All About Autism

[Blokus]

Thanks mummies for sharing.


I don’t know if it’s because our son doesn’t show autism signs so outwardly that makes my hub think our child is normal. He seems to treat this condition like any other flu bug that would go away one day. Maybe that’s why he’s not so kan chong as me. But like specialboymum said, I do feel rather alone doing all the work. I need him to lead and not just be a follower. I think I’m most frustrated that he thinks autism can be cured which leads him to be so relax. Yet, I feel maybe it’s a good thing, having 2 kan Chong, worried parents may not be that good either. Someone has to be calm and optimistic. I think my hub and I are both on the extreme end. I’m at the extreme kan Chong mode and he’s at the extreme ‘relax, everything is fine!’ mode. Sigh.

[helplessmum3]

my too la. ask him to be consistence. he cant... u know our asd need us to be consistence to get it right.. :(...


my hub also think will\"outgrow\" la, let him be as long make him feel better.

[Double E]

My husband is also very much with me on this journey. We split our work. For example, I am the one to source for therapies, read up on book and work with my boy on his academic. My hubby, on the other hand, will bring him to attend all his therapies and work on his OT.


When I found out about my boy’s issues, I also cried buckets for a few nights, waking up with puffy eyes. My husband didn’t say much but just put his arms around me and let me sob. However, both of us have trying time with my boy. When I lose my cool, he will take over. And when he loses his cool, I will take over. But men being men, I will still nag him or remind him to do OT with my boy cos sometimes he will forget when he gets busy.

And while I still carry hopes for my boy to go to mainstream P1, he will be the devil’s advocate and tell me to be prepared if our boy can’t make it to mainstream.

[nugget]

mashy:

Don't worry. My boy has NT classmates who scored 3/25 in a class test! And these are not under privileged children.

Ya even in his K1 now, teachers told me there are kids who are academically lousier than him. But I am still worry lar. Hee hee.

[nugget]

All our journey are not easy. I think all of us are happy as long as our kids are better than yesterday…


Nowadays my boy knows that he shouldn’t be doing something like kicking the door, but sometimes he just can’t helped himself and did it. I dunno if its due to ASD that he cant help but kick the door to show that he is angry, or he just purposely want to irritate us by acting out.

[Double E]

There’s one thing that I am puzzled about my boy’s behaviour. When he wants to get out attention, he will call us or tap our hand or shoulder, which is the correct way to do it. But when he wants to go near his sister or try to communicate with her, he will use his finger to poke her face or eyes, making her cry and mad. Why can’t he use the same method that he used on us when trying to communicate with his sister? Do any of your kids display such inconsistency?

[helplessmum3]

double e, wat make u thik your son is ASD?

[helplessmum3]

Double E:

There's one thing that I am puzzled about my boy's behaviour. When he wants to get out attention, he will call us or tap our hand or shoulder, which is the correct way to do it. But when he wants to go near his sister or try to communicate with her, he will use his finger to poke her face or eyes, making her cry and mad. Why can't he use the same method that he used on us when trying to communicate with his sister? Do any of your kids display such inconsistency?

Your girl look like a doll

[helplessmum3]

Signs and symptoms of autism in older children

As children get older, the red flags for autism become more diverse. There are many warning signs and symptoms, but they typically revolve around impaired social skills, speech and language difficulties, non-verbal communication difficulties, and inflexible behavior.

Signs and symptoms of social difficulties in autism
Basic social interaction can be difficult for children with autism spectrum disorders. Many kids on the autism spectrum seem to prefer to live in their own world, aloof and detached from others.

Appears disinterested or unaware of other people or what’s going on around them.
Doesn’t know how to connect with others, play, or make friends.
Prefers not to be touched, held, or cuddled.
Doesn’t play "pretend" games, engage in group games, imitate others, or use toys in creative ways.
Has trouble understanding or talking about feelings.
Doesn’t seem to hear when others talk to him or her.
Doesn’t share interests or achievements with others (drawings, toys).
Signs and symptoms of speech and language difficulties in autism
Children with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty with speech and language. Often, they start talking late.

