All About Autism

[yap_susan]

snowyqueen:

optrex80:

My boy is 5 and was previously diagnosed with very mild ASD.

Wish to know if any parents here can share with me their experiences on how ASD child enrolling into mainstream primary school adapt well in there.

Hi there,
My girl was diagnosed with ASD at K2. For her case, child psychologist certified she was fit for MS. In P1, she hardly knew language or maths because she was a loner doing her things in school. Hard for me to coach her as well since she couldn't concentrate. In first half of P1, she was complained by Teachers she sometimes walked around, did her own things and didn't talk much. Her results was average. So during parents meet teachers session, her form teacher asked me if I should consider transferring her which I refused. I couldn't accept n didnt think her condition was so bad. Then I thought I should pull up her results n correct her behaviour slowly. I was determined n through harsh approach, surprisingly she reacted n ended doing well for SA2. Then, I began to see hope. I also realized with good results n lots of encouragement, it helped to bring up her self-esteem.
In her 6 years of Primary school MS education, we had lots of up and down. Her condition became \"normalized\" as years went by but needed a lot of counselling to correct her wrong doings. By the time she graduated last year, she only managed to make one good friend who was very understanding towards her. She also attended regular dialogue sessions with counsellor till P6. Academic wise, she was in top class since P4. But although she has very good memory and processing skills as discovered during an IQ test in K2 but she was poor in Oral communication, a ASD trait. She was always in the near bottom of class for oral exam.
She is in Sec 1 now and she is doing IP in a girls school. We are very lucky because she adapted very well and she also made a lot of new friends there. Now, one almost could not differentiate her from a normal teenage. She is even being nominated for this year ECHA although we do not know if she can get it. Whatever the outcome, we are already very proud of her. We never expect a child like her could progress to this stage.
I wish to encourage all the parents with ASD kids, it is possible to conquer the difficulties in MS school and it is also highly possible they will become \"normalized\" though retaining some ASD traits which they need to carry with them for life. We need to give a lot of encouragement and support and be sensitive towards their feelings when dealing with this type of children. At times when I felt like giving up, I always tell myself, we can do it and we shall conquer the problems and issues one by one, patiently and with great determination. Lastly, because of the fact that they have this ASD traits in them, they also possess some talent which you need to identify and develop them on the bright side.

This is such an encouraging post.

[Couragemom]

Hi Humpty,


Welcome to this thread. Hmm… Regarding your son’s sitting down during certain lessons that he isn’t keen on, OT sessions can help. Or maybe a simple solution is to buy a floor mat for your son and train him to sit on it at home and reward him accordingly? Like if he can sit quietly on the mat for 1 min then give him a reward then stretch the time longer? After he is able to do so, then you give the teachers an exact mat and ask him to sit on it during Chinese lessons?

[Couragemom]

Hi Humpty,


ABA or Sped lessons can also help your son learn about the right social cues in a classroom setting. Going for Chinese enrichment class also helps to improve your son’s receptive Chinese language ability and he can understand what is going on during Chinese lesson in his cc.

Are you planning to bring your son for an assessment when he turns 5/6? Becos a child diagnosed officially with a label can apply for Mother Tongue exemption when he enters mainstream primary school. If that is your intention, then perhaps you can ‘drop’ Chinese for your son in his cc now by granting permission to the teacher to let him play his own toys in a quiet corner when Chinese lesson is being conducted. But this is an extreme move and I would advise you to think through carefully.

[tyeogh]

humpty:

Hi


I am new to this forum and would like to say Hi! to all the mummies and daddies here!

I've got a boy who is 4yo and seems to be possible ASD. I'm now trying to teach him to sit still in class. He is now in full day child care and they have lessons that require the children to sit within a pre-defined square on the floor. My boy has trouble respecting this rule when the lesson doesn't appeal to him (e.g. chinese class). And he will start to wander around the room and play with the books/toys. The teachers have tried all means and ways to get him to join the class or at least just sit within the box...but he won't comply. None of the other children have this issue. And they are saying that by this age, they should be able to understand the class rules and the consequences of not doing so... My son is constantly in a \"war\" with the teachers about this. They think they he is not obeying authority and is disruptive to the class which often results in lose-lose outcomes on for both the teachers and my son...

I'm wondering how to teach him to do so... any ideas? It's causing him to be cast as a \"misfit\" even by the other children. So it's quite a serious problem when he doesn't follow the social norms of the classroom...

Is there OT that can teach this to children? And if so, what do they do? What are strategies that we can use to get him to sit still even when he is not engaged in the activity? He does really well for his favourite classes/teachers and can complete tasks and sit with full attention... only when he is bored (e.g. chinese...)

Hi Humpty,
You described what my son went through when he first attended kindergarten. For him, whenever he is tasked to do something he does not like, he will lay on the floor and bang his head on the floor till he gets high from the pain. Then he will cry.

I agree with Couragemom in getting your child assessed with the aim of seeking the correct treatment for his condition, if any. When a child behaves differently from his peers, it is a sign that he may not be normal. He may be having certain conditions that prevent him from performing normal activities.

The medical doctor should be the best person to recommend whether OT is suitable for your child.

[tyeogh]

Just want to do a shout out to all parents here. My boy is 4 yrs 10 mths now. The OT, ST and prayers worked fantastic. He is as normal as normal can be. Perhaps it is the frequency of attending such classes that he is now trained to be very communicative. He runs to me every now and then when he finishes writing 1 to 10 to say "Daddy, see I do 1 to 10. Can I have star?". We give a star to our other children as a reward for doing homework which they trade in for toys. Don’t think he understands the trading part. He just mimics their request.


