All About Autism

[Audvis]

Hi lavina, thanks for your feedback. I’m still considering whether to do music therapy for my girl. Don’t want to spend hundreds of $ and end up no outcome.

[happystar]

Lavina:

We did music therapy for 2 months only, despite paying a lot to buy the high quality headphone. I think we tried 3 different CDs. The first one was indifferent, no effect. The second one made my child more irritable, got headache and generally bad, can't remember exactly what happened. OT said may get worse before getting better but it didn't. DS refused to listen to 3rd CD. I think with music therapy, is kinda trial and error to get the correct CD, which I was reluctant to. Could be my OT not good enough or me not patient enough.


When my child was in K1, he attended an enrichment centre which specialised in brain gym. Sorry I cannot remember the name. The kids go there once a week to do brain gym exercise and play IQ activities. It was supposed to be fun but the class size was around 40, too large for DS, so we stopped after a while. Then I attended a week-long course conducted by that centre for adults. It was quite good but very \"deep\". After that we would always do the basic brain gym before studying at home. Then slowly we become lazy and then stopped. Which reminds me I should go and dig out my notes and start again.

HTH

Hi Lavina, which music therapy did your son attend? Is it Samonas? Your OT was from which centre? I heard that not everyone can start music therapy so fast as the body must be \"strong enough\" to go through it. I guess it depends on the OT's judgement.

[happystar]

chibi:

Hi happystar,

i am a working mum with 2 kids DD1 whom i mention here and another 18 months old DS2 :rahrah:
Usually i will leave work on the dot at 6pm, then reach home slightly before 7pm to have a quick dinner.
then quickly start school home work and revision with my daughter as well as talk to her about her school routine etc.
I try to spend time equally with both kids , hehe so weekdays after walking my daughter to school, it wil be back to bringing my DS2 out for breakfast and playground before heading to office.
Luckily there is a maid and my mum to help out with the household chores and cooking at home.
i usually spend Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning to teach my daughter her school work.
Have to push her a little bit as i know that she will need lotsa hard work and help to compensate her lack of attention in class.

My daughter was on therapy when she was around Mid K1 until end of K2 .
She went to KKH for her therapy ,we will go to st andrew hospital location ( near my house).

Hi chibi, you sound like you're always so energetic, working mum with 2 kids. I also have 2 kids and also trying to spend equal amount of time with both. Actually sounds like your gal is also willing to sit through the tasks with you. And her therapy is also quite short, just about 1.5 yrs. Sometimes I have to entice my son to sit through those homework.

[Double E]

Lacuna, my boy had a major meltdown today and recently he was totally not keen to play at those indoor playground or Water feature type of playground and I m so stressed by it. He used to be ok with such places nice he warmed up but now, he just refused to try. And his tantrums is getting from bad to worse, he will have a few melt downs each day which is driving me crazy.


I begin to suspect if is the music therapy. Cos before he had that, he’a temper was more manageable and he was willing to play at the playgrounds after some warm up. Now I thinking if I should stop music therapy for him.

[helplessmum3]

mashy:

Helplessmum


Don't envy and don't compare. All kids are different and they have different strengths and weaknesses. Potty training is more a result of caregivers' patience. Not so much the kids. You just need to be diligent to bring him to the toilet, clean up and pick shit. Even a year old kid can be toilet trained. The only difference is the younger they are, they longer they take to train. My son only took 2 weeks to be toilet trained but it happened only after he turned 3 yrs old. You need to constantly and patiently go thru with it.

6 months is a lot of difference at this age. Those kids 6 mths younger than my gal can't even talk properly! So don't compare. Not even within the same age group. That's why pp can tell the difference between those born in the beginning of the year and those year end ones. It is a lot of difference.

understand now. thanks for explaining.. i shouldn't compare... i think i can't do the potty train now yet. more important areas to work on now.. until then, see if he ready then do.. or else, i go crazy with mess & clean up & asking him for compliances

thanks again.

