Exhausted from parenting/ASD children/Welcome to Schmolland!

[lovethattink]

I finished my trip report http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2616570

 

[toodycat]

Hoping everyone had a happy holiday. We had a great time, but I'm glad it's over. The Hannukah/Christmas combo takes a lot of energy every December at our house. I didn't even get a chance to watch the parade yet, but I have it on TiVO. DH bought me a Dooney & Bourke Mickey Mouse letter bag for Christmas. It is perfect for weekends and theme parks! DS loved his gifts and his new computer. He's interested in film making so we got him a Mac and a copy of Final Cut express. He opened the Final Cut first and said, "Hmmm, foreshadowing." It was a little sad listening to my dad talk about how "intelligent" a neighbor's child is and how he is going to teach him all about science. DS is plenty intelligent too, but he doesn't get all excited about anything or grateful to adults who pay attention to him, so my dad doesn't try to get involved with him as much. My mom, on the other hand, will spend hours watching DS play video games and cheering him on. She totally rocks.

Hope the snow isn't too much for everyone. Enjoy the day.

 

[lovethattink]

Glad he liked his presents! For ds(6) it was Legos and Star Wars stuff, for ds(17) it was all fishing stuff.

My mom does the comparison thing all the time. It gets frustrating to me, but at least she has the decency not to do it in front of the kids. The latest was about bike riding, four wheelers, and sports.

Tomorrow I take ds for his first PT evaluation. Thursday it's for the first OT evaluation.

 

[lovethattink]

Tomorrow he goes for his first OT consult.

Tonight after his bath, I told him he was going to wear sweat pants for bed because all of his PJs are in the dirty wash. He began to panic. I told him it's ok. People can wear sweat pants for bed. He wasn't concerned about not wearing PJs, he was concerned about the word sweat. He said he did not want to sweat. He was afraid it would make it look like he had an accident in his pants.

I had to explain to him that I don't know why they are called sweat pants. That they won't make him sweat, and that they are made of cotton. He likes cotton.

 

[toodycat]

Tonight after his bath, I told him he was going to wear sweat pants for bed because all of his PJs are in the dirty wash. He began to panic. I told him it's ok. People can wear sweat pants for bed. He wasn't concerned about not wearing PJs, he was concerned about the word sweat. He said he did not want to sweat. He was afraid it would make it look like he had an accident in his pants.

I had to explain to him that I don't know why they are called sweat pants. That they won't make him sweat, and that they are made of cotton. He likes cotton.

How did the OT consult go?

The sweatpant story is too cute. My DS had a similar, literal thinking episode regarding a pair of nylon sweatpants from the Gap that were his most favorite pants when he was around 6. Forgive me if I've posted this story before----I can't remember---but we were going to see Hillary Clinton speak at our local beach. She was campaigning for her Senate seat at the time. It was August and it felt like 100 degrees out with the humidity. DS came down all dressed to meet Hillary in his nylon sweatpants. I told him to go back upstairs and put on shorts, that the sweatpants were too hot to wear to the beach. DS agreed, but was disappointed. About an hour later, I opened the freezer to start cooking dinner and a pair of blue sweatpants fell out. I'm sure you know what he told me: "Well, Mommy, you said the sweatpants were too hot, so I froze them."

Wishing everyone in Schmolland a joyous New Year. Today, I started tearing up in the car when I heard the Five Stairsteps' "Oooh, Child." DS and I used to drive around in the car when he was a toddler thirteen years ago and sing along to that song, except that DS, who had hearing issues as a toddler, called it "Pooh, child." I really took the lyrics to heart: things are gonna get easier, things are gonna get brighter...some day we'll get it together and we'll get it all done." I really hoped things would get better because we were having such a tough time. Now, I look at my boy and things got a lot better. He's a junior in high school and the phone just rang with someone asking him to hang out. This year, I wish you all the luck and support that I was blessed enough to have. Happy New Year,

Jane

 

[lovethattink]

I love the pants in the freezer!

I'm not sure how the OT consult went. My head is in a bit of a spin right now. She showed me the results. There was one area where he met the average and every other area he was below average. There were alot of new terms thrown out at me, and I've spent alot of time reading the information she gave me.

They want him to come in once a week for an hour for OT, they want to do Interactive Metronome and Therapeutic listening. http://www.interactivemetronome.com/IMPublic/Home.aspx
http://www.vitallinks.net/?gclid=CN_shM6El6YCFaRd7AodPnm_nw

Ever hear of these?

I was given papers that explain dysfunction of the proprioceptive system, tactile dysfunction, suggested calming and alerting vestibular activities, ways to develop fine motor prewriting skills, and activities to develop right and left discrimination. And told to read The Out-of-Sync Child by Kranowitz.

Jane, thanks for the encouragement! I know it's going to get better! New year, new beginnings!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! May 2011 be filled with peace and joy!

 

[bookwormde]

All the logcal and literal stories are so much my DS.

OT is one of the areas where our kids can make amazing progress, so if you find a good one there will be lots of "magical" days.

bookwormde

 

[toodycat]

Lovethattink---I've heard of those therapies, but my DS never did them. He did Tomatis which involved therapeutic listening and seemed to work quite well. I've never read The Out of Sync child either.

DS was invited to a friend's last night, but when he got there, it turned out to be an actual gathering of maybe 10 kids, most of whom were on the basketball team. DS is not a sports fan and didn't have much to talk about and left early. I was happy that he gave it a try and not surprised that he couldn't handle 4 hours with kids he didn't know plus the anxious anticipation of knowing that midnight would be noisy and he would have to cover his ears. I felt bad for him because I knew it was difficult. But, we talked about the idea that he should reach out to some of the kids he knows who share his interests and belong to the same clubs at school. He has a better chance of socializing happily with them.

Today we saw Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Loved it! You're never too old for Narnia.

 

[kirstenb1]

I love the pants in the freezer!

I'm not sure how the OT consult went. My head is in a bit of a spin right now. She showed me the results. There was one area where he met the average and every other area he was below average. There were alot of new terms thrown out at me, and I've spent alot of time reading the information she gave me.

They want him to come in once a week for an hour for OT, they want to do Interactive Metronome and Therapeutic listening. http://www.interactivemetronome.com/IMPublic/Home.aspx
http://www.vitallinks.net/?gclid=CN_shM6El6YCFaRd7AodPnm_nw

Ever hear of these?

I was given papers that explain dysfunction of the proprioceptive system, tactile dