All About Autism

[Couragemom]

Hi mommies,


Thanks for the encouragement! Over the past 11 months, I have been adjusting my mindset and expectations of my son’s overall development in all aspects so that I can feel a bit better (that I tried my best for him) and be a little happier (celebrate all his milestones no matter how late they are).

[pinkamoon]

Yup. Me too. It is better late than never! Thanks, Couragemum!

[fluttershy]

Hi Fluttershy,

Welcome to this forum. You can consider enrolling your child to ARC (Autism Resource Centre) for early intervention while continuing with ABA. From your description, your child seems high fuctioning and exposing him more will be beneficial.

ARC teaches the child fuctioninal skills and work habits which are essential in everyday life.

Hope this helps.

Hi Orb,

Thank you for your suggestion. I will take a look into ARC further. Since he's on 6 hours a day (mon-fri) ABA therapy, I think I can only squeeze ARC into his weekend if we decided to put him in there. Also, you were saying that my child seem high functioning (thank you, you don't know how this word bring a smile to my face as I'm reading it, I hope he'll be on a high functioning end later on *finger crossed*).

Also, I'd like to know what defines the ASD child from high functioning and low functioning? Other mummies or daddies please let me know your thoughts.

A piece of good news, my son now is able to say ma-ma whenever he needs me still need prompting, but I'm very happy to hear his adorable voice calling me :please: the therapists also mentioned that he can throw a basketball into the hoop in half meter distance which they think it's very good for a 2,5 years old kid because to do that, it needs precision & strength I hope he keeps progressing :xedfingers:

[Gifts from Heaven]

Hi,


Just want to check with mummies/daddies with ASD kids in primary school. Did you let your kid take his injections in school or did you bring him to your own doctor to get his injections?

[spwriting]

Gifts from Heaven:

Hi,


Just want to check with mummies/daddies with ASD kids in primary school. Did you let your kid take his injections in school or did you bring him to your own doctor to get his injections?

I know two friends who was just also talking about this. They would rather bring him to their own doctor. It reduces anxiety being with parents. In school, it just singles them out and it can be quite traumatizing for kids with the diagnosis.

[Snow24]

Hi


Anyone can share on EIPIC ?

Does EIPIC centre helps child who is High Functioning Autism?

[tyeogh]

Hi Snow 24,

I am surprised no one replied to you (yet). There are many experts here who will give you more info but since I happen to check in, here's my lay person view of EIPIC.

My son went through about 2.5 years of EIPIC. He started when he was about 2 y.o. Try to think of EIPIC like pre kindergarten. The purpose is to break down kindergarten programs into even smaller bite size activities so that a special needs child can achieve some form of learning.

For example, a kindergarten will need children to sit on chairs to draw on the table. In EIPIC, the teachers set a 2 months goal to make your child sit on a chair. Sitting on a chair may seem a simple task but for a special needs child it will take time and practice. Hence EIPIC schools have better teacher student ratios e.g. 1 to 4 as compared to 1 to 20 in a mainstream kindergarten. Their fees are higher too for this reason.

Most EIPIC come with Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. The basic interpretation of OT is it seeks to teach physical compliance to your child. ST seeks to teach your child how to use speech. Often OT and ST work hand in hand i.e. the child needs to comply before he can learn to talk. For example, he needs to point to a toy and say I want. When he can do that, he finds a use for speech. At a later stage OT and ST have other objectives.

There is no magic bullet in EIPIC. Do not expect miracles. It is not some secret formula that will surely change your child overnight. On the contrary, it is a painfully slow process of patience and of trying. On many sessions, there is actually no learning. It is usually after a prolonged period of over 2-3 years that one sees improvement.

I believe the main objectives of EIPIC is to cater to high functioning autistic children who can learn with a better student teacher ratio in a well-thought out program. Not sure whether low functioning is eligible.

For me, it helps my child. This is my personal view. All the best

[tyeogh]

Hi Fluttershy,

High functioning means a child can demonstrate cogent cognitive skills. There is a thought and purpose in his actions. Easiest way to interpret High Functioning is it means he is normal brain wise. High Functioning does not necessarily mean savant although he can be savant. Your child is likely high functioning from your description.

[tyeogh]

To all the regulars here, hows your precious loved ones? Any progress report?


My son is 4 yrs 8 months now. He is doing fantastic compared to 2 years ago. Back then, we could not get a word out of him. Today he will not stop talking!

"It is NOT funny!" he snaps at his brother who teases him.

"I angry you" he objects when he cannot get things his way

"Mommy, I like you" he whispers into his mom ears when he is happy and runs off. (It is tough being a daddy…do all the work, and I get no love. Come on!)

He stayed back a year in mainstream Nursery instead of progressing to mainstream K1. His Nursery teacher reported to me 2 weeks ago that "he is like any other normal child in class". It was sweet music to my ears.

I am now engineering how to upgrade him back to his age appropriate mainstream level.

Hope my sharing can lift you. Continue to hang in there for your precious one! There is always hope!

[sharonkhoo]

tyeogh:

I am now engineering how to upgrade him back to his age appropriate mainstream level.

So happy to hear about your child. Just wondering why you would want to 'upgrade' your child. If he's doing well where he is now, why not leave him there? Making him do a jump might actually set him back relative to his age group. I actually regret not holding my daughter back earlier on before she got into school. I think it would have helped her as she matures slower. I have now put her into a 3-yr A level programme which will also slow her down, and am trying to figure out what I can do with her after that to slow her down more! We reckon she will have the maturity of a 19yo when she is around 22yo - currently, most people think she's younger than her 15yo sister (she's 17yo).