[helplessmum3]

Double E:

Yah Helplessmum, dun compare your boy with my boy. My boy is 6mths older, so sure hv differences. Instead u should compare your boy's past and present. If he is better than say 6mths ago, then that is an achievement. I know is easier said than done because I do sometimes fall into the trap myself.


Is good that your boy likes playdoh and do moulding, I think from what u describe, he's fine motor seems ok. My boy used to hate touching playdoh and he us only willing to touch it recently.

Lavina, thanks. I think I will try brushing in my boy. Just do it whenever I can. Btw u said that music therapy has bad side effects. Do u know what is it?

actually i dun use to compare my son with others until i now that he is Autism then must really pay attention to details now..

yes this 6months,he has improved so much tat i couldn't expect 6months back... he now know what I'm asking him to do things already..and always look for us. with his spontaneously eye contact..

my son dun had issue touching texture, he love play sand, squeeze sponge, squeeze papers, play water & etc... But its the sound tat he has issue.. he is easily distraught by sounds.. like vacuums cleaner, hair dryer, shaver, toilet plashing, loud flashing water sound. wil brushing help? but at time he too occupant w things he dun notice..

oh ya, my boy & myself got rash outbreak when playing playdoh ahhaaha.. AH..

[helplessmum3]

slmkhoo:

helplessmum3:

hiaz. more therapies will definitely help..but u see KKH therapis they are more like evaulate then tell parents what to do.. but u know we are not expert, if they do 5mins , my son absorb compare to us do 5days oso haven absorb, kkh strategic are very disappointing...

Helplessmum, I have been reading some of your recent posts, and I just want to encourage you not to give up on your son or rely too much on therapists to work 'magic' in their occasional sessions. Whatever label he may be given, the main thing is to deal with his issues one at a time, and the best ones to do that are the people who love him most and see him daily. It takes time and patience more than expertise, so just see what the therapists do with him, and repeat as often as you can manage, preferably daily. My daughter wasn't diagnosed as ASD until 14yo, but we always knew that she had issues with social skills, physical coordination and other learning challenges, and we just handled them one at a time. I am a SAHM so I had the time, but no training or expertise other than what I learned from reading up and plain common sense. Just to give you an idea, she didn't walk till 18 mths, didn't speak her first word till 23mths, took forever to toilet train (more or less successful by 4yo), dreams a lot, has poor social skills, has quite a few sensory issues, didn't write legibly till 7yo, couldn't manage playground equipment till 5-6yo etc. A lot of them she has gradually learned to deal with, and although not always completely overcome, she is coping OK. We just took the most pressing issues one at a time, and accepted that she would learn a lot of skills later than normal, often at the same time or later (and much, much slower) than her sister who is 2 yrs younger. It's tough for you now as he is young and you are getting used to the idea, but love your son for his uniqueness - no other person is exactly the same.

slmkhoo,
Salute.. a long journey to learn from u more. thanks for your encouragement.
with this forum, i learn tat I'm not alone..
i mean I'm not lonely..

you really remind me of temple graudin's mum.

14yrs journey for u.. at times when my son accidentally hit me.. i feel tat duno one day i will be accidentally kill by my son a not... cuz he duno anything..

back in my mind i still hope my son will one day get married, but how hiaz.. i think can't...no parents will wan their daughters to marry a autism man..

[Picolo]

Double E:

Lacuna, my boy had a major meltdown today and recently he was totally not keen to play at those indoor playground or Water feature type of playground and I m so stressed by it. He used to be ok with such places nice he warmed up but now, he just refused to try. And his tantrums is getting from bad to worse, he will have a few melt downs each day which is driving me crazy.


I begin to suspect if is the music therapy. Cos before he had that, he'a temper was more manageable and he was willing to play at the playgrounds after some warm up. Now I thinking if I should stop music therapy for him.

