All About Autism

[tyeogh]

slmkhoo:

Just to add another facet to the discussion - I found that stress and fatigue reduces the ability of both the child and parents to benefit from therapies. Although I did not use any professional therapies for my daughter, the thought of running around from place to place, fitting sessions into our schedule, helping my child to deal with different therapists ... it just makes me so tired! Even at home, I found that my daughter benefited much more when we could choose times when she was less tired and more relaxed, and when we could work various types of 'training' into her normal day's activities rather than have a fixed time ever day/week or whatever. In some ways, I am glad that we were forced to DIY as we could do the 'little and often' approach and be more flexible. It would have been good for us to have had some professional help, but maybe too much can be counter-productive?

DS4 has only ST apart from his usual EIPIC. It is indeed tiring for me. I got 3 other kids. It is already a miracle itself that I am still sane. But that chap seems to be enjoying himself. All he does is to play during therapies. It seems to him that Daddy is finding him more play mates so why not. And he likes only female therapists, the latest being a gorgeous German American blonde. Cheeky bugger! All he needs is his afternoon naps. Then he is perfectly fine with playing with anything or anyone.

If DIY works for you, then great. I have always been a believer that only you know your child best. My child is not like yours and yours is not like mine. This is the beauty of creation - even animals (most) will automatically know how to care for it's young.

[nugget]

belachanbabe:

Of course at this juncture we wouldn’t know if he will successfully integrate into mainstream without the EIPIC shelter but am trying not to worry about the “what ifs”. Will just deal with problems as and when they come.
On a positive note, we tend to underestimate our kids, just have to learn to let go sometimes.

Thanks Belachanbabe,

Yes I do agree with you. We tend to underestimate our kids, sometimes I realise is me who is over protective. Afraid they might get hurt but in fact they can do things themselves very well.

I must learn to slowly let go.

[nugget]

tyeogh:

DS4 has only ST apart from his usual EIPIC. It is indeed tiring for me. I got 3 other kids. It is already a miracle itself that I am still sane. But that chap seems to be enjoying himself. All he does is to play during therapies. It seems to him that Daddy is finding him more play mates so why not. And he likes only female therapists, the latest being a gorgeous German American blonde. Cheeky bugger! All he needs is his afternoon naps. Then he is perfectly fine with playing with anything or anyone.

If DIY works for you, then great. I have always been a believer that only you know your child best. My child is not like yours and yours is not like mine. This is the beauty of creation - even animals (most) will automatically know how to care for it's young.

Hi tyeogh,

My DS is under going similar schedule like yours. He also attends EIPIC, fullday CC and weekly pte SLT on top of monthly KKH ones. Recently I also gotten him tuition teachers to prep him in his P1.

It might seem too much on his plate, but in fact he seem to be happy to be getting all the attention/lessons he is getting. And it seem that all these busy schedules had made him be more aware of his environment.

And he even pay attention to what hb and me were talking about while he is doing his own things. Like hb and me were discussing on a topic and he will interrupt and give his opinion too. Something which he has never done before.

Also lately he started fighting with his brother. Last time when his bro snatch or fight over things with him, he will just let it be and walk away without a care. Nowadays, he fight back, both of them engage in tug of war or they start chasing each other. Yes is a different set of problem I have of siblings problems I have to deal with. But I am happy that he is has some self awareness and know when he should fend for himself.

I guess different kids work differently. We really have to understand them to know wat works best.

And yes, I do cane them as well but only when they are disrespectful or rude.

[tyeogh]

nugget:

Hi tyeogh,

My DS is under going similar schedule like yours. He also attends EIPIC, fullday CC and weekly pte SLT on top of monthly KKH ones. Recently I also gotten him tuition teachers to prep him in his P1.

It might seem too much on his plate, but in fact he seem to be happy to be getting all the attention/lessons he is getting. And it seem that all these busy schedules had made him be more aware of his environment.

And he even pay attention to what hb and me were talking about while he is doing his own things. Like hb and me were discussing on a topic and he will interrupt and give his opinion too. Something which he has never done before.

Also lately he started fighting with his brother. Last time when his bro snatch or fight over things with him, he will just let it be and walk away without a care. Nowadays, he fight back, both of them engage in tug of war or they start chasing each other. Yes is a different set of problem I have of siblings problems I have to deal with. But I am happy that he is has some self awareness and know when he should fend for himself.

I guess different kids work differently. We really have to understand them to know wat works best.

And yes, I do cane them as well but only when they are disrespectful or rude.

