All About Autism

[ngl2010]

Couragemom:

Hi mommies,


I am looking for a new kindergarten (not CC) for my DS for next year. The current school that he goes to is a playgroup and doesn't teach academic stuff so students can at most stay until N2, he is in N1 this year. I am looking for 1 in the west (Clementi/west coast/holland/pasir panjang/pandan gardens). Kindly help if you can!

I am not being kiasu start so early to find as I read in the earlier posts that ImMeeMee took over a year to find a suitable school for her DD3!

Mommies can give advice on whether to reveal our darling's condition anot? I am more inclined to do it as I feel that if the school is sympathetic, we can work hand-in-hand together. Some friends were suggesting church schools as the principals are usually more kind-hearted but the con is usually the class size is very big! Usually 2 teachers to 24 students for N2? All advice are welcome!

Hi Couragemom,

Pm you.

[sharonkhoo]

Couragemom:

Hi Double E,


Called St James too. Not a chance at all due to the looooonnnng waiting list.

I tried a church school near my house this morning, but high teacher:student ratio for N2. But like you say, our kids may just surprise us with their ability right? Maybe I worry too much! Actually according to my friend's son educational psychologist point of view, if our end-goal is mainstream school, then going to a big class environment for kindergarten is not a bad idea as the child can get used to all the 'noise'!

The trick that all of us have to learn is how much to stretch our kids and how much to protect them. Too much in either direction is not good, but it's not always easy to decide where to position ourselves, and it will vary from child to child. My Asperger's daughter just started her Pre-U studies and it's been a bit nerve-wracking in some ways letting her go to take part in the orientation, find her classes etc. On the one hand, we know we can't handhold her forever, but on the other, I don't want her to be too stressed and have bad experiences. But with briefings and preparation, she seems to have coped OK. A bit stressed, still hasn't made many friends (and had to be reminded several times to try to ask people's names etc), but not as bad as I feared. I didn't actually tell the school about her diagnosis initially as I didn't really know who to inform, but I have now informed her form teacher who will alert the rest of her teachers. Your kids are all much younger, so your situations and considerations will be different, so just stretch them step by step. If you had asked me 10 yrs ago whether my daughter could have coped like this, I could never have imagined it.

[optrex80]

Hi people… i send my kid to speech and occupational therapy for his ASD. However i wonder if ABA therapy is good too? Anyone tried ABA therapy and what does it really target? I am at a dilemma as i am not sure if it is wise to stretch my kid for extra lesson for ABA.

[ImMeeMee]

slmkhoo:

The trick that all of us have to learn is how much to stretch our kids and how much to protect them. Too much in either direction is not good, but it's not always easy to decide where to position ourselves, and it will vary from child to child. My Asperger's daughter just started her Pre-U studies and it's been a bit nerve-wracking in some ways letting her go to take part in the orientation, find her classes etc. On the one hand, we know we can't handhold her forever, but on the other, I don't want her to be too stressed and have bad experiences. But with briefings and preparation, she seems to have coped OK. A bit stressed, still hasn't made many friends (and had to be reminded several times to try to ask people's names etc), but not as bad as I feared. I didn't actually tell the school about her diagnosis initially as I didn't really know who to inform, but I have now informed her form teacher who will alert the rest of her teachers. Your kids are all much younger, so your situations and considerations will be different, so just stretch them step by step. If you had asked me 10 yrs ago whether my daughter could have coped like this, I could never have imagined it.

Thanks for your inspirational moment, slmkhoo, and I really feel happy for you. It brought to my mind the part where Temple Grandin's mother had tremendous struggles while deciding whether to put her to a boarding school, for fear that she would not be able to cope. But in the end she adapted sufficiently, and went on to achieve a lot more.

I too cannot imagine what it would be like for my doter in ten years time. I can only take one step at a time, and already I am feeling grateful that she is settling somewhat OK into the primary school environment. We have to continue to hope for the best. :xedfingers:

[BB3]

optrex80:

Hi people.. i send my kid to speech and occupational therapy for his ASD. However i wonder if ABA therapy is good too? Anyone tried ABA therapy and what does it really target? I am at a dilemma as i am not sure if it is wise to stretch my kid for extra lesson for ABA.

How old is your child and what challenges do you have with him/her now? We did ABA for about 2.5 yrs till about 5yrs old. For us (and it's different for everyone) it was good as before ABA he could not sit quietly or follow instructions. ABA is a bit 'robotic' but it helped to 'prepare' him to be open to learning. We had gone for OT and ST prior to ABA but it was all just a waste of money as each session was spent trying to get him to co-operate. After intensive ABA he was open to learning and we subsequently restarted ST and OT and it was so much better. We eventually stopped ABA as he was lacking in so many other areas and we needed to concentrate on the other aspects.

