All About Autism

[ImMeeMee]

sheryl:

mommsie101:

Hey guys,


Not sure whether u have heard about this woman called temple grandin. She's very inspiring! She has autism but yet she revolutionalised the entire cattle industry!

Heard my son's psychologist mentioned her. Recommended us to watch the show with my son. However, not all applicable to my son.

I have not watched her show, but i can currently reading her book. She is inspiring and has given me a lot of insights into the world of autism, as an outsider. I have always been worried about the social future of dd3, eg. if she does not get married in life and what will happen. Temple has shown me that this could be by choice, as she does not have a need for relationships in this manner. its a choice in life rather than being left behind because of some handicap.

she is also well versed with the current scientific research on autism and aspergers. she is well-read and her pieces are well-thought through. Certain things that cannot be based on scientific evidence she explains through her own observations and interpretations which are equally convincing from her perspective.

A worthy read. 'The Way I see It'.

[ImMeeMee]

windie:

:snuggles: to ImMeMee. I can empathize w the guilt we have to live with due to work commitments. When I start feeling bad abt being at work for too long I pyscho myself that this job does pay for the expensive therapies that hopefully helps our kids get through this rigorous system.I hope u will feel better soon. 加油！

thanks for the encouragement, windie. the more i write about it and hear from fellow parents the better I am getting, both from the empathy and the potential way-out in this whole thing.

共勉之. :hugs:

[Audvis]

Hi,

My son has high functioning ASD and is verbal. But he seems to have problems sequencing his thoughts and doing open ended tasks, eg describe a scene. I am concerned that he may hv issue with reading compre and essay writing later on. Would like to check if other parents send their verbal ASD kids for language therapy? What do they learn from such therapy? Thanks.

[Audvis]

Also, is there any therapist who can teach ASD kids reading compre and essay writing? Thanks.

[Lavina]

Hi Audvis,

I sent my son to Planet Learning Centre when he was young. You can google them for details.
Comprehension is tough for my child. I remember my surprise when he said he didn't know why the gingerbreadman was running away from everyone.
For picture compo, I used to cut up the 4 pictures and let him arrange them in sequence. Or I print each compo sentence separately and let him rearrange them in sequence.
HTH

[pingsped]

The approach used will depend on the child’s current language and cognitive skills. I like to draw smileys for some children.


eg red riding hood

Once upon a time in the middle of a thick forest stood a small cottage, the home of a pretty little girl known to everyone as Little Red Riding Hood. One day, her Mummy waved her goodbye at the garden gate, saying: "Grandma is ill. (sick face) Take her this basket of cakes, but be very careful. (mummy face - worried/serious) Keep to the path through the wood and don’t ever stop. That way, you will come to no harm."

Little Red Riding Hood kissed her mother and ran off. "Don’t worry," she said, "I’ll run all the way to Grandma’s without stopping." (eager face)

Full of good intentions, the little girl made her way through the wood, but she was soon to forget her mother’s wise words. "What lovely strawberries! And so red." (excited face - eyes popping)

(BTW the story of Little Red Riding Hood is often used to teach stranger danger. We get the children act it out & make sounds/silly actions.)

It would be helpful if the child has already been taught how to understand and relate to adult feelings (e.g. parent, teacher, sibling, friend)

[Audvis]

Hi lavina and pingsped

Thanks for yr replies!

[mashy]

My son is going for the psychological test. May I know what to expect?

[ImMeeMee]

mashy:

My son is going for the psychological test. May I know what to expect?

we did ours with a private psychologist when my dd was 3 yo.

she interviewed the parents on the child's daily life activities and behaviour and recorded results on a checklist. she did some games and activities with the child and recorded results on a checklist.

so I felt the test itself was quite alright.

the rough part was when we went for the results of the psychological test, and when the psychologist confirmed the diagnosis in our face. that was when i broke down right in front of her, as the emotions could not be contained though I worked very hard to prepare myself mentally.

that was my experience. just sharing what to expect for the potential emotional ups and downs, whatever the results of the test may be.

all the best on your test, sincerely.

[anewme]

Brain Gym, generally, can help all children. How beneficial it is - depends on each child. Bridging Talents has classes for BrainGym, conducted by Ms Tan Li-Anne.


Nana Loo:
For list of early intervention centres, check out Centre for Enabled Living website. Personally, I think if your child is of mild autism, u may try ARC. Nowadays, many presch accept children wif autism. Better to get one which has low teacher to student ratio. Most important is parental involvement in the child learning journey esp. in his early years. Ask teacher what u can teach him at home, to reinforce whatever he had learnt in sch.