All About Autism

[fluttershy]

thanks ImMeeMee,


yes, he's been a having a good week this past 2 weeks. The other time I was so frustrated that he kept throwing tantrum before bed, it made me so so sad and i ended up fell asleep in tears

bad days aside, i'm so grateful that he's able to wave bye bye consistently now. Also the cutest thing that he do is that when i said \"kiss, mama\" he will pucker up his lip (like an octopus mouth) and pull me close for me to kiss him :snuggles: i always end up laughing so hard, he looked so cute when his lip is all puckered up waiting for me to kiss him back :love: hope as the time goes by, he will keep improving :xedfingers:

[Liyuan]

I just want to share that my son (age 2,5yrs) reached another milestones last week.. he's able to complete 25 pcs jigsaw puzzles without help or assistance..it's a good sign, right? :snuggles:


today the therapist gave him another new set of 25 pcs jigsaw puzzles & although it took him quite some time to complete, he managed to finish it without any frustrations..he really loves playing puzzles

he's learning his verbs too (e.g. hugging, eating, swimming, sleeping), he picked all the right picture for each verbs when he was asked to, which his behaviour consultant think it's fantastic! :celebrate:

Hi Fluttershy,

Yes indeed =). I supposed you are talking about wooden puzzles. Those are good for visuo spatial and fine motor skills. You can try some part whole puzzles. It is where a picture that is cut up with straight cuts. An example is where you get a picture of an apple with a white background and cut it into 2 parts with a straight line. Then get your son to piece them together. Do use pictures that is relevant in his life (eg. a golf club probably wont make too much sense to him at this point of time). This is a drill to improve on the child cognitive skills and thus it is very important that he piece the pictures in a upright manner and this will give you a hint if he has some form of representational skills as well. But do check with your case manager or therapists if he is ready for this stage as they will know him much better.

Hope it helps

Liyuan
http://www.autismSTEP.com

[Couragemom]

Hi fluttershy,


Woah! That is great! My boy who is turning 3 at the end of the month is still stuck at the 25 pcs puzzle level. He used to love doing them but nowadays he is not so ‘on’ already. Hee… Hee…

Just like what ImMeeMee had said so eloquently, the fear and pain in us will subside (or at least reside in a less prominent part of our heart!!!) as we see the improvements in our very special darlings as the days go by.

[Couragemom]

Hi parents,


I like to ask a silly question (please don’t laugh at my ignorance!). Do our special darlings know how to lie? I read or heard from somewhere that due to their literal or black-&-white perspective, they are poor liars.

Recently I realized that my son (he turns 3 this month, hurray!!!) will tell a lie to save his skin. For example, he is playing toys together with his sister and he accidentally broke a toy and I will ask ‘who break the toy? Is it xxxx?’ He will then answer ‘No, jie jie spoilt toy’ but the actual fact was that he was the culprit. Then I will get angry and say ‘mommy saw xxx break the toy, not jie jie. Xxxx is a naughty boy’. My darling son will get upset and rushed up to me to hug me and say ‘xxxx is a good boy’.

Now that he turns 3 in a week’s time, I am starting to think of the assessment issue, and whether to go for it soon or to wait. If any parents have any good psychologist to recommend, please PM me. Thanks!

[humpty]

Hi


I am new to this forum and would like to say Hi! to all the mummies and daddies here!

I’ve got a boy who is 4yo and seems to be possible ASD. I’m now trying to teach him to sit still in class. He is now in full day child care and they have lessons that require the children to sit within a pre-defined square on the floor. My boy has trouble respecting this rule when the lesson doesn’t appeal to him (e.g. chinese class). And he will start to wander around the room and play with the books/toys. The teachers have tried all means and ways to get him to join the class or at least just sit within the box…but he won’t comply. None of the other children have this issue. And they are saying that by this age, they should be able to understand the class rules and the consequences of not doing so… My son is constantly in a "war" with the teachers about this. They think they he is not obeying authority and is disruptive to the class which often results in lose-lose outcomes on for both the teachers and my son…

I’m wondering how to teach him to do so… any ideas? It’s causing him to be cast as a "misfit" even by the other children. So it’s quite a serious problem when he doesn’t follow the social norms of the classroom…

Is there OT that can teach this to children? And if so, what do they do? What are strategies that we can use to get him to sit still even when he is not engaged in the activity? He does really well for his favourite classes/teachers and can complete tasks and sit with full attention… only when he is bored (e.g. chinese…)

[yap_susan]

snowyqueen:

optrex80:

My boy is 5 and was previously diagnosed with very mild ASD.

Wish to know if any parents here can share with me their experiences on how ASD child enrolling into mainstream primary school adapt well in there.

