enrol their children in private centers while queuing for space at EIPIC centers. There are 5 approved private centers. I am not sure of the exact fees but it is typically in the range of $1000 to 2000/mth.

http://www.cel.sg/uploads/Fact%20Sheet%20on%20PPIP_14%20May%202013.pdf

Sign up for a private center first while waiting for the psychologist test. This is because after the test they still need about 1 month to prepare the report. The EIPIC centers then rely on the report to prepare admission. After that there is waiting time for individual EIPIC center which can range from 3mth to 1 year. Total waiting time from now till admission in EIPIC could be 6mths away. For a special need kid.. this 6 mths is impt.. they need all the help we can give to \"pull out\" their antenna.

For the EIPIC center.. I have heard good vibes about Autism Resource Center as they are very focused on autism. Queue is long though.. 9 mth to 1 yr.. but worth the wait if it is good. Maybe can try calling them to see if you can start to queue first. Sometimes if there is a student leaving and the profile fits, they can slot you in first.

Temple Grandin (herself autistic) have written a few books on autism. I have read The Way I See It which is very good. She gives very practical advice as she herself is autistic. It is available at NLB.

http://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/EXPNOS/BIBENQ/8112559/5143544,6

Lastly (finally ending the post..so long-winded..), try to find out your son learning style. Teach him the way he could understand best. A lot of autistics (but not all) are visual learners and have a good memory. To teach a word or concept.. it is much more effective to engage him the way his brain is wired..

I use to bring along a note pad when I go out. If there is something I want to teach my son, I will show him the object and write down its name. This way he absorbs much faster. I learned this through trial and error. I was trying to teach my son \"pram\" and I must have repeated myself 10 times over different occasions. He still could not remember and finally I decided to write it down and viola, he remembered after that.

[Double E]

My boy just started his first swimming lesson today. Hope swimming will help him with his coordination

[ImMeeMee]

Double E:

My boy just started his first swimming lesson today. Hope swimming will help him with his coordination

All the best, Double E. I tried out mine with her sisters' swimming coach cos I thought it would be good if they could learn together. But she was not ready cos she couldn't settle in to listen to the coach's instructions. So I have decided that she is not ready yet and left it as that.

[nugget]

Double E:

My boy just started his first swimming lesson today. Hope swimming will help him with his coordination

Hi Double E,

Did you sign him up for a 1-1 swimming class or is it a group one?

[Double E]

Nugget, is one to one.

[af7680]

thats really good news.

i wish my son can ask me questions....

Double E:

DesertWind:

[quote=\"Double E\"]Happy Monday everyone.

Just a quick question. If you are offered a new job with a 20% increment but you will need to travel out of Singapore frequently, work late nights and sometimes weekends, will you take up the job given that you have a special needs kid to coach and take care? How prepared are u to sacrifice the time? With the 20% increment, you can probably save more money to send your son to more therapies.

Hello Double E and all mummies here!

A long time no \"see\", now that I am on leave I have time to go through all the postings in the month of May and am really tempted to reply to some of them so here goes!

My answer to your question? A very definite NO. For the amount of flexibility you have and especially you are already a FTWM (which means whatever time left is really precious for you to spend time with your kids!).

Also forgive me for saying this but to be able to afford SGD2,500 of educational and therapies a month between you and hubby, I would say you do not need the additional 20% pay increment at the expense of all the flexibility that you now have.

Yes, 7 years is a long time and granted work would be a bit jaded. But it also means you can perform your job with (possibly) one-eye closed .
Finished work and then zoom home!

Why I say this? Because I am in the same boat as you. Already worked for 6+ years in my current job. Currently I would say I have work-life balance ie. no need OT and no need to travel. At this stage, the ambition and the \"itch\" is biting. I too found myself thinking if there is a better offer to come along, I would jump ship! But it is also a real possibility that I might not be able to fit so well into another organisation anymore and after a short while may have to quit.

Which would be even worst because then becomes zero-pay! :sick: :moneyflies:

My boy going P1 next year and his needs is taking up a lot of our time as it is already. Cannot afford to pursue career, not even higher pay to \"fund\" more therapies.

I have already told my peers work-life balance is very important to me since I have two pre-schoolers. I may have to speak to my bosses very soon about job and pay expectations. My struggle is how to tell them without giving them the wrong impression that I am going to \"backslide\" in my work....

All the best!
:celebrate:

Desertwind
Welcome back. Where have u been? lol.
Anyway, I wasn't offered the job as I showed my 'worried face' during the final round of the interview. I believed I would have clinched it if I didn't cast doubt on the working hours and traveling. So yes, I am still at my current job but I have not stopped searching. While I agree with you that the flexibility fits well into my demands at home, I still want to feel rejuvenated and happy at work because I am not happy with where I am now. But I have to find one that doesn't require traveling and work late nites too frequently. I will put my faith in God to open the right door for me :). However, my wish is to work part-time eventually when my boy enters P1 so that I can spend time to coach him. But like you say, so many bills to pay, education, therapy, parents' allowance and daily necessities, I am not sure if I will get what I wish for.

Regarding sending our kids to Pathlight, after reading the recent posts about how ASD kids are being neglected and stressed out at mainstream, I am beginning to be doubtful of my initial decision to send my son to mainstream. I think I really have to consider the Pathlight option as it does seems to provide a better learning environment for our kids. I suppose if they can do well in Pathlight and gain enough confidence, they will still have the chance to transfer to mainstream but it will also mean they will have to adapt to the environment all over again.

Hiaz, such a tough choice.

Anyway, something happy. My boy has started to ask lots of questions lately. All the why, what, where, who questions. Asking me whole day till I find it a bit too 'irritating'. Haha! when he didn't ask questions, I was worried and now, I find it too much.[/quote]

[nugget]

Did u all read this? Sigh..

http://www.edvantage.com.sg/edvantage/photos/1842694/Caught_on_camera_Teacher_abusing_autistic_boy.html

I hope SG wont have such things. But still... we must always keep an eye on our child.

Caught on camera: Teacher abusing autistic boy
A video showing a special needs teacher slamming his student on to the ground and then pulling him up by his hair revealed one teacher's dark side.

The teacher, David Baier from Florida, lost his job at Davie Preparatory School where the alleged abuse took place, and faces four counts of child cruelty. The school caters to children with emotional and behavioural problems, reported the Daily Mail.

The video showed Baier punishing the student for stomping on his foot earlier. He was captured saying, \"I was going to say if you do that again I'm going to slam you, but I've decided.\"

He then walks over to the student, who is screaming, \"No, no, no!\", picks him up and slams him on to the floor.

He then instructs the student to stand up for five minutes without interrupting him, before he can sit again but the student refuses and crouches beside the chair.

Baier, responds by laughing and said, \"I hope you would say that,\" before walking over and pulling him up by his hair causing the student to yell in pain.

According to CBS Miami, Baier was arrested last summer for this incident but the case has only gone on trial this year.

Following Baier's arrest, another student came forward and filed a police report accusing Baier and other teachers at the school of using hot sauce as a punishment tool.

Another parent took her daughter out of the school after she claimed that she had witnessed other students being punished by unorthodox methods.

[Www]

If enroll to one of those early intervention schools, will the child has a record that will affect future work employment when grown up to working life or enroll to normal stream school?


We are still thinking about the enrollment since the waiting list has shortened and about to reach the start date, but not sure how will this impact on the medical records? Any advises?

[Double E]

If u dun declare, the employers will not check. Anyway what u are worrying is the future, I think better to address the issues that u hv now