Jump to content

Stephanie

Members
  • Content Count

    504
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Stephanie

  1. Apolgies I haven't been on the forum for a while did you mean the meetings in Staines? I believe Aspergers and Autism Meetings still go on monthly at the Town Hall in Spelthorne (Knowle Green), if you Google Carers Spelthorne I think it will give you their website and the details. I do not attend but the group that do are freindly.

  2. Just to add about the criticisms of Tom's Mum ... we all do our best, I am sure she is doing hers, we only got to see half an hour of his life and she had seen 16 years and I am sure she has had a hard slog at it like we all have. It's a mothers job to protect her children, I am sure that is all she was doing. Surprised no one mentioned about him drinking at 15 .. that is the only thing I would criticise!
  3. Loved it and hated it all at the same time - could see my son in all 3 of them, was a glimpse into our futures, and we both thought "hmmm daunting". Tom, Olly and Alex were all great ... and there was a lot of humour in the programme. Did you notice that they used the words "weird" and "for some reason" a lot - my son always says them too .. and we found that weird for some reason (lol!) It raised a lot of awareness and got some good information in ... but I would have liked the programme to have been on for longer, it made me want to ask a lot of questions at the end of it. Stephanie x
  4. I am having a busy day posting on here today - I don't visit very often but when I do, I go for it Bike riding - my son still can't do it and he's 7. They are having a cycling course at school today and he is reluctantly sitting out as he still has stabilisers on his bike. Can I just add that other NT kids in his class can't ride one yet either so I might be over-reacting. He just has never seemed to be that bothered with riding his bike (until now, when he realises most kids in his class can ride one). He doesn't get "why" he's riding it, and when we suggest he goes out on it around the block etc, he sees it as a chore. I have put his inability to ride a bike down to the fact that he walks on his toes, and his hamstrings are tight, that his co-ordination is poor and his balance is not great. I didn't learn to ride one until I was 7 or so, but I was more committed to learning than he is. (He has learned to swim this year which I'm dead chuffed about!) Has anyone got any tips ...... Does anyone have a child who walks on his toes that can pedal a bike easily ..... Are there any specific bikes that are more suitable to kids with difficulties .... My 3 year old (NT) is not great at pedalling either and he also walks slightly on his toes ... hence why I was wondering if it was relative to toe walking. Thanks,
  5. Having just nearly lost our youngest ... he has been very sick in hospital the past few weeks with pneumonia and various associated problems (he's on the mend!), it highlighted to me the lack of empathy shown by our 7 year old son with High Functioning Autism. Basically he missed his brother but didn't feel sorry for him or anything ... he was more concerned with when I was going to be home to pack his lunchbox properly rather than show concern for his brothers illness. He loves his brother to bits (always talking about him etc and showing him off to the kids at school etc, saying how cute he looks in certain clothes blah blah) Also his lack of sympathy was highlighted in his school report. He knows how he should feel, why people might be sad at certain things but he can't express any empathy of his own - he isn't nonchalant or anything, he just seems to not know how to react properly. If I said "Jenny's cat's died" he would say "oh, that's sad" but wouldn't feel sad like I would. He loves us - his parents and his brother quite openly and I know he has feelings of love for us, but with other people/animals he just doesn't have it. He seems to have a lot of empathy for himself ... he is aware of his own feelings (can't always express them), but not other peoples. How does this move forward in time, is empathy something you can kind of learn, how do autistic adults cope with it and how do they actually "feel". I get him books from the library on feelings and emotions ... is there anything else I could get?? Any book recommendations? Any feedback appreciated.
  6. I posted on here a couple of months back about my son toe walking and I was looking into prism lenses and getting his eyes checked. My son is 7 with HFA and does really well, his sensory problems are becoming less of an issue but he still has problems with walking (walks without heel striking), co-ordination (riding a bike/ball skills/bumps into people accidentally and is generally a bit clumsy. Am I clutching at straws to think Behavioural Optometry might help?? I have been looking into getting his eyes checked out by a specialist Optomotrist, I phoned one yesterday to ask about the service they provide, and basically you get a full functional eye test for �185.00 + the cost of any glasses etc. (Here was me thinking it would be free because he's a child!!) Also, it was 50 miles away from where we live. Obviously I am willing to pay it to get him checked if necessary but I wondered if there was anyway we could get this done on the NHS - or even cheaper!!! I would love to hear anyones experiences with similar. Thanks, Stephanie
  7. With regards to the reading part, sounds like hyperlexia. I would suggest you start there then look into autism taking on board all the other trauma issues.
