All About Autism

[tyeogh]

Double E:

My husband practically can't work much on the two week days because of all the ferrying.

Sounds familiar...... :moneyflies:

[Double E]

tyeogh:

Double E:

My husband practically can't work much on the two week days because of all the ferrying.

Sounds familiar...... :moneyflies:

Thankfully he is a freelancer, if not, how to take leave from boss?

[tyeogh]

Double E:

Actually depends, if is like simple song and dance, I think still can.

More complex stuff that requires thinking, modelling, still have room for improvement.

If you are not already doing it, would be good if you reward him every time he mimicks. To encourage him to repeat it. From simple copying of your gestures to copying your words. I clap and cheer each time mine mimicks. He likes it so he got into a habit of imitating either his siblings or adults.

Two days ago was his birthday party. He put his slice of cake on the table and guarded it. Then he shouted \"Nobody touch it!!\" and ran into the kitchen to get his favorite spoon. Wonder where he learnt that phrase from! LoL.

[Wassant]

Double E:

Couragemom:

Hi Wassant,


ImMeeMee beats me to it and she is absolutely right on all counts. Private ST and OT are expensive (around $150/hr on average) but nothing beats the 1-to-1 attention which is important now to tackle your son's speech delay and sensory issues. EIPIC does incorporate some amount of OT/ST in their program.

The ST whom my son goes to for the past 3.5 months is quite good, but not sure she has any vacancy because she is quite established ( I waited 4 weeks then get a lousy slot but hung on to it until I get a much better timing now).
Couragemom... your boy's therapy are not in eipic school?private ones?..that day the pd at kkh did mention to us that after diagnosis while waiting for entry to special school will need to have therapy 3 times a week ....my hubby already told his boss in advance....hopefully can gain entry to school faster then hubby can concentrate on his job
You need to work out the logistics part of your son's intervention program and pace yourself (both financially and physically), u also mention you have 2 other sons, don't neglect them too much.

Yes, it involves a lot of scheduling and working out logistics like who to send and pick him up from therapy etc. Like now, my boy's therapy days are on every Wed, Fri and Sat. My husband practically can't work much on the two week days because of all the ferrying.

[Wassant]

ImMeeMee:

Wassant:

Hi IMeeMee, my next appointment at kkh is at 6/2/14......I intend to wait till the diagnosis then refer to eipic school then start therapy from there......I intend to enrol him in THK eipic which is just a stone throw away from my place...I rang up n they told me they still have vacancies....so I assume it will not be a long wait after my diagnosis..in feb.....should I start pirvate therapy?any advise??TIA!! the doc at kkh said my boy had slow development n some symptoms of autism...he don't have speech yet except papa n mama at times n can only \" :imdrowning: baby talk\"

wassant

THK EIPIC just opened a couple of new centers, so its good that they are able to offer you a space within the short span of time.

If I may, going for one-on-one private speech therapy (where you could afford) could be helpful in this instance since you mentioned that you child has not much speech. Such intervention could help to kick start your child's speech cos the therapy is focused and specific. Do be mentally prepared that there is a lot of follow up and practice required at the home setting. There is no other way - hard work prevails.

Eventually when you enter your child into EIPIC, you may still want to continue with the one-on-one therapy until such time when your child is ready to proceed to group setting, or until such time when your child has sufficient speech and language that you think you can focus on other things. Whilst the EIPIC program has speech therapy and OT embedded into their program, the intensity is something you may need to assess as to whether it is sufficient for your child given his current condition.

HTH.

My friend ask me to hold first wait for formal assessment then start all forms of therapy....private therapy are very ex....$150 per hr btw one week need go how many times?dont know can afford or not?

[Couragemom]

Hi Wassant,


My personal opinion is you may want to consider starting OT first to work thru his sensory issues and attain some level of joint attention/compliance and ‘sit-down’ skill, then start ST.

Just to share some of my two-cents worth about ST. There are some therapists who practice Hanen method of learning to talk (you can google Hanen ‘it takes two to talk’), this is a good way to teach a child functional speech but I personally think it helps only at a later stage where the child gains enough words and has the social intent to communicate.

Other therapists use a method of oral motor therapy (using tools to improve the
oral muscles that facilitate speech) and articulation of sound like ke, o, a etc. This method of teaching is more suitable for non-verbal or very limited speech child. For me, I go to both once weekly. Like what ImMeeMee said, you need to do the homework set by the ST daily and soon you will see result.

[ImMeeMee]

Wassant:

My friend ask me to hold first wait for formal assessment then start all forms of therapy....private therapy are very ex....$150 per hr btw one week need go how many times?dont know can afford or not?

Wassant, I have come across parents who send their children for therapy every day. It is a personal choice and there is no hard and fast rule. At the beginning we did it once a week for SLT and OT each, and trust me, with the amount of homework and practice required, it was already hard to catch up. You also need to allow sufficient time for you and your child to practice what the therapists have taught, and yes, finance figures greatly here too.

Notwithstanding the diagnosis, if you are already certain that your child has some deficit areas in speech, personally I find no reason to wait. The best window for early intervention is when the child is around 3-6 years old, and early intervention is evidence-based to help the children improve in deficit areas such as speech. Bearing in mind that you have to provide for some time to see if your child takes to the therapist, and if for whatever reasons the child does not, then find another therapist. All these will take time.

Sorry I am not trying to stress you up here, and ultimately the decision is yours to make. Its just that I have seen how therapy has helped my doter greatly, and I sincerely hope it does yours too.

[sharonkhoo]

Wassant:

My friend ask me to hold first wait for formal assessment then start all forms of therapy....private therapy are very ex....$150 per hr btw one week need go how many times?dont know can afford or not?

You can do some stuff yourself at home while waiting. There is a lot of info online and in books, and you can target your child's specific weaknesses without a diagnosis. Just work on one or 2 things at a time, whatever you feel is a priority at that moment. Professional therapists can only see your child once a week or whatever you pay for, but you can help your child daily or whenever that issue crops up. My daughter, now 16yo, has Asperger's, but we didn't take her for diagnosis until she was 14yo (for various reasons). We addressed her issues ourselves with what we learned through reading up. Her social skills are still rather weak, and she has some other learning issues, but she has coped with mainstream school and will be starting Pre-U soon.

[ImMeeMee]

Just wanted to share this seemingly hilarious joke (at least to me) before the year closes.


I have been reading Snow White to my doter. We came to this page where the old woman dropped her poison apple when she was attacked by the birds in their bid to protect Snow White from eating the apple.

http://i44.tinypic.com/2qut202.jpg\">

I used to read the same story to my two elder NT gals and they had no problems understanding the context of the picture.

But when it came to my ASD doter, she asked this question when she saw the page, \"Why is there an apple on the old woman's clothes?\"

When I looked at the picture closely using her perspectives, I suddenly realized that she may not be wrong. If you take the picture literally, you will see that there is an apple on the old woman's clothes!

Such is the difference in perspectives that our children have which at times add a lot of color and laughter o our lives!

Have a good year ahead!

[Couragemom]

Hi ImMeeMee,


Talk about this story issue, I have something to share with all. I met this mother during one of my son’s OT sessions and she told me that her primary school going gal looks at the pictures meant for composition differently and the teacher found her essay very creative!