All About Autism
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HelplessMom34:
Hi HelplessMom34,Hi all,
Am new here and I have a boy who has been diagnosed with GDD since 2yr old...He is now at 5.5 yrs old can say simple sentences with 3-6 words each but I don't understand why he is having difficulty expressing himself like telling us what he did in school etc? He also cannot really differentiate between yesterday, today, tomorrow. After the childcare, he went on to mainstream K1 and currently in K2. He does not have difficult with his academic work but speech wise still slower than his peers probably 1-1.5 yrs behind in speech wise.
One thing I noted is he can understand instructions to do stuffs etc but why cant he understand when I ask him what he did at school etc...But he does not seem to understand well when I ask him questions related to the story etc (similar to comprehension style). I have been getting very depressed over this and I am very worried because he is due to enter P1 next year and I don't know if he could cope with it :(.
...I am getting very worried now because he has only 1 yr left to develop on his understanding for speech wise.
Any information is well appreciated. Thank you.
Wow, I thought the above was actually describing my boy instead! My boy is now 6 yrs 3 mths old and he is in his deferment year repeating K2 in a mainstream kindergarten!
In August last year, we have already registered him for P1 but due to his speech delay almost exactly like yours, we decided to seriously consider the option to defer his P1 and therefore went to consult the development doctor. We also wanted to do the IQ test and have a full psychological assessment report regarding his various abilities (cognitive, speech, daily living etc) and school readiness recommendation. Turned out after going through this exercise, we were much clearer about our boy's strength and weaknesses and obtained the relevant letters for P1 deferment.
I always believe my boy needs more time and even his school kindy teachers and classmates could not understand why my boy could not talk like them. But he can write beautifully, read and understand simple instructions. So I told them my boy needs time and eventually, he will be there!
After crossing 6 years old, true enough, he started talking more! Only now, recently, then he can understand \"tomorrow\" and \"Saturday\" ie. weekends what is he going to do! Also only recently he started to engage more in conversation with us. Two-three words sentences to-and-fro. We have weekly speech therapy whereby there will be daily home-work assigned to us. Also daily academic time sit down to do writing and reading.
Boy has finally settled down quite nicely into his new kindergarten and I am feeling quite happy with his progress. I think this year of deferment is really a good time for him to catch up and to attain to a full 7 years of age before starting primary school. On hindsight, actually we should have \"deferred\" him much earlier during his nursery year because I remember starting him on nursery(2) when he was just 3 years 3 months, like a baby still, going to a very large kindy for N2. Really not suitable so withdrawn 6 months later.
Anyway, I think you are doing well and doing your very best HelplessMom34! At this stage, I would suggest that you consult your boy's developmental doctor to discuss about various options available.
All the best!
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:xedfingers: :xedfingers:
ImMeeMee:
:xedfingers: :goodpost: ....we mummies must jia you all the way!!Tamama
During the time when my doter was 5 yo, I took one year to look for a mainstream cc for her. At that time, I wanted my doter to have some interactions with the NT peers and learn some social skills.
It was a tough year. Call after call. Visit after visit. its either rejection, no vacancies, fees were exorbitantly high, or just something which didnt fit right. So much so that one day I penned this while tearing in the MRT train.
天地之大，竟无我容身之处
It truly reflected my despair at that point of time. After a year of much pain, we finally found one center for her. One the first day of my doter going to the center, I followed her and saw that she was able to adapt well. So I penned this.
寻寻觅觅，终于有了着落。一整年的心血，总算没有白费。心存感激和欣慰。
It was a true reflection of my relief and gratefulness at that time.
Just wanted to share my ups and downs during that period. It may look like there is no light at the end of the tunnel now, but it will come to pass. In the midst of all this unknown, always remember that you are part of the equation as well. If you feel despair, vent it out, find a shoulder to cry on, fall back on your spouse or family, do something to clear your mind. Take a short break and find your own compass.
When you have a higher energy level you may find that you will have a more positive perspective. All the best. :hugs: -
autism is not easy. my friend had to go through the emotional stress the worst part is in planning for the child future. i dont know if this will help, someone recommended an autism material, it think it is on \"other recommendations\" link on http://www.sacredsagesg.com.
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helplessmum3:
My session with the doc was based on my son's development n current situation n my goals. So it is actually quite difficult to explain to u. Perhaps u might want to ask yourself first what is your plan for your son. what do you want to achieve for short, mid n long term goal. I guess it would be easier when u have a clearer pic on what u really want n what u r willing to \"sacrifice\" for him. Oops sorry I guess I didn't really answer to your question.Jme,
What did u ask m what type is answer u get ?
I want to learn more too -
Hi HelplessMum34
I am SAHD because of son condition. i just want to share with you my similar experience. My boy was also diagnosed with GDD at 2. He attended Rainbow and we went through many therapies.
Through the years, I have work very closely with the therapies & teachers, so as to better guide him at home. for example, we used to have a Speech-therapist from SPD, an Indian-national, many parents would not prefer him as he has strong Indian-English accent. However, he give good advices & materials. Based on these, I work on my boy daily without fail.
Today, my boy is 8 (going 9) attending P3 in mainstream neighbourhood school. He is a very talkative (fluent English) & have many friends. Well, not all rosy though, academically still struggling (below average) - but never fail. My wife and myself are very pleased & proud of him. We see him as a vehicle travelling at 20km/hr while others are speeding at 100km/hr, but so what eventually he will still get there
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mel2sg:
:goodpost: jiayou!Hi HelplessMum34
I am SAHD because of son condition. i just want to share with you my similar experience. My boy was also diagnosed with GDD at 2. He attended Rainbow and we went through many therapies.