  8. My son didn't have any sense of smell at all until he was five. Now at 7 his sense of smell is totally the opposite, he can smell things no one else can ....... it is far more heightened than your average person. Some smells really bother him. This is great until someone smelly gets in a lift ... and he starts saying rather loudly "ewwww what's that smell, is it that man - he stinks!" or at Play Centres where he has to go and identify which child it is that needs a fresh nappy and loudly tells the parents "this baby needs it's butt changing!"
  9. .... and after watching the mens one last night, I am glad to be a woman!!! Put me right off my dinner - yes ... it was meat and two veg! Bit of an eye opener those programmes - but very informative and I'm sure they encourage a lot of people to see a Doctor and get themselves fixed.
  10. How about a swim nappy and then just regular swim shorts with the inner net kind of thing?? Or even some tight fitting trunks/rubber pants as a layer between the two - just to bide some extra time to get him out of the pool. How about one of those all in one sun/swim suit type things?
  11. Hi my son is 7 and high functioning. I would like him to join a group/club to give him a new interest and occupy his time (at this point he is not keen but once he starts I know he would like it!). He is very structured and disciplined, not so hot on athletic stuff but he is very intelligent and logical. He has friends at school etc and is able to make friends easily (although I don't know what they think of him! lol). He follows instructions really well, is well behaved and motivated. He would look cute in a uniform! Any advice on:- What groups allow kids with ASD's? Do you have to tell them your child has special needs? What kind of groups would be suitable. Things he might like/might not like. I don't know anything about scouts/cubs etc but I thought something like that would be good for him. If anyone has any experience or advice, I would really appreciate it. Thanks,
  12. Ditto to the above!!! My son is 7, we have just come back from Florida and thank god for the Nintendo DS we bought him a couple of weeks before, he sat there for 10 hours on the plane without moaning, moving or getting bored. My sister said to me "you should get rid of that DS, he's obsessed" but in all honesty it is a godsend. He can keep himself occupied by rotating around doing the same things - time on his PC, his Nintendo DS, his Tamagotchis, watching Tom & Jerry, Drawing. If he's not doing these things he doesn't know what to do with himself and generally gets noisy and starts swinging his 3 year old brother around. I have to suggest some things for him to do like lego or just open up a toybox and find a few things he might have forgotten about. He doesn't watch much TV or do anything else to "chill" or occupy his time. Drives me mad though when he's bored!!! I think this is generic to most kids whether they are on the spectrum or not though.
  13. I just typed up a whole reply to this then retracted it as I didn't want to hurt anyone who has more than one child on the spectrums feelings. I will contact you personally.
  14. My son still rides a bike with stabilisers at 7, he's not interested in learning to ride a bike as he doesn't see the point. My other son who is 3 and NT has trouble pedalling. I wondered if it was related to the fact that they both walk on their toes and have very short ham strings? I think perserverance and patience are needed. As for shoe laces, he doesn't usually wear them but I am just teaching him how to do it.
  15. Just a quick hello and update. Lots of people have emailed me as I haven't been on here for a while. The reason I haven't been around is actually that we are all doing really well, especially Asa who seems to be absolutely great at the moment, he is doing fab at school, has friends, is coping really well with social situations etc etc. In fact, really he isn't showing many traits at all and it's a bit worrying in case they take his 10 hour statement off him!! He just seems to have matured somehow - far less anxious and more grown up and able to deal with things. We are all a lot more relaxed and happier as a result. I have been put on anti-depressants which was a bit of a shock to say the least ... as I didn't think I was depressed. I have been having panic attacks especially during the night so I went to see the Doctor about it and here I am on anti-depressants! I have been offered counselling but declined for now. These tablets have really taken the edge off ... and have made me realise that I was suffering from "paranoid parent syndrome", I was always a bit too cautious, thinking the worst scenario might happen in any event etc. I would recommend to anyone who might be suffering panic attacks or high anxiety in silence to have a chat to your Doctor. Anyway, if things change (as they probably will - unfortunately), I will be back around asking for your advice as I do appreciate the help and emotional support I have received from you all. Happy New Year, Stephanie.
