All About Autism

[ImMeeMee]

slmkhoo:

nugget:

Mashy, his eipic teachers mention he will need to do abstract and creative thinking in mainstream but he is not there yet.


He need to be able to response and end a conversation with friend nicely... He is also not there yet. .

Also I am teaching maths, 5 + 1 using toy apples, he dun want to pay attention...

Eipic teacher say got to break down tasks for my boy then he will find it easier to do... I wonder in mainstream environment, there is no one to break down for him in class....

Worry worry .... But I won't give up. 3 months ago my son always need to be fed at dinner... Today he will self feed himself. Son just need more time and I shld be more patience.

As long as you think he can manage reasonably well (no meltdowns, not unhappy, generally following what's going on, mostly doing what is required even if it's just tagging along with other kids) then don't worry too much. If your child can do everything perfectly on day 1, he will be more advanced than most NT kids! Yes, he may lag behind and struggle with some skills while in school, but with support and practice, he will learn. My 16yo daughter does poorly on abstract and creative thinking but has still managed to get to grade 10. So she isn't a top student but at least she passes. For the areas we know are her weaknesses, we just don't pressure her to do well as long as we see she has tried. In fact, to spend too much effort and time on weaknesses at the expense of strengths can be very dispiriting and damaging to self-esteem. That is one area which the Singapore parents and teachers have a lot to improve on - when I was young, my parents would harp on my weak subjects and ignore my strong ones, and teachers did the same. In my girl's international school, the teachers praise her strengths and encourage her to work on weaknesses, but just enough to get by. Unless those weaknesses are going to be a big stumbling block to further education or social/working life, we just aim for the minimum and accept it.

As for breaking down tasks etc - this is where you need to have good communication with the teachers. Ask them to tell you which tasks your child finds difficult, what the teacher would like to see and where he needs help, then you can break it down and rehearse at home. Once your child can read, you can write down the small steps on cards or in a notebook so he can refer while at school. You can also give the teachers a copy of the steps so she knows how you are dealing with things and can remind your child to refer to the lists.

Slmkhoo, good reminder about focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses. I fall into the trap too. Especially so for ASD individuals, where studies show that the condition usually exists with things like depression and anxiety, and it helps to build self esteem and confidence since young.

[Double E]

Nugget


Agree with all the mommies here. Just try and put him in mainstream if you think he is ready.

Think of it this way, if your child is ready and can do everything that is required, then he wouldn’t be ASD in the first place right? That’s what I keep telling myself, sometimes when I heard not so good feedback from my boy’s therapist, I will also get upset. But I will think through again, if my son is so good, then he wouldn’t need the therapist!! So slowly, I take those feedback as good intention and try to work with the therapist to overcome it.

I think sometimes these therapists can be contradicting. It is precisely because our kids are ASD, that’s why we go to them.

Helplessmum
My boy can’t comprehend well. He can’t do two-way conversation, needs prompting. And Mashy is right, Aspergers do not have speech or language development delay, my boy has. Whether he is Aspergers or not, does not matter, is still under the ASD umbrella.

As for your comment on Rainbow, I think you took their comment too negatively.
Like water, why didn’t you prepare a bottle of water for your boy to bring to school and EIPIC? I always have a bottle of water for my children everywhere they go, be it to school, EIPIC or outing. I am sure is not difficult for you to prepare it right? With the bottle, it will also encourage your boy to drink more water, is good for him. What do you let him drink when you bring him out?

And for snack time, it is a standard protocol for all EIPIC to have snack time in the lesson. There’s a few reasons for having this snack time:
- to teach them how to open their container and if don’t know, teach them to ask for help
- the therapist can also teach your boy to request for food. Eg, in SPD, the therapist will take the food from him and she will give to my boy only when he asks for it. Thru the exercise, my boy has learned how to say "May I have a biscuit please?" when he was 2 year old plus.
- And with food, the therapist can also encourage the kids to learn how to share.
- If the therapist requests you to bring cook food, she may be assessing your son’s ability to use folk, spoon etc. And if he doesn’t know, they can help u to teach him. Isn’t that good? You can always buy the food if you don’t have time to cook.
- When you say they are not considerate, how are they not considerate? They request you to be puncture because they don’t want your son to miss the lesson. The intention is not to penalise you.

MMR
I have delayed it for my girl. She is 2 year plus now and I haven’t bring her to take the shot.

[helplessmum3]

Mummies, is it ok to give fish oil at night ?

[helplessmum3]

I bring water bottle for my son, my son bottle was empty when pick him up .

[helplessmum3]

Tabgha, hee ok , I try to change my nick.


Imeemee, tabgha , slmkhoo , double e.

I will make use of this CNY to think .

Actually the major is logistic .

[nugget]

Thanks mummies for your support. Whenever my thoughts are shaken, you girls help me to straighten it out :snuggles:


Yes Double E, I totally agree with you. Sometimes the threapist tell me son cannot do this, dunno that... My Hb will say to me \"of cos he dunno, if he knows all these, why do we come here for. \"

[nugget]

helplessmum3:

Mummies, is it ok to give fish oil at night ?

Fish oil is better to be given in the morning. It helps them focus better for the day.

[Lavina]

Some other things I did to prepare my child for P1 are:

- Teach him to change from uniform to PE attire in the toilet with shoes on.
- Teach him what to do when he needs to do big business.
- Teach him how to pack his belongings.
- - Explain some school rules. eg \"leave belongings outside library\" does not include the coins and handkerchief in your pocket.
- Warn him about some classmates who give him bad \"advice\"
Losing things is inevitable. Just label everything and bring the cheap kind that nobody wants and he will find them still there the next day. I also discourage my child from borrowing library books.

That's all I remember

[mashy]

nugget:

Thanks mummies for your support. Whenever my thoughts are shaken, you girls help me to straighten it out :snuggles:


Yes Double E, I totally agree with you. Sometimes the threapist tell me son cannot do this, dunno that... My Hb will say to me \"of cos he dunno, if he knows all these, why do we come here for. \"

Hahaha, ya lor. So far my boy's therapists haven't said such a thing. Just that he hasn't met the age appropriate milestones or just slower.

[specialboymum]

helplessmum3:

Mummies, is it ok to give fish oil at night ?

I think it is ok to give at anytime.

I give him fish oil at night before bedtime. Several reports show that the DHA in fish oil help to inhibit cortisol, which is a stress hormone. In other words, I hope it can help him to sleep better lah.

In the morning, I added a teaspoon of flaxseed into his rice porridge breakfast. Flaxseed also got omega 3 and vitamin Bs for energy.