Hi nugget,
Ya, quite similar bah. Mine is on mainstream 5 days, 2 x EIPIC, 1 x ST, EIPIC OT & ST. I think I lesser than you by Pre P1 tuition. Which Pre P1 tuition is your child going to?

I can understand the part where all these busy schedules make your child more aware of his environment. Same here. Mine started apprehensive. After being exposed to so many environments, and the staff turnover of each vendor, he is now taking well to new people. He goes in, enjoys himself, dis-engages willingly. In the past, it was difficult to engage him and more difficult to dis-engage him.

Same here with respect to older brother. Like yours, mine previously played by himself. Then he fought with his elder brother for toys, which strangely was a joy to parents like us. Next, he imitated his elder brother. Today, he mimicks words from him. They are inseparable. It is a blessing to have an elder NT child to help him out of his development delays.

Perhaps it is the intervention, the prayers (most likely) or the help from his brother, DS4 is very sociable. To a point I now question whether he is really autistic. (defined as inability to socialize??). If any, DS3 should be the autistic one bec he refused to make friends in school. *shrug*

Last saturday, DS4 saw his classmates performing on stage for graduation. He was excluded from the performance because his mainstream teacher could not handle him. He waved and cheered for his classmates from the gallery. After their performance, he congratulated each with a high five. It is as if he knew he was not good enough to be on stage. Heart wrenching sight. My wife cried.

With advice from his teacher, he is repeating mainstream Nursery next year. I am fairly confident there will be more traction next year. The battle continues....

[Double E]

Hi Tyeogh


If I may add, being sociable does not mean they are not autistic. It is the level of engagement. My boy is also not shy but he can’t engage well in a two-way conversation. He has no problem saying hi to his friends but when his friends try to talk to him or play with him, he doesn’t know what to do. Also, he is considered very talkative so by right talkative should not be ASD right? but sometimes he talks rubbish or when I talk to him about subject A, he will tell me B. IF not, he will keep repeating the same sentence like "Mummy look, its a train!"
He can tell me the same thing 5 times as if I am deaf.

For the performance, perhaps u can try speaking to the teacher to let him have a role that requires no talking ? If he likes to dance, then is there any dance item that he can join? This can be explored for next year.

My boy’s concert is tomorrow. Initially he was given a role as a traffic light, I was very happy that the teacher made the special arrangement for him. But somehow, he got ‘upgraded’ to recite poem with 2 other kids and join a dance item. The teacher initially had problem with him in the dance item because he would not dance in his position and kept bumping into other kids. In the end, I suggested the teacher to make him stand in a hula hoop so that he knows his "boundary". And it works. But of course, your boy’s teacher must be willing to make the effort to accept your suggestions too.

[DesertWind]

tyeogh:

Btw, don't mind me asking. Is your child talking now?

Hi, my boy is talking more now that he has celebrated his 6 yo birthday! He is saying more 4-word sentences. Boy is not dumb for sure. He can read quite well although slow. Education is really important indeed and he has been having SPED once a week for over two years now. He also does his homework and reading daily for at least one hour plus.

Am glad to report that his IQ test result is \"Average\", on top of the bell-curve (like the majority of us). Hallelujah!

The ST said that my boy should improve a lot more in his speech though...if he can concentrates during the weekly lesson (sigh...). I will have to change his ST place at home to see whether it will help him to be less distracted during the home-based ST.

[tyeogh]

Double E:

Hi Tyeogh


If I may add, being sociable does not mean they are not autistic. It is the level of engagement. My boy is also not shy but he can't engage well in a two-way conversation. He has no problem saying hi to his friends but when his friends try to talk to him or play with him, he doesn't know what to do. Also, he is considered very talkative so by right talkative should not be ASD right? but sometimes he talks rubbish or when I talk to him about subject A, he will tell me B. IF not, he will keep repeating the same sentence like \"Mummy look, its a train!\"
He can tell me the same thing 5 times as if I am deaf.

For the performance, perhaps u can try speaking to the teacher to let him have a role that requires no talking ? If he likes to dance, then is there any dance item that he can join? This can be explored for next year.

My boy's concert is tomorrow. Initially he was given a role as a traffic light, I was very happy that the teacher made the special arrangement for him. But somehow, he got 'upgraded' to recite poem with 2 other kids and join a dance item. The teacher initially had problem with him in the dance item because he would not dance in his position and kept bumping into other kids. In the end, I suggested the teacher to make him stand in a hula hoop so that he knows his \"boundary\". And it works. But of course, your boy's teacher must be willing to make the effort to accept your suggestions too.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will keep it in mind next year. I find your traffic light role funny. The teacher must have a queer sense of humor. My DS4 is kinda short. Maybe I will moot for a fire hydrant role for him next year, ya? LoL?

