All About Autism

[kitty2]

Throughout the day,he was not eating much so he should be hungry.He could only finish 5 spoonful of rice after being force-fed It took an hour to finish the 5 spoonful.He doesn't like milk too.

[sharonkhoo]

kitty2:

Throughout the day,he was not eating much so he should be hungry.He could only finish 5 spoonful of rice after being force-fed It took an hour to finish the 5 spoonful.He doesn't like milk too.

Some kids don't need much food. It depends on stage of growth and level of activity. Some preschoolers go through phases when they seem to eat nothing! The 'nothing much' may actually be all he needs to stop him from getting hungry enough. Ask your friend to harden her heart and just let him get really hungry. But she must ensure that he doesn't get any snacks, sweets etc or he will not be hungry. A really hungry child will eat anything unless he is physically unable to chew, swallow or it's really disgusting to him.

[phtthp]

kitty2:

Throughout the day,he was not eating much so he should be hungry.

He could only finish 5 spoonful of rice after being force-fed It took an hour to finish the 5 spoonful.He doesn't like milk too.

Does he have any medical health issue related to stomach digestion or intestine related issue ?

Maybe his stomach not feeling well, so he no appetite to eat ?
Maybe can being him to a Chinese physician, see any way to increase his appetite.

I know of one Chinese physician located just right beside Charis Montessori kindergarten, in Kembangan (near Mrt).
Saw a lot of parents bring their babies, nursery to kindergarten aged children see this Chinese physician, when I fetched kid home from Kindy last time.

Seems like he quite good, in treating your children.
Perhaps you may ask yr friend bring her son there, let him see what's wrong.

[kitty2]

phtthp:

kitty2:

Throughout the day,he was not eating much so he should be hungry.

He could only finish 5 spoonful of rice after being force-fed It took an hour to finish the 5 spoonful.He doesn't like milk too.

Does he have any medical health issue related to stomach digestion or intestine related issue ?

Maybe his stomach not feeling well, so he no appetite to eat ?
Maybe can being him to a Chinese physician, see any way to increase his appetite.

I know of one Chinese physician located just right beside Charis Montessori kindergarten, in Kembangan (near Mrt).
Saw a lot of parents bring their babies, nursery to kindergarten aged children see this Chinese physician, when I fetched kid home from Kindy last time.

Seems like he quite good, in treating your children.
Perhaps you may ask yr friend bring her son there, let him see what's wrong.

She brought her to TCM before but he refused to take the medicine so is useless.

[tiredmummy1972]

Double E:

slmkhoo:

[quote=\"tiredmummy1972\"]Hi all. My 2.5yr old nephew displays many signs of autism. Where can we bring for an assessment? My Bro brought him to PD and asked and was told to wait and see. To observe. But I read up, it's advisable to go for early intervention Asap. Pls help.....

It's too early for a definitive diagnosis. It's a long process, quite stressful for everyone, and they will at best get a provisional diagnosis. However, it doesn't mean that he should not be given the help he needs if his parents are willing to identify his weaknesses and deal with them at home. Ask them to start reading up about it and look for self-help advice. There's a lot around. Early intervention is best done frequently and consistently over a prolonged period, so it's best done in the home. Sending the child to sessions with a therapist doesn't work as well as dedicated one-on-one intervention done at home by a caregiver, in my opinion. You need to catch the behaviours when they happen, and look for the teachable moments.

While I think is good to have dedicated one to one intervention by a caregiver, I feel in this case for tiredmummy's brother, they may need to hear professional advice at this point to give them a headstart. As one who has been on this journey, I can say that not everyone has the strength and clear sound of mind to do this with the child at home by reading self-help advice. For my case, I greatly appreciate the advice from the experts and I look to them as my support network so that if I am not sure how to proceed at home, I have someone ready to ask for help.

tiredmummy, depending on how yr brother wants to approach this. If the signs of autism are very clear, then I think he should insist for the PD to recommend a child psychologist to have a look at his boy. There may not be a firm diagnosis now as your nephew is still young but at least the psychologist can refer him to therapists who can help to assess the weaknesses of your nephew and start working on those with him. If not, you can simply google, there are many such services around which your brother can just call and make appointment with the therapist.