  16. After getting a referral through OT (yes they did something good for once!) I took my son to the Podiatry and Gait clinic today as he has walked on his toes since he started walking and is now 6 and a half. Over the last few months I have noticed that his ankles are slightly turning inwards as a consequence of how he walks. When he is standing still or running, he uses flat feet and the Podiatrist confirmed that there is nothing structually wrong with his legs. My younger son does it too. He said that we need to stop my son walking like that and encourage him to walk properly otherwise there will be long term consequences (he also has tight hamstrings and poor muscle tone as a result of how he walks). He said that kids walking on their toes for sensory input is nonsense and if we want him to stop walking like that we can. He said walking aids/shoes etc wouldn't be right for him as he will rely on them too much. He said our journey will be long and hard and that we will need to put in 3 times the effort with him that we would with an NT child, that he needs to be doing activities at all times, exercising, drawing, running around in the garden, swimming etc etc to develop his muscles and hand to eye co-ordination. Our only problem is getting our sons buy in ... I have promised a new Tamagotchi on November 1st if he tries his hardest to walk on flat feet, other than bribes, and threats of what might happen, I can't think of anything to encourage him not to toe walk. Also, he hates sport because he doesn't think he's good at it (and he isn't really because he finds it too much effort and can't co-ordinate himself), he can't ride a bike, and he is not really into outdoor things, walking tires him, but he loves climbing and doing that kind of thing, playgrounds, chasing around the house with his brother etc. He goes to a disability sports club once a week but there isn't much running around. He'd rather be watching Tom & Jerry or on his PC. He's not overweight or anything, in fact too skinny if anything because he eats a very limited diet. What can we do to help him ... other than nag? Everytime I see him on his toes, I am saying "heels!" How can I get him strengthened up and improve his muscle tone? Any good ideas, equipment, shoes etc I should know about. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.
  17. I have read on here a few comments from people with 6 year olds. Is this a time of great change in an ASD kids life? I only ask because over the last 12 months I have noticed my son (now 6 and a half) seems to have developed a lot of the more text book autistic mannerisms ... speech volume, jabbers to himself a lot, over obsessive, over anxious, talks constantly about tamagotchis whether anyone is listening or not, sensory auditory problems, bossy, challenges other kids a lot. He has also reverted back to jumping up and down when he is excited ... which he hasn't done for the last 2 years. Is this a normal thing? There was me hoping, he was going to lose a lot of his autistic traits and not gain some! Stephanie
  18. I have read on here a few comments from people with 6 year olds. Is this a time of great change in an ASD kids life? I only ask because over the last 12 months I have noticed my son (now 6 and a half) seems to have developed a lot of the more text book autistic mannerisms ... speech volume, jabbers to himself a lot, over obsessive, over anxious, talks constantly about tamagotchis whether anyone is listening or not, sensory auditory problems, bossy, challenges other kids a lot. He has also reverted back to jumping up and down when he is excited ... which he hasn't done for the last 2 years. Is this a normal thing? There was me hoping, he was going to lose a lot of his autistic traits and not gain some!
  19. My son who is 6 and half seems to be struggling with noise moreso than ever. He never used to mind crowded places, or noisy places. I notice now when I take him anyway he is shouting "why are these people all talking" or "make them shut up" and sometimes holding his hands over his ears or pulling wincing facial expressions. We went to McDonalds and the cinema today and he tolerated them really well but I could tell he was a bit uncomfortable. I just wondered why this is happening now when it never bothered him all that much before. It just seems to be crowded places or constant noises that bother him ... he is fine with fireworks etc.
  20. If you like really early mornings, hot sun and have kids that don't get bored with seeing "old stuff" lol - then you will be fine!
  21. My son is a pain in the backside when it comes to food. I thought it would have got better by now, but it hasn't -- eats the same old things and wont try anything new. I had him checked out by a nutrition specialist and he was getting all the right foods (unbelievably!) so they wouldnt help me further. I am hoping one day he will just snap out of it. If anyone comes back with any brilliant ideas I will be glad to hear them too. Sorry for the hijack!
  22. Not sure how to go about reducing the stims without some kind of diversion. My sons stims seem to come and go, they last 6 weeks then disappear and manifest into something else - at the minute he rubs his face and also does a lot of jargoning (mainly about his tamagotchi). When he is really going for it, I try diversion ... eating, drinking, showing him something different. I find he doesn't do any stims when we are out and is quite straight acting. My SALT said as long as it doesn't hurt anyone and as he doesn't do it in public, let him do it as it is his way of coping, but I would like him to stop. I always worry they will turn into an OCD thing. I will scan through my library of books and see if I can find any useful advice for you.
  23. Can't believe this is still on here. Extreme Behaviour by Hinder.
  24. OT visited my son at school and looked at the awkward way in which he holds a pencil (kind of a relaxed palm grasp), his writing is OK but he really needs to have some help with holding his pencil. She suggested an elastic band around the pencil (we tried this plus other grips in the past). She also recommended a writing slope (I have doubts!) As the OT is er, wishy washy and not very helpful, I thought I would call upon the professionals (you parents) for advice. Has anyone tried a pencil grip that actually works and gets your child to hold their pen in a tripod grip properly?? If so, can you let me know what these grips are called and where to get them. I have tried the triangular grips, the plain foam grips and chunkier pens before.
×
×
  • Create New...