Speaks in an abnormal tone of voice, or with an odd rhythm or pitch (e.g. ends every sentence as if asking a question).
Repeats the same words or phrases over and over.
Responds to a question by repeating it, rather than answering it.
Refers to themselves in the third person.
Uses language incorrectly (grammatical errors, wrong words).
Has difficulty communicating needs or desires.
Doesn’t understand simple directions, statements, or questions.
Takes what is said too literally (misses undertones of humor, irony, and sarcasm).
Signs and symptoms of nonverbal communication difficulties in autism
Children with autism spectrum disorders have trouble picking up on subtle nonverbal cues and using body language. This makes the "give-and-take" of social interaction very difficult.

Avoids eye contact.
Uses facial expressions that don’t match what he or she is saying.
Doesn’t pick up on other people’s facial expressions, tone of voice, and gestures.
Makes very few gestures (such as pointing). May come across as cold or “robot-like.”
Reacts unusually to sights, smells, textures, and sounds. May be especially sensitive to loud noises.
Abnormal posture, clumsiness, or eccentric ways of moving (e.g. walking exclusively on tiptoe).
Signs and symptoms of inflexibility in autism
Children with autism spectrum disorders are often restricted, inflexible, and even obsessive in their behaviors, activities, and interests.

Follows a rigid routine (e.g. insists on taking a specific route to school)
Has difficulty adapting to any changes in schedule or environment (e.g. throws a tantrum if the furniture is rearranged or bedtime is at a different time than usual).
Unusual attachments to toys or strange objects such as keys, light switches, or rubber bands.
Obsessively lines things up or arranges them in a certain order.
Preoccupation with a narrow topic of interest, often involving numbers or symbols (e.g. memorizing and reciting facts about maps, train schedules, or sports statistics).
Spends long periods of time arranging toys in specific ways, watching moving objects such as a ceiling fan, or focusing on one specific part of an object such as the wheels of a toy car.
Repeats the same actions or movements over and over again, such as flapping hands, rocking, or twirling (known as self-stimulatory behavior, or “stimming”). Some researchers and clinicians believe that these behaviors may soothe children with autism more than stimulate them.
Common self-stimulatory behaviors:
Hand flapping
Rocking back and forth
Spinning in a circle
Finger flicking
Head banging
Staring at lights
Moving fingers in front of the eyes
Snapping fingers
Tapping ears
Scratching
Lining up toys
Spinning objects
Wheel spinning
Watching moving objects
Flicking light switches on and off
Repeating words or noises

[Double E]

helplessmum3:

double e, wat make u thik your son is ASD?

U mean when did I realise he has ASD?
I realise something is wrong with him when he was 22 mths as he displayed the following symptoms:
- no speech
- no babbling
- does not point at things that he wants or interest him
- likes to spin things, any thing that he can get hold off, including toys
- likes to stare at ceiling fans
- Flaps his arms (actually, he started flapping when he was about 15mths old)
- Not interested in other children
- Visual stiming
- When he started to have speech, he kept repeating the words like reciting numbers and alphabets
- Tantrums, for a period, he will cry out loud the moment he stepped into our friends' house or if friends come to visit us.

These red flags are good enough to have the doctor suspecting him to be ASD or PDD-NOS. The private psychologist once suspected him to be PDD-NOS because he still has joint attention and has social smile.

But now at 3.5 years, most of the above red flags have disappeared except for the last 4. He still likes to repeat things and for a period, he will say the same thing when he pass by a certain place. He still does his visual stim every now and then, still not interested in other children except when playing catching. I think he likes catching because it allows him to run, he likes to run to get his sensory input. And for tantrums, it can get very bad sometimes, he will sit or lie on the floor and wail and kick. But thankfully, so far, this tantrums are only targeted at his family members not at his teachers or therapists, I hope it doesn't escalate further.

He still have limited interest, only likes to play with trains and cars.

Though he has improved alot, his 'good' points are not enough to compensate the areas that he is poor at, that's why he is clinically diagnosed as mild ASD.