This boy is a gem. He is singled out to be favoured by both paternal and maternal grandparents. There was this day his mainstream school teacher gave out candy. He brought back 3 more for each of his 3 elder siblings. It was sweet and thoughtful of him. It probably summed him up in a nutshell. He shows concern when any of the family members are not around. Daddy, where mama (grandma) go? Daddy where mommy go?

And whenever I am about to cane him for misbehaving, he retorts "Daddy, angry no good. I don’t like angry. Happy good." The stroke still landed. A for logic and persuasion. F for getting away with it. No choice, I am the daddy. Haha.

Recently, he learned how to drink direct from a cup. So he announces to me with pride, Daddy, see, I so good boy.

Seeing him in this state makes all the efforts and sacrifices worthwhile.

To all parents here, hang in there. I think there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Does not look to be an incoming train…

[Nebbermind]

Wonderful sharing, tyeogh!! I’m sure your words have brought relief in many ways to the parents here!!

[Couragemom]

Hi tyeogh,


Your effort (and not to say the amount of $$$$ for private therapies) are all worth it! Thanks for sharing such an inspiring post. I really hope I can see some light at the end of the tunnel for my son but meanwhile the ‘battle’ continues.

[Double E]

tyeogh:

Just want to do a shout out to all parents here. My boy is 4 yrs 10 mths now. The OT, ST and prayers worked fantastic. He is as normal as normal can be. Perhaps it is the frequency of attending such classes that he is now trained to be very communicative. He runs to me every now and then when he finishes writing 1 to 10 to say \"Daddy, see I do 1 to 10. Can I have star?\". We give a star to our other children as a reward for doing homework which they trade in for toys. Don't think he understands the trading part. He just mimics their request.


This boy is a gem. He is singled out to be favoured by both paternal and maternal grandparents. There was this day his mainstream school teacher gave out candy. He brought back 3 more for each of his 3 elder siblings. It was sweet and thoughtful of him. It probably summed him up in a nutshell. He shows concern when any of the family members are not around. Daddy, where mama (grandma) go? Daddy where mommy go?

And whenever I am about to cane him for misbehaving, he retorts \"Daddy, angry no good. I don't like angry. Happy good.\" The stroke still landed. A for logic and persuasion. F for getting away with it. No choice, I am the daddy. Haha.

Recently, he learned how to drink direct from a cup. So he announces to me with pride, Daddy, see, I so good boy.

Seeing him in this state makes all the efforts and sacrifices worthwhile.

To all parents here, hang in there. I think there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Does not look to be an incoming train....

Tyegoh
Great to hear that your boy is doing well. Somehow, I really think for the milder cases like my boy and yours, as they get older, their issues are lesser though still need to work on especially social skills.

For my boy, he too is affectionate now. Eg, if I pretend to cry cos he makes me angry, he will quickly come and hug me and tells me he will be a good boy. And he will cry together with me. Then again, he doesn't show such affection towards other kids lah, only to me, his grandma and daddy. And now, he can interact and play very well with the mei mei.

Also, for his upcoming school concert, the principal told me that he has matured alot as compared to last year and she didn't think he needed the kind of prep work and step by step guide that we had to give him last year. All glory to God indeed and we are excited to watch his performance in two weeks time!.

[Double E]

oh, one more thing. Now when my boy eats something nice, he will tell me \"mmm, is delicious\". Then that day, he told me the noodles I cooked for him is very nice.

[Liyuan]

humpty:

Hi


I am new to this forum and would like to say Hi! to all the mummies and daddies here!

I've got a boy who is 4yo and seems to be possible ASD. I'm now trying to teach him to sit still in class. He is now in full day child care and they have lessons that require the children to sit within a pre-defined square on the floor. My boy has trouble respecting this rule when the lesson doesn't appeal to him (e.g. chinese class). And he will start to wander around the room and play with the books/toys. The teachers have tried all means and ways to get him to join the class or at least just sit within the box...but he won't comply. None of the other children have this issue. And they are saying that by this age, they should be able to understand the class rules and the consequences of not doing so... My son is constantly in a \"war\" with the teachers about this. They think they he is not obeying authority and is disruptive to the class which often results in lose-lose outcomes on for both the teachers and my son...

I'm wondering how to teach him to do so... any ideas? It's causing him to be cast as a \"misfit\" even by the other children. So it's quite a serious problem when he doesn't follow the social norms of the classroom...

Is there OT that can teach this to children? And if so, what do they do? What are strategies that we can use to get him to sit still even when he is not engaged in the activity? He does really well for his favourite classes/teachers and can complete tasks and sit with full attention... only when he is bored (e.g. chinese...)

I agree very much with couragemom. For sitting behavior, token economy will probably work well. Have the visual of the target behavior (good sitting in this case) on a token economy. Allow your boy to choose the reward that he will like to work for. Each time he is seated nicely, give him a token. If he is not sitting well, point to the picture of good sitting on the token economy to remind him. I always recommend using visual prompts instead of verbal prompts (eg. \"David, sit nicely\") as visual prompts are much easier to fade. Start off with 3 or 4 tokens to work for to get his reward and you will probably need to reward fast initially. You will want the child to be able to get the reward that he chose. To increase the duration of him being able to sit nicely without reinforcement, you can either increase the number of tokens to work for before he gets his reward, or slow down the rate at which tokens are given to him. Do not give tokens at a fix interval. You will want to reward him intermittently so that he is unable to predict when will the token be given. The skinner box experiment tells you why must you reward intermittently and not on a fix schedule. The image below is an example of a token economy.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s71/xstacle/TE.jpg\">[/URL]
You can also use a mat (like what couragemom mentioned). This will denote the space that he is suppose to sit within. But do remember that ultimately, your aim is to fade the mat and him being able to sit nicely without having a prompt to denote his space. So do fade the mat when you see that he is able to sit better

Hope it helps
Liyuan
http://www.autismstep.com