[nugget]

ImMeeMee:

slmkhoo:

The trick that all of us have to learn is how much to stretch our kids and how much to protect them. Too much in either direction is not good, but it's not always easy to decide where to position ourselves, and it will vary from child to child. My Asperger's daughter just started her Pre-U studies and it's been a bit nerve-wracking in some ways letting her go to take part in the orientation, find her classes etc. On the one hand, we know we can't handhold her forever, but on the other, I don't want her to be too stressed and have bad experiences. But with briefings and preparation, she seems to have coped OK. A bit stressed, still hasn't made many friends (and had to be reminded several times to try to ask people's names etc), but not as bad as I feared. I didn't actually tell the school about her diagnosis initially as I didn't really know who to inform, but I have now informed her form teacher who will alert the rest of her teachers. Your kids are all much younger, so your situations and considerations will be different, so just stretch them step by step. If you had asked me 10 yrs ago whether my daughter could have coped like this, I could never have imagined it.

Thanks for your inspirational moment, slmkhoo, and I really feel happy for you. It brought to my mind the part where Temple Grandin's mother had tremendous struggles while deciding whether to put her to a boarding school, for fear that she would not be able to cope. But in the end she adapted sufficiently, and went on to achieve a lot more.

I too cannot imagine what it would be like for my doter in ten years time. I can only take one step at a time, and already I am feeling grateful that she is settling somewhat OK into the primary school environment. We have to continue to hope for the best. :xedfingers:

I feel happy for your too slmkhoo. You really came a long way esp ASD is unheard and unnoticed many years ago. I do agree about stretching and protecting part.

I stretch a lot for my son but I protect a lot too. I keep reminding myself to protect less, to let him grow. And day by day, my son manage to surprise me. And day by day he managed to tell me things from his point of view.

Seriously, ASD people just see things differently. They are just different, not less.

I also don't know what my son will be like in 10 years time. We just have to take things one step at a time.

[Couragemom]

Hi mommies,


Thanks for all the feedback! Actually I think the schooling problem lies with me rather than my DS! I think I got traumatized by the principal’s feedback 1 month after he joined. ‘Lack of engagement, poor eye contact and cannot follow instructions’ and that got the whole ball rolling for me and my 21 mths old son (at that point of time) so as to say! Now, he can sit down up to 20 minutes for circle time, follow routine/ instructions, join in group activities, say bye to his teachers without prompting! I am so happy with his progress! I recently let him join berries Chinese class and after the 4th lesson, he actually can sit down and follow (according to the teacher, I won’t know as cannot observe class).

I think he can cope in his new school next year, as I still have 10 months to work with him, hopefully all the therapies and his own development milestones will help!

[Couragemom]

Hi Optrex80,


It really depends on what is your goal for ABA. For my son, I felt that ABA was too rigid for him as the child is expected to repeat certain tasks over and over again. The tasks are also too easy and doesn’t match my son’s cognitive ability at that point when we started. I dropped ABA after 1month.

Like for my case, the ‘real’ reason behind the wandering around in class for my son was due to his physical condition - low muscle tone (floppy muscles). Once we found the right OT, his sitting down skill improved after a while.

[nugget]

Couragemom:

Hi mommies,


Thanks for all the feedback! Actually I think the schooling problem lies with me rather than my DS! I think I got traumatized by the principal's feedback 1 month after he joined. 'Lack of engagement, poor eye contact and cannot follow instructions' and that got the whole ball rolling for me and my 21 mths old son (at that point of time) so as to say! Now, he can sit down up to 20 minutes for circle time, follow routine/ instructions, join in group activities, say bye to his teachers without prompting! I am so happy with his progress! I recently let him join berries Chinese class and after the 4th lesson, he actually can sit down and follow (according to the teacher, I won't know as cannot observe class).

I think he can cope in his new school next year, as I still have 10 months to work with him, hopefully all the therapies and his own development milestones will help!

Couragemom I think your 21 months old is doing pretty well! My 4 year old NT kiddo still cries when he goes into his chinese class! lol.

I feel happy for you too! My challenge right now is my son's social behavior. He still doesn't interact well with peers and speak very softly and slow. Luckily he has a classmate who likes him a lot and doesnt mind him speaking slow or funny sometimes. I hope their friendship will stay strong!

[Double E]

Mummies

Do you kids like lego? try getting them to build lego, those that with step by step instruction to build a certain car, plane, house etc. Is good to develop the kids’ fine motor and planning skills.