I found this on graphjam.com made by someone who happens to have both Asperger's and a sense of humor. It made my morning to see someone who was able to talk about ASD and laugh. I hope Little Bug can do this.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Change is always there.
Last Friday, we had to find a new home for our dog, Frank. Little Bug’s melt downs have become too much for Frank and the dog has gotten more aggressive. Little Bug is heartbroken. We are now at day 11 since Frank and things seem like they are finally calming down.
For a while, we weren’t sure what we were going to do. All the behaviors that we are working on getting Little Bug to stop doing- lining things up, repetitive phrases, and self injuring- were in full force. Now he is at the acting out stage of things. He has been a holy terror and once he is in time out, he cries about Frank.
Unfortunately, there is always change. Soon, Nick will no longer be working. My schedule will be changing. School will be over. For good or bad, these changes will happen. Hopefully, these will be a little easier for him.
For a while, we weren’t sure what we were going to do. All the behaviors that we are working on getting Little Bug to stop doing- lining things up, repetitive phrases, and self injuring- were in full force. Now he is at the acting out stage of things. He has been a holy terror and once he is in time out, he cries about Frank.
Unfortunately, there is always change. Soon, Nick will no longer be working. My schedule will be changing. School will be over. For good or bad, these changes will happen. Hopefully, these will be a little easier for him.
Personally, hectic
Sorry for the lack of posts. Things have been very hectic and stressful for our family- outside from Autism. I have been having some neurological symptoms that we are trying to figure out.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Safety Issues
One of the scariest things that we experience with Little Bug is a lack of understanding about safety issues. For example, if you blink, he will turn the hot water all the way up in the bathtub and sit under the faucet- never mind the fact that the water is hot enough to cause burns. Cooking is starting to take two people because he doesn’t seem to understand that the stove and oven are hot. He will try to put his hand on the burner because it is red or put is on the front of the oven because “It’s so warm.” Unfortunately, by so warm, it is actually 400 degrees.
He also has begun to actively try to get out of the house. Mind you, we have three locks and a reverse hinge, but he has figured them out. We are now alarming the doors because he can and will get out. At his parent teacher conference yesterday, we found out that when the other students are getting off the bus, he will attempt to run- to the street, to the school, anywhere. Just running.
We don’t know how to get through to him. I can’t convey how agonizing and heart wrenching this is. To know that despite your best attempts, your child doesn’t understand safety boundaries and could be seriously injured or worse. Worse is something I shudder to imagine.
He also has begun to actively try to get out of the house. Mind you, we have three locks and a reverse hinge, but he has figured them out. We are now alarming the doors because he can and will get out. At his parent teacher conference yesterday, we found out that when the other students are getting off the bus, he will attempt to run- to the street, to the school, anywhere. Just running.
We don’t know how to get through to him. I can’t convey how agonizing and heart wrenching this is. To know that despite your best attempts, your child doesn’t understand safety boundaries and could be seriously injured or worse. Worse is something I shudder to imagine.
ASD update
We took Little Bug for his annual review with the Wizard and as per usual, it wasn’t what we expected. The last time we went to see the wizard, all we got was a lecture about our sleeping arrangements (co-sleeping) and not to even consider potty training him until he was 4 or 5.
This time, the wizard told us that we were doing the right thing with the co-sleeping. He also felt that we were right to allow Little Bug to potty train in his own way, however was concerned about Little Bug’s bowel movements.
The wizard seemed less positive on things. Last time, the wizard gave us hope that things were going well and we were doing right. This time, the wizard gave us concerns, worries, and fear.
Going to see the wizard isn’t ever what you expect it to be or what others tell you it will be. Seeing our wizard is usually a mix between frustration and humor. The wizard wanted to evaluate Little Bug’s cognitive skills as we had told him that Little Bug could count beyond 20, count a group of objects without counting aloud, knew his colors, alphabet, and could spell his name.
Of course, none of these things happened with the wizard. When asked to name colors, he named shapes. When asked to count, he refused. When asked how to spell his name, he said, “I no know- too hard!”