Here is one you can check out. My boy was first assessed here. My son saw the psychologist when he was 2 years old.
http://www.thomsoncdc.com/our-services/ ... -disorder/

If cost is a concern, can go to the polyclinic and get them to refer to KKH or NUH.

Before you get an appointment, you can in the meantime, like what slmkhoo said, read up online and start working with the child first.[/quote]
Thanks all for the advise. I have 4 kids myself so when we see my nephew, it's really obvious he is different. Will check out the links. Thanks!

[tyeogh]

kitty2:

Wonder all your kids have problem eating well?The specialist suspects my friend's 4 yr old kid as Autism.He has problem eating well and need to force feed.My friend is very lost and frustrated :frustrated: He can't communicate well and can't focus in class.The teacher may want him to leave the school

My 4 y.o. son was like that. He would not eat. We brought him to our child development doctor at NUH CDU and she called in a Food Psychiatrist. From the doctor's perspective, it is a very important matter because there can be dire consequences when one is not eating.

We were taught how make him eat. Till today, he is still a fussy eater. I cannot say there is a correlation between autism and eating but some things are not worth waiting to find out. I suggest your friend seeks professional help.

[kitty2]

tyeogh:

kitty2:

Wonder all your kids have problem eating well?The specialist suspects my friend's 4 yr old kid as Autism.He has problem eating well and need to force feed.My friend is very lost and frustrated :frustrated: He can't communicate well and can't focus in class.The teacher may want him to leave the school

My 4 y.o. son was like that. He would not eat. We brought him to our child development doctor at NUH CDU and she called in a Food Psychiatrist. From the doctor's perspective, it is a very important matter because there can be dire consequences when one is not eating.

We were taught how make him eat. Till today, he is still a fussy eater. I cannot say there is a correlation between autism and eating but some things are not worth waiting to find out. I suggest your friend seeks professional help.

May I know how you make him eat? If one's brain is not nourish, it may not be able to develop well. Wonder kkh has food psychiatrist? Who is your child development doctor? Need any referral?

Thanks for sharing

[tyeogh]

tiredmummy1972:

If cost is a concern, can go to the polyclinic and get them to refer to KKH or NUH.

Tiredmummy1972, agree with Double E and slmkhoo. Seek help early. My boy was 2 yrs 3 mths when I brought him to NUH CDU. Like slmkhoo wrote, the diagnosis will not definitive but what you want to do is to start the early intervention.

I like the part where Double E mentioned to get a referral from a polyclinic. This way, your future consultations (and there will be many future consultations) will be cheaper. This is the part I did not do.....

[tyeogh]

Couragemom:

Hi tyeogh,


You flatter me lah! I am aiming for just a HDB 3 room flat, definitely not a condo! I will of course train my son to be independent in his adulthood but like what you said, you don't know what will happen in 5 years let alone 20 years, this is just my Plan B for my son. If he is able to hold a good job and all, well.. The savings will fund my around the world expenses then! *grin*

Aww.....I love you....steel!

[tyeogh]

kitty2:

May I know how you make him eat? If one's brain is not nourish, it may not be able to develop well. Wonder kkh has food psychiatrist? Who is your child development doctor? Need any referral?

Thanks for sharing

The Food Psychiatrist investigated the food we were trying to feed him with, his eating habits, is his jaw weak, is the food bland etc. Basically to understand the current problem.

Then she made recommendations. No food between meals. Tire him out. Make him hungry. Introduce taste. Jaw massage and exercise. Rotate food. Experiment different foods etc.

I remember she taught me to play his favorite TV show Barney just to get him to eat. We were taught to only play Barney during his meal time so that it will become a routine every time he sees Barney, he has to eat, else I will switch it off. I believe that did the trick.

All done over a few weeks of consultations depending how how urgent the situation. That week that he was not eating, even his doctor called us daily.

I used to see Dr Tammy Quek at NUH CDU. She has since left. Can't remember her replacement's or Food Pyschiatrist name. The child development doctor will tie you up with a Food Psychiatrist. I believe NUH CDU has an in-house Food Psychiatrist.

Get a referral from a polyclinic to go NUH CDU. Then you will be charged a lower rate if your child is a citizen. If you cannot afford to wait, just call NUH CDU to make an appt and pay normal rates (I think about $50-$70 per consultation).

I do not know the situation for KKH. All the best.