Through the years, I have work very closely with the therapies & teachers, so as to better guide him at home. for example, we used to have a Speech-therapist from SPD, an Indian-national, many parents would not prefer him as he has strong Indian-English accent. However, he give good advices & materials. Based on these, I work on my boy daily without fail.
Today, my boy is 8 (going 9) attending P3 in mainstream neighbourhood school. He is a very talkative (fluent English) & have many friends. Well, not all rosy though, academically still struggling (below average) - but never fail. My wife and myself are very pleased & proud of him. We see him as a vehicle travelling at 20km/hr while others are speeding at 100km/hr, but so what eventually he will still get there -
ImMeeMee:
I 2nd that. :goodpost:
:goodpost: jiayou!mel2sg:
Hi HelplessMum34
I am SAHD because of son condition. i just want to share with you my similar experience. My boy was also diagnosed with GDD at 2. He attended Rainbow and we went through many therapies.
Through the years, I have work very closely with the therapies & teachers, so as to better guide him at home. for example, we used to have a Speech-therapist from SPD, an Indian-national, many parents would not prefer him as he has strong Indian-English accent. However, he give good advices & materials. Based on these, I work on my boy daily without fail.
Today, my boy is 8 (going 9) attending P3 in mainstream neighbourhood school. He is a very talkative (fluent English) & have many friends. Well, not all rosy though, academically still struggling (below average) - but never fail. My wife and myself are very pleased & proud of him. We see him as a vehicle travelling at 20km/hr while others are speeding at 100km/hr, but so what eventually he will still get there
We only start to work on my son academic stuff mid last year. Esp his chinese, he really is lagging behind. He is still at nursery grade for his Chinese. But I told his tutor, it is ok. Our end game is PSLE. For any subjects, pass or fail doesnt matter for now, as long as he passed PSLE 6 years later, we are happy enough. -
nugget:
I 2nd that. :goodpost:
:goodpost: jiayou!ImMeeMee:
[quote=\"mel2sg\"]Hi HelplessMum34
I am SAHD because of son condition. i just want to share with you my similar experience. My boy was also diagnosed with GDD at 2. He attended Rainbow and we went through many therapies.
Through the years, I have work very closely with the therapies & teachers, so as to better guide him at home. for example, we used to have a Speech-therapist from SPD, an Indian-national, many parents would not prefer him as he has strong Indian-English accent. However, he give good advices & materials. Based on these, I work on my boy daily without fail.
Today, my boy is 8 (going 9) attending P3 in mainstream neighbourhood school. He is a very talkative (fluent English) & have many friends. Well, not all rosy though, academically still struggling (below average) - but never fail. My wife and myself are very pleased & proud of him. We see him as a vehicle travelling at 20km/hr while others are speeding at 100km/hr, but so what eventually he will still get there
We only start to work on my son academic stuff mid last year. Esp his chinese, he really is lagging behind. He is still at nursery grade for his Chinese. But I told his tutor, it is ok. Our end game is PSLE. For any subjects, pass or fail doesnt matter for now, as long as he passed PSLE 6 years later, we are happy enough.[/quote]Hi hi,
I third that! We need to prioritize our goals for our darlings. Like for my son, his current N1 playgroup class doesn't do much 'academic' stuff, just playing, singing etc. I decided not to change to another school that is more academically inclined as I felt he needs an environment where he can play and hopefully pick up some social cues from his friends. If need be, I will defer him one more year to catch up academically when the time comes. -
I suppose most of us r more "relax n forgiving" when comes to academic stuff n focus more on therapies. But how about to our NT primary school children? Do you also adopt the same attitude? I find myself trying very hard to strike a balance between my two kids. On one hand, I take it very easy though I know my son is lagging far behind in terms of speech, academic n even motor skills. I know where his level is n I manage my expectation rather well. Every tiniest improvement brings me joy n if he regressed, I will still be more "forgiving".
On the other hand, I realized I couldn’t help it but naturally have higher expectation on my NT girl n will get frustrated when she couldn’t understand a concept or question and her carelessness in school work. She just started P1 n I have been thinking what kind of a approach am I taking. Do I go easy on her or do I let her join in the race of Singapore school system, a route that we all know lots of classes n revision involve.
Sometimes, I have guilt feeling like " oh, I am spending way more on my son than on my girl due to the therapies, is that unfair to her?" or " how can I have higher expectation of her just because she is NT"
May I ask any of the mothers here having the same issue towards your NT kids? -
jme:
I have it quite easy because my NT daughter is quite a model daughter in all ways - well-behaved, good-natured, academically strong, kind to her Aspie sister. I did have some guilt feelings about spending so much energy on my Aspie girl, but I realised that my NT girl, being 2 yrs younger, was also benefiting in some ways as she was learning alongside (and mastering the things faster!). It has also taught her empathy and the ability to accept differences between people. I do set different standards for them, but I don't think I push my NT girl hard - if anything, I push less because she manages by herself. I think I appreciate her patience and abilities more because of the contrast.Sometimes, I have guilt feeling like \" oh, I am spending way more on my son than on my girl due to the therapies, is that unfair to her?\" or \" how can I have higher expectation of her just because she is NT\"
May I ask any of the mothers here having the same issue towards your NT kids?
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