Nick and I could only laugh. Once again, we look like pathological liars. We joke that Little Bug is hell bent on having therapy until he is 30. The SLP at his school and everyone who knows Little Bug has seen his language grow to a consistent 5 words (at least) per sentence and now includes self correcting. When he goes to speech, he will only give one word answers- even about his beloved sharks.
This time, the wizard told us that we were doing the right thing with the co-sleeping. He also felt that we were right to allow Little Bug to potty train in his own way, however was concerned about Little Bug’s bowel movements.
The wizard seemed less positive on things. Last time, the wizard gave us hope that things were going well and we were doing right. This time, the wizard gave us concerns, worries, and fear.
Going to see the wizard isn’t ever what you expect it to be or what others tell you it will be. Seeing our wizard is usually a mix between frustration and humor. The wizard wanted to evaluate Little Bug’s cognitive skills as we had told him that Little Bug could count beyond 20, count a group of objects without counting aloud, knew his colors, alphabet, and could spell his name.
Of course, none of these things happened with the wizard. When asked to name colors, he named shapes. When asked to count, he refused. When asked how to spell his name, he said, “I no know- too hard!”
Nick and I could only laugh. Once again, we look like pathological liars. We joke that Little Bug is hell bent on having therapy until he is 30. The SLP at his school and everyone who knows Little Bug has seen his language grow to a consistent 5 words (at least) per sentence and now includes self correcting. When he goes to speech, he will only give one word answers- even about his beloved sharks.
Potty Training Update
It looks like we are going to be changing diapers for a considerable time longer. We took Little Bug to his ASD specialist (a separate update in itself) and The Wizard is concerned that the reason Little Bug isn’t acknowledging that he has gone poop or has to go, is because he is blocked up with poop. There is a special name for this condition, but basically it means the child goes back and forth from constipation to diarrhea, however they are never fully emptying their bowels.
Nick and I was obviously overwhelmed when the doctor began to talk about the surgery that could fix this problem and what tests- x-rays and ultra sounds- would be needed. We were also concerned when the wizard told us that a cause of this could be lack of nutrition. We could only shake our heads along with the wizard when he said that unfortunately a nutritionist would be involved.
Nothing personal against nutritionist, however when you have a child with restrictive requirements about food, nutrition is the tip of the ice berg. Simply eating some days are a battlefield. While Little Bug has gotten more flexible in many ways, food isn’t one of them. He now will only eat plain chicken- there can’t be salt, pepper, or discoloration or grill lines from cooking. If there is any of the above, he will take the time to pick of the marks with grill lines or will rub the chicken on his pants to get the seasoning off. He refuses milk at this point- including chocolate milk. He only wants juice or water. He has begun to become a carb junky- whole wheat, raw pasta, and handfuls of just plain flour are the items he seeks. We have to lock up our flour as he has been sneaking it. Behaviors like these don’t leave much room for nutrition. A good eating day at our house is when he doesn’t find a way to get to the flour while Nick or I are going to the bathroom and he has eaten something other than chicken. At this point, getting 1 serving of fruits or vegetables (that isn’t plain lettuce) is a miracle
Nick and I was obviously overwhelmed when the doctor began to talk about the surgery that could fix this problem and what tests- x-rays and ultra sounds- would be needed. We were also concerned when the wizard told us that a cause of this could be lack of nutrition. We could only shake our heads along with the wizard when he said that unfortunately a nutritionist would be involved.
Nothing personal against nutritionist, however when you have a child with restrictive requirements about food, nutrition is the tip of the ice berg. Simply eating some days are a battlefield. While Little Bug has gotten more flexible in many ways, food isn’t one of them. He now will only eat plain chicken- there can’t be salt, pepper, or discoloration or grill lines from cooking. If there is any of the above, he will take the time to pick of the marks with grill lines or will rub the chicken on his pants to get the seasoning off. He refuses milk at this point- including chocolate milk. He only wants juice or water. He has begun to become a carb junky- whole wheat, raw pasta, and handfuls of just plain flour are the items he seeks. We have to lock up our flour as he has been sneaking it. Behaviors like these don’t leave much room for nutrition. A good eating day at our house is when he doesn’t find a way to get to the flour while Nick or I are going to the bathroom and he has eaten something other than chicken. At this point, getting 1 serving of fruits or vegetables (that isn’t plain lettuce) is a miracle
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