All About Autism

[helplessmum3]

mashy:

Helplessmum

If your son is like mine, dun need to really teach. Just read to him daily. My boy picked up reading on his own. We just read to him from when he could sit up. Then he just learned to read by himself. For the more difficult parts of reading, he learned in school. I think also because he couldn't be bothered to interact with other pp, he spent a lot of his time reading and it really increased his knowledge.

He is a visual spatial learner so instead of phonics, he learnt by sight. He rather his teachers read the word that he couldn't and he could remember how to pronounce it after that. Even when he couldn't pronounce it, he figured out the meaning of the words from the whole sentence I think. I dun really know how he decipher this. He had just memorized tv scripts of a documentary on the formation of solar systems. I think he more or less understood what those astrophysicists were saying. Frankly, I don't.

This is so different from my younger one. I have to actually teach her word by word. So like I said, all have their strengths and weaknesses.

From the IQ test, u should be able to find out his strength. Take advantage of that and use it to help him blossom.

your son is another genius.
anybook for my son?

[mashy]

He picked up his alphabets from leapfrog letter word factory. We read a great variety of books. Not just a single book so can’t tell u what books are good.

[helplessmum3]

now i try to recall, in my entire life i only read 2books.

[DesertWind]

nugget:

Not knowing if every choice we made for our kid is right or not........... Experts and therapists giving their opinions which you feel its untrue and unfair due to the short time they spent with your child.

I am facing the same things here, nugget, understand what you are saying. Me too right now have stopped meeting those OTs (KKH OT told me my boy does not need OT and private one I ownself drop due to my boy uncooperative) and if possible don't want to talk \"special needs talk\" if I can help it. So tiring and discouraging to talk to some of the more negative ones or those therapist who work with more severe cases.

For some reason I get very annoyed when one of the more \"negative\" therapist asked me how many times my boy have \"meltdowns\"? Or how \"task avoidance\" he is, and how \"clumsy\" he is, and told me parents should not insist on going mainstream, must be open to special needs schools etc.

My boy does have speech-delay but I don't think he has any social problems nor do I fully believe his \"label\". But once you are on the \"special needs\" track/circuit, all the standard special-needs talk kicks in. Tandrums=meltdowns, stubborn=strong task-avoidance, like to do whatever he likes=very own agenda. Even to the extent some would suggest some talents which I have not observed for eg. one suggest my boy would be very good at art because \"such kids\" are very visual. But the way I see it, my boy does not really like colouring and he has no patient to produce nice colouring works!

To a certain extent in order to follow your own gut-feel, you need to shut out all such noises. Then do your own research to see what you are planning to do is feasible or not.

Anyway, I have a lot to learn from all you mummies and thank you very much for being so open to share your experiences!
:hugs:

[helplessmum3]

desertwind … ya lor they already fix tat what our child will be like…


the therapist ask , yr son like lining up stuff din he? i say no leh… she look at me like disbelieve!!! my son lining up 3 balls, the she look & stare hard, then later the 4th ball, my son place in group … (NO lining up then, then she write down something on it!!! gosh…

what are these protocol about!!!

why they jump into conclusion?!!

hate talking to these people who are so protocol!!!

ask me does my son like to spin things!!! i say no le. another disbelieve look at me !! gosh… test yrself la. GOSH.

[helplessmum3]

all in all my son is very flexible , no fix route noting is fix to him…


gosh… then she say, ur son kinda insist on his way type!! gosh… kids at this age normal or special needs child also will act some kind of stubbornness may!!!

actually jus for vaccumm cleaner case for… my son will cry whenever its start… i ask my fern, does her son scare of vacuum cleaner, she say YEs leh. she is a normal kid de…

jus like Temple Mention, sensory issue happen to any single of us, whether ASD or normal…

[lavendery]

Same as mashy, my girl picked up her alphabets and phonics from Leapfrog too. I bought almost all the collection of Leapfrog DVDs for her. It taught her how to read too. Among the education DVDs which i have bought for her, Leapfrog is still her favourite.


After watching for sometimes, she could recite what will be the next sentence or words the characters will be saying. For books, I bought her books like LadyBird and Eric Carle.

She didn’t started reading at 2yr old, haha. She only started reading slowly at 2yrs+. I couldn’t remember exactly at which specific month, maybe 2.5yrs? Still she can only recognize some words here and there, not entirely all the words in the story books. I still need to teach her a few times before it could register into her brain.

[helplessmum3]

Leapfrog DVD include reading material too ?

[DesertWind]

helplessmum3:

base on item 1-6 he is already austism. :?

Hi helplessmum3,
I can only say that if you don't believe in it, then DON'T!
Why should you believe 100% what others say if you as a mummy don't agree?
Especially if it leads you to despair and depression, oh please don't believe in it then if it helps you to stay cool.
Seriously I think your boy is really bright! (Or at least much brighter than mine it seems and i am not even at the depressed state).

Having said that, please DO something to help your boy (which you are already now doing). I believe if we neglect our kids, even neurotypical kids will not thrive well. But if we spend time take care, love and cultivate our \"non-typical\" kids, they can even give us a lot less problems than other type of kids!

For eg. my boy has a really sweet temper. Even his teacher said he does not have a mean bone in him. In the playground when another presumably \"typical\" kids will say \"Hey! That's MINE!\" does not allow my boy to play with it, he will give in and walk away cool as a cucumber! I was so proud of my boy because he walked away when I told him to. Whereas this little girl's father was horrified by his girl's outburst and told her \"No, no, share and take turns, you have played so now let the boy play!\".

[mashy]

Desert wind

Mine hates colouring too! Cannot draw for nuts. Till now still drawing stickmen with no features. Whenever the teacher tells him to colour, he will drag and drag. He's only keen on drawing planets, human body organs and machinery.

Helplessmum
Actually some non autistic kids line things up and spin stuff too. But they stopped after a short while. No obsession with it I guess. If all who spin and line things up are autistic, then many boys are. Lol.

Why did u decide to send him for assessment? Surely there's something bothering you. If it didn't bother u a bit or makes you suspect somethg, you wouldn't have. Since my kid was 8-9 mths, I already thought something was going on. He lined things up everywhere and spins toys all the time. He wasn't interested in playing toys as he was spinning container covers, trays and plates. Everyone told me he is fine. I am the one who felt something wasn't right. Hehe. But now I think he's progressing well and starting to feel almost like a normal kid already. Kind of funny that I got the assessment only after he had gotten rid of most of the autistic habits.

As for th 'experts', I've been pretty lucky. Guess also due to the late assessment. No OT or ST said anything other than focusing on improving his weaknesses, be it fine more skills, stuttering or articulation. No one sugg he goes to special needs school. Maybe that is the good thing about being in the rehab section rather than child dev. Rehab just wants to improve skills and help them get better.