autism or autistic child need some help and education.

[brblteddy]

my son taylor was diagnosed at 1yr that he has autism. september he turned 2yrs and i am now seeing the delays in him. i am a single mother who has both my parents to help so i am able to go to work. taylor doesnt speek. only a word here and there then nothing for a while. is this normal? i guess as a young mother and not having very much educational backround on autism i am very lost. i recently read jenny mccarthy's book and boy i got alot out of it. but my son doesn't have the health problems her son has. any information i got from her book i looked into. my greatest challenge right now is getting him to talk and feed himself. taylor has trouble doing both of these things. if anyone can help with suggestions and/or comments i would be greatful. i enjoy and take advantage of those small moments in the day that no one else seems to see. it makes me happy when i discover something new. thanks to all who respond. thanks ginger

[PennStateCutie]

Sorry that I am really late chiming in to this - I don't hop over to this board very often. I am a preschool teacher with a lot of experience in Early Childhood. My best advice to you would be to search around for your local intermediate unit, who can recommend services (almost always free) to help remediate your son. Any early intervention you can get would be fantastic. If you aren't sure where to start, the yellowpages might have some helpful places or you can even call your hospital to see what kind of services they might recommend. But most of all, don't do it alone! The more people your child can interact with, the better! Remember, there are experts out there for a reason! Good luck!

[brubakaj]

This is first post to this forum and my first time on Deal of Day.com.
I saw your message re: your son recently diagnosed I year age. I am a mother of 3 boys each diagnosed on the Autism spectrum; ages 14, 10, and 6.
Your knowledge as a teacher will help you a great deal!!! In regards to your comment about whether his NOT talking is normal, I would like to know if you are working with any service providers; esp. a speech language pathologist or occupational therapist. What you are describing sound like what is called "selective mutism". Not just autistic children exhibit this behavior; other children have been known to do this as well.
There are individualized strategies that can be incorporated into helping him modify this behavior. As an early childhood teacher, you know early intervention is the key.

Take care.
AJB

[Kegrilovessmu]

Check out autismspeaks.org. There is a TON of info on it. There's even videos of autistic children so you can know what to expect by age. Good luck.

[pusycatmom]

Originally Posted by brblteddy

my son taylor was diagnosed at 1yr that he has autism. september he turned 2yrs and i am now seeing the delays in him. i am a single mother who has both my parents to help so i am able to go to work. taylor doesnt speek. only a word here and there then nothing for a while. is this normal? i guess as a young mother and not having very much educational backround on autism i am very lost. i recently read jenny mccarthy's book and boy i got alot out of it. but my son doesn't have the health problems her son has. any information i got from her book i looked into. my greatest challenge right now is getting him to talk and feed himself. taylor has trouble doing both of these things. if anyone can help with suggestions and/or comments i would be greatful. i enjoy and take advantage of those small moments in the day that no one else seems to see. it makes me happy when i discover something new. thanks to all who respond. thanks ginger

I am a single mother too. I have 3 boys. My son Mikey is almost 8 he has autism. At age 2, I found "Baby net". I don't know if you have it in your state but here is the web site. It was my starting place.
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

They set up all services {OT and SPEECH } They even have an early interventionist come out to your house once a week until age 6. They gave mikey 2 packs of diapers and wipes each month {he is not potty trained still}
Beyond that just watch your child and get to know the real him.
Mikey is special and he uses body language to let me know his needs. I watch his moods too. If he is sick he lays around lifeless, if he is hungry he gets ill and moody.
Learn to read your child. If you find a way to get through to him, both of you will be happy! Stay calm and pick your battles wisely. Redirection works the best. That way you dont show him that he has won!!! Kids with autism are very smart they will try to get their way and pitch a fit just like any other child. If they continue to get their way they will wear you down. Redirection gets them going on something else and they will forget what they were pitching a fit over.
Keep things the same helps too. They get comfortable doing the same thing day after day.
As far as food is concerned, forget the spoon and fork. Let him use his hands!! Yoplait yumsters, {has a pic of dora the explorer on it}, has a yogart that sticks to the spoon so every time Mikey feeds himself upside down ,he doesnt make a mess. He use to stab a fork full of mac and cheese but doesnt like it any more. Everthing else he uses his hands.
You have a long way to go, but with lots of love and care you can do it!!!!
Good Luck,
Melissa Menin

[musicman1088]

My daughter has not been diagnosed with autism but she definitely has development delays. At 1 and a half she is still not crawling or looking at people. We have her see 3 therapists a week for vision, small motor and gross motor. It seems to be helping as she can start to track with her eyes now. We're just hoping for the best. Ask your pediatrician about contact info for your local regional center. They can set up a plan for you like ours did.

[piper.cross]

Hello, Sorry this reply is so late-I just joined. I joined because I saw the autism threads on here. My daughter is 8 years old and was diagnosed with autism at 2. She did not talk, no eye contact, did not want to be touched even by me, was a picky eater, etc. My daughter is in a regular second grade class (she has been from the start), talks, hugs, interacts with other children and adults, can tell me what she needs/wants. I think that the main thing is to get your child into therapy asap! I don't know what state you live in, but here in MO they have judevine which will come to your home, daycare-etc. to help your child with therapy. One of the best books I have read is by Temple Grandin who is autistic herself. I have yet to read jenny mccarthy's book. I know this is very difficult for you, I am a single parent myself, but do not let people tell you who or what your child will be. They told me my daughter would most likely never be able to relate and I should put her name on a residential facility list immediately because the wait is long. I would never place my child in a home and thank God I did not listen to them. I fought, and continue, to fight for her every day. I work with her and when she has enough, we stop. I don't let anyone push her. These children with autism are very intelligent and people do not realize this because socially they are not able to communicate as well. Please email me at [Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]. There are so many things I can tell you. I have done my own research for seven years and I have thousands of papers that I have gathered! Stay positive, your child is very in tune with your feelings and they react on them. If I am having a bad day, my daughter has a bad day! It sounds like you are a very loving mom and your son is lucky for that. I know some days can be very difficult, but everyday it will get better. You already said you see little things everyday. My greatest moment was when my daughter looked at me and said, "I love you mommy", with no prompting. I still get teary talking about it! Best wishes to you and your wonderful son!

I love someone with autism, my daughter!

[piper.cross]

For everyone dealing with autism, I wanted to also put some sites on here that I think are very good. First, go to your state government page and look at your childrens services. autismspeaks.org, autism.com, nationalautismassociation.com, actually just google autism it is amazing what you will find! Also, look into the reps. running for president-they have individual ideas on what is needed for funding. Did you know that autism research is the lowest funded? But that is suppose to all be changing! We all need to stand together and demand better for our autistic children!!!

[Cornflake]

Another book you should read "An Anthropologist on Mars", by Oliver Sacks. The main point, the mother of the girl didn't give her up. Maybe you will find useful that book...

P.S. Sorry, I missed piper.cross' post when I posted this. This book about Temple Grandin as well...