Hi there,
My girl was diagnosed with ASD at K2. For her case, child psychologist certified she was fit for MS. In P1, she hardly knew language or maths because she was a loner doing her things in school. Hard for me to coach her as well since she couldn't concentrate. In first half of P1, she was complained by Teachers she sometimes walked around, did her own things and didn't talk much. Her results was average. So during parents meet teachers session, her form teacher asked me if I should consider transferring her which I refused. I couldn't accept n didnt think her condition was so bad. Then I thought I should pull up her results n correct her behaviour slowly. I was determined n through harsh approach, surprisingly she reacted n ended doing well for SA2. Then, I began to see hope. I also realized with good results n lots of encouragement, it helped to bring up her self-esteem.
In her 6 years of Primary school MS education, we had lots of up and down. Her condition became \"normalized\" as years went by but needed a lot of counselling to correct her wrong doings. By the time she graduated last year, she only managed to make one good friend who was very understanding towards her. She also attended regular dialogue sessions with counsellor till P6. Academic wise, she was in top class since P4. But although she has very good memory and processing skills as discovered during an IQ test in K2 but she was poor in Oral communication, a ASD trait. She was always in the near bottom of class for oral exam.
She is in Sec 1 now and she is doing IP in a girls school. We are very lucky because she adapted very well and she also made a lot of new friends there. Now, one almost could not differentiate her from a normal teenage. She is even being nominated for this year ECHA although we do not know if she can get it. Whatever the outcome, we are already very proud of her. We never expect a child like her could progress to this stage.
I wish to encourage all the parents with ASD kids, it is possible to conquer the difficulties in MS school and it is also highly possible they will become \"normalized\" though retaining some ASD traits which they need to carry with them for life. We need to give a lot of encouragement and support and be sensitive towards their feelings when dealing with this type of children. At times when I felt like giving up, I always tell myself, we can do it and we shall conquer the problems and issues one by one, patiently and with great determination. Lastly, because of the fact that they have this ASD traits in them, they also possess some talent which you need to identify and develop them on the bright side.

This is such an encouraging post.

[Couragemom]

Hi Humpty,


Welcome to this thread. Hmm… Regarding your son’s sitting down during certain lessons that he isn’t keen on, OT sessions can help. Or maybe a simple solution is to buy a floor mat for your son and train him to sit on it at home and reward him accordingly? Like if he can sit quietly on the mat for 1 min then give him a reward then stretch the time longer? After he is able to do so, then you give the teachers an exact mat and ask him to sit on it during Chinese lessons?

[Couragemom]

Hi Humpty,


ABA or Sped lessons can also help your son learn about the right social cues in a classroom setting. Going for Chinese enrichment class also helps to improve your son’s receptive Chinese language ability and he can understand what is going on during Chinese lesson in his cc.

Are you planning to bring your son for an assessment when he turns 5/6? Becos a child diagnosed officially with a label can apply for Mother Tongue exemption when he enters mainstream primary school. If that is your intention, then perhaps you can ‘drop’ Chinese for your son in his cc now by granting permission to the teacher to let him play his own toys in a quiet corner when Chinese lesson is being conducted. But this is an extreme move and I would advise you to think through carefully.

[tyeogh]

humpty:

Hi


I am new to this forum and would like to say Hi! to all the mummies and daddies here!

I've got a boy who is 4yo and seems to be possible ASD. I'm now trying to teach him to sit still in class. He is now in full day child care and they have lessons that require the children to sit within a pre-defined square on the floor. My boy has trouble respecting this rule when the lesson doesn't appeal to him (e.g. chinese class). And he will start to wander around the room and play with the books/toys. The teachers have tried all means and ways to get him to join the class or at least just sit within the box...but he won't comply. None of the other children have this issue. And they are saying that by this age, they should be able to understand the class rules and the consequences of not doing so... My son is constantly in a \"war\" with the teachers about this. They think they he is not obeying authority and is disruptive to the class which often results in lose-lose outcomes on for both the teachers and my son...

I'm wondering how to teach him to do so... any ideas? It's causing him to be cast as a \"misfit\" even by the other children. So it's quite a serious problem when he doesn't follow the social norms of the classroom...

Is there OT that can teach this to children? And if so, what do they do? What are strategies that we can use to get him to sit still even when he is not engaged in the activity? He does really well for his favourite classes/teachers and can complete tasks and sit with full attention... only when he is bored (e.g. chinese...)

Hi Humpty,
You described what my son went through when he first attended kindergarten. For him, whenever he is tasked to do something he does not like, he will lay on the floor and bang his head on the floor till he gets high from the pain. Then he will cry.

I agree with Couragemom in getting your child assessed with the aim of seeking the correct treatment for his condition, if any. When a child behaves differently from his peers, it is a sign that he may not be normal. He may be having certain conditions that prevent him from performing normal activities.

The medical doctor should be the best person to recommend whether OT is suitable for your child.

[tyeogh]

Just want to do a shout out to all parents here. My boy is 4 yrs 10 mths now. The OT, ST and prayers worked fantastic. He is as normal as normal can be. Perhaps it is the frequency of attending such classes that he is now trained to be very communicative. He runs to me every now and then when he finishes writing 1 to 10 to say "Daddy, see I do 1 to 10. Can I have star?". We give a star to our other children as a reward for doing homework which they trade in for toys. Don’t think he understands the trading part. He just mimics their request.


This boy is a gem. He is singled out to be favoured by both paternal and maternal grandparents. There was this day his mainstream school teacher gave out candy. He brought back 3 more for each of his 3 elder siblings. It was sweet and thoughtful of him. It probably summed him up in a nutshell. He shows concern when any of the family members are not around. Daddy, where mama (grandma) go? Daddy where mommy go?

And whenever I am about to cane him for misbehaving, he retorts "Daddy, angry no good. I don’t like angry. Happy good." The stroke still landed. A for logic and persuasion. F for getting away with it. No choice, I am the daddy. Haha.

Recently, he learned how to drink direct from a cup. So he announces to me with pride, Daddy, see, I so good boy.

Seeing him in this state makes all the efforts and sacrifices worthwhile.

To all parents here, hang in there. I think there may be light at the end of the tunnel. Does not look to be an incoming train…