What is the title of the CD and what (spatial/ calmess/etc?) does it target at? If your boy has strong reactions to that CD, it probably shows that he is weaker in the area the CD is targeting at, and you need to reduce the time taken for listening until he is more ready. You should notify your OT asap and seek advice on what to do next. Also, it is a must to do heavy work after each listening. If your OT cannot be contacted over the weekend, it's best that you stop the CD first until you talk to her again, cos the effect will build up and your kid cannot handle too much of it. In the mean time, just to remember to do more heavy work with him.

My ds2 has been on music therapy for 1 year. Yes, you need to be very patient to follow through with the therapy to see and believe its effectiveness. The initial 6 months, I thought son was very temperamental. I was so sceptical of music therapy and it's pretty expensive to try without any guarantee of success. Only after the first 6 months did I start to see positive effects and I start to like it very much. I also realised later how important heavy work after each listening is, something which I thought very lightly of.

(Note my kid has no autism. He needs OT for other reasons.)

[mashy]

slmkhoo:

helplessmum3:

back in my mind i still hope my son will one day get married, but how hiaz.. i think can't...no parents will wan their daughters to marry a autism man..

I think you are worrying too much. Your son will grow and develop and learn coping strategies between now and his adult years. He will be a completely different person then compared to now, so why worry about it now? In any case, he may not even want to marry. Focus on helping him deal with his issues now and you will be surprised how well he can learn to manage. It will seem very slow, but as long as he gets there in the end, don't worry about the speed. Looking back over the years, I can see how far my daughter has come. Although sometimes I got really tired, if parents give up, who else will take over?

I was watching a Korean drama. In the show, a high sch boy asked another if he could only choose between a date with IU (a famous Korean star) or enter Korea university, which one will he choose? His friend was so bothered by it that he couldn't study for his exams. His tutor asked him, have he dated IU or is entering university? He replied neither. He hasn't even met IU in person and he's far from entering university. Another elder upon knowing this also wondered whether he should buy a pc of land or property if he should win lottery. But he hasn't even bought lottery!

It's so funny watching them because they are worrying over things that haven't happened and may not even remotely happen. In fact they appear quite dumb. Similarly, we should not be worrying over things that haven't happened. And worse still, affect your daily work and responsibilities.

[Double E]

Picolo:

Double E:

Lacuna, my boy had a major meltdown today and recently he was totally not keen to play at those indoor playground or Water feature type of playground and I m so stressed by it. He used to be ok with such places nice he warmed up but now, he just refused to try. And his tantrums is getting from bad to worse, he will have a few melt downs each day which is driving me crazy.


I begin to suspect if is the music therapy. Cos before he had that, he'a temper was more manageable and he was willing to play at the playgrounds after some warm up. Now I thinking if I should stop music therapy for him.

What is the title of the CD and what (spatial/ calmess/etc?) does it target at? If your boy has strong reactions to that CD, it probably shows that he is weaker in the area the CD is targeting at, and you need to reduce the time taken for listening until he is more ready. You should notify your OT asap and seek advice on what to do next. Also, it is a must to do heavy work after each listening. If your OT cannot be contacted over the weekend, it's best that you stop the CD first until you talk to her again, cos the effect will build up and your kid cannot handle too much of it. In the mean time, just to remember to do more heavy work with him.

My ds2 has been on music therapy for 1 year. Yes, you need to be very patient to follow through with the therapy to see and believe its effectiveness. The initial 6 months, I thought son was very temperamental. I was so sceptical of music therapy and it's pretty expensive to try without any guarantee of success. Only after the first 6 months did I start to see positive effects and I start to like it very much. I also realised later how important heavy work after each listening is, something which I thought very lightly of.

(Note my kid has no autism. He needs OT for other reasons.)

Picolo
I have no idea what is the title of the CD as the therapy was done during OT and I have not started music therapy at home. I will go with my boy to his OT this week to find out more.

And today, his CC teacher feedback that he was not as responsive last week and he doesn't seem happy. He used to be smiley and responsive. Hiaz...I am very scared of listening to such feedback. I really hope is the case of him regressing a little now and make a quantum leap of improvement soon.

Anyway, thanks for the info on music therapy