RE: Kids w/ Classic Autism, PDD-NOS & Speech Delays

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Welcome back Bauhauswife! I've been wondering how you were doing.

Yeah nice to see you again Bauhauswife, was wondering how things were going with you and your boy.

Regarding the posts above, yes we do PECS he's quite good about telling us the food items he wants, so we need to move onto other things.

I took him to his first holiday programme today (for kids with ASDs). All the while beforehand I was telling him "James is going to a holiday programme" and "Its like Kindy" and other things like that, he was listening and pretty interested, and keen to get out the door and in the car. When we got there he was pretty excited. I spent about 20 minutes there following him around, then told him I was leaving then went to hug him and got a few whacks in the face and attempted headbutts..and also tight cuddles!
Its not intended to hurt of course, its his way of saying he's angry . I'm fine with it, I know it upsets his Mum and his therapists, they feel hurt as in hurt emotions, but I know its because he's a boy and it actually makes me But obviously it won't be so funny when he's 6 foot 2. Thats why communication is so important.

When my wife picked him up she said he was happy and had had a good day.

Good for you. Yeah I don't think giving up is good option although I know the feeling so well.
We still read my son books like we have for..well four years I guess. He doesn't look at the pictures, and later just rips the pages out, it would seem futile but I'm not going to give up, one day he might take on.

I must admit to being a little worried as my wife has found out she is Pregnant, which is exciting but also scary. At our age the chance of DS goes up and then of course theres our history with ASD. My thoughts are will it be none, one or both? Whatever comes we will just do our best.

Nice to hear from you Bauhauswife

Yes this is a source for frustration for us as well. Our main concern is she won't be able to be sufficiently independent when my wife and I are invalid pensioners. But then I am probably a worry wart.

Congratulations Nostromo! all the best for your baby.

LOL! sounds very cute. My daughter just had her 6th birthday with close family.

She was beaming from ear to ear in anticipation of blowing out the candles. Our birthday guests all seemed to not mind her quietness. Had a short holiday in Queensland (north Australia) and daughter enjoyed herself.

My daughter is currently getting a little over-excited so will look into ramping up her learning sessions when we recover from jetlag,

Thanks very much cyberdad
Hey we're bang on the same age..can you imagine a new born arriving next year in the house!? Me neither

My grandfather was 45 when my uncle was born! Try not to worry too much.

Congrats to Bauhauswife on not giving up, and congrats to Nostromo on the baby!

Bauhauswife, I think that you are totally right in focusing on your most important goal of communication. The president of the local Autism Society said that one of her secrets was prioritization. Mine would be prioritization, not listening to people that predict the worst, working a little on my goals every day, research, listening to others (but not following bad advice), and creative problemsolving. My son's therapist said that one of her frustrations is parents starting a new therapy every two weeks and then quittting before any progress is made.

Congratulations nostromo! That is exciting! The plus side is that you will be coming from a position of knowledge if your new baby has any of the same issues - although the most likely scenario is still that he or she will be perfectly normal. I must admit I sometimes worry about my little 6 month old DD...so far so good, but every time she flaps an arm or looks away from my face to a bright light or something I instantly worry!

Not feeling too chipper this evening. I've just been filling out the 'supplementary information' for a needs assessment, to see if we qualify for any respite care. I didn't think we'd need it a few weeks ago, but DH goes away for two weeks to China in a couple of months and I am dreading it. I just don't know how I'm going to get through 14 mornings, 14 dinnertimes, 14 bath and bedtimes....let alone have milk in the fridge and clean clothes for everyone! So I have to write this essay about how awful my son is so I can get some help. Bah.

That's so awesome!! Congratulations!! Your fears are valid, but the odds are in your favor when it comes to a DS diagnosis, only about a 2% chance. The DS was a cake walk until the Autism showed up on the scene.
As far as giving up goes, my son is full of surprises and there are things contained within his mind that I am completely unaware of until they manifest. A few weeks ago he had a runny nose, when I went to wipe his nose, he blew!! I had no idea he even knew how to do that, it just happened!! So at some point, he picked up that skill, most likely from being at school and seeing the other kids do it. But it's a function, and if he can learn that function, then he can learn others.

So yes, keep at it, because even though their expressive communication seems nearly non-existent, we have no way of knowing when the input will become output. Keep plugging away.

You can call it being a worry wart, but it's also a reality for some, and as time passes, you may want to make provisions for such a possibility. I have to come to terms with the possibility that one day I may no longer be able to physically care for my son. With DS the life expectancy is somewhere around 50-60 years old, but the Alzheimer's usually sets in long before that. Having done the math, I don't think it's a stretch to say that my son will be ready for an assisted living facility right around the same time my husband and I will be. I wonder if they'd let us be roomies?!

That's just nutters. It sounds like they haven't researched Autism enough to fully understand what their children are up against. Maybe they're looking for someone to wave a magic want and make it all go away.

I think that a lot of parents don't want to know what they face. They either want to pay someone who promises a quick fix, or they want to poke their heads in the sand until someone else (a spouse, teachers, etc.) does something.

Just wondering if any of you ever tried to teach sign language to your kids. Our son learned the ASL alphabet and he recently started spontaneously fingerspelling. So, we are thinking of teaching him more.

I was against it at first (If he can talk why not just talk?) but I've heard people say that since you use a different part of the brain to process sign language, it's helped to improve verbal/spoken language skills.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

My son learned some signs and words simultaneously. It seemed to help a little ... he never did just the signs, if he did the signs he'd say the words too.