I hear you on the autistic part. My DS4 is cognitively sharp. He can hold a cogent conversation. He missed out on his concert because he could not talk 3-4 months ago when they were preparing the participants. So he tantrums when he is misunderstood. The progress in the last 3-4 months is phenomenal. Even his mainstream teachers are impressed. From no words to 4 words sentences now. A bit awkward on the pronunciation still but I guess it will smoothen out over time. He is only 3.9 yrs old. Seems like he is in a rush to catch up....hmmm....

[tyeogh]

DesertWind:

tyeogh:

Btw, don't mind me asking. Is your child talking now?

Hi, my boy is talking more now that he has celebrated his 6 yo birthday! He is saying more 4-word sentences. Boy is not dumb for sure. He can read quite well although slow. Education is really important indeed and he has been having SPED once a week for over two years now. He also does his homework and reading daily for at least one hour plus.

Am glad to report that his IQ test result is \"Average\" (like all of us). Hallelujah!

The ST said that my boy should improve a lot more in his speech though...if he can concentrates during the weekly lesson (sigh...). I will have to change his ST place at home to see whether it will help him to be less distracted during the home-based ST.

Always happy to hear of a success story. Gives hope to mine. You got his IQ test done? Let me guess. Making preparation for Pathlight?

Hey, reading at 6 is already v good hor. My eldest struggled to read at 6+. She is NT and first in her primary school class. You have many reasons to be happy

I see that you are a Christian? Dunno if its appropriate to say it here. My DS4 improved dramatically after I prayed Mark 11:23 over him daily over a period of 4 months ....simply incredible....

[DesertWind]

tyeogh:

Always happy to hear of a success story. Gives hope to mine. You got his IQ test done? Let me guess. Making preparation for Pathlight?


I see that you are a Christian? Dunno if its appropriate to say it here. My DS4 improved dramatically after I prayed Mark 11:23 over him daily over a period of 4 months ....simply incredible....

Hi daddy tyeogh,

Wah you pyschic?

Yes, the minute we decided to defer his P1 by one-year, we also decide to apply to Pathlight. So got the IQ test done which we have been putting off. It has come to a crucial point whereby we need to know the score in order to go either way - mainstream school or Pathlight? Got a score easier to convince the educators!

So now we now cognitively he can access mainstream education but SPEED and SPEECH is a problem. Because of this, our first-choice now is Pathlight provided he clear their stringent assessment and got an offer. If not? He then goes to a mainstream primary school.

Talking about kindy concert, my boy was able to participate and dance well last year at his K1 concert! We were so proud of him (and the kindy teachers too) the confidence carried us through K2. However, his K1 class size was 10 and K2 class size is 20. So we can see already that in second part of K2, the teachers were unable to pay him as much attention already. Doesn't help that he was sick for one whole week and missed the bulk of the concert rehearsal. During the concert last week, it was so heart-paining for us to see all his classmates (even the least of them) on stage dancing various dances but my boy just roaming around the grounds because he was unable to participate. He wanted to join his classmates on stage but it is going to disrupt the dance so we restrained him. I must say we are very grateful to his teachers already because they have decided for the whole K2 class to DANCE instead of doing SKIT (which is common for K2) because my boy could dance in K1 he could do it. If they decided to do a SKIT, not the whole class will be able to participate!

Again the deciding factor, go mainstream school, large class size and be neglected? Or go Pathlight, small class size with the whole school already conditioned to help him?

The paperwork is no joke though. And I don't wish for any parents to have to go through pages after pages of reports detailing your child's weaknesses.

The year of deferment is quite a crucial year for him to develope and grow. We can only leave it to God and pray for him.

Thank you very much for the verse, Mark 11:23 ! Yes I believe my boy's weakness now (speech) shall be his greatest strength in due time! Furthermore, we also pray for God to give him \"utterance\" (there is a verse somewhere in the bible). We also pray over him every night that \"May he grow in stature, in wisdom and in favour with God and man\".

Have a good day!
:celebrate:

[nugget]

tyeogh,


My son is the eldest. So in certain way, esp in his play, he is quite childish as he will mimic his younger bro. But lucky thing is the younger bro is pretty mature for his age. He likes older kids toys. Hence I guess there is a balance there.

I have engaged 1-1 tutor for my son so he can focus better. I have also enrolled him in a chinese enrichment class so he has more exposure to chinese language. We are so focus on getting him therapy past 2 years, we have totally neglected the academic portion, esp chinese. He is learning from a scratch.
Your son can strive well in tuition/enrichment centre? That is very good!
So I guess you will put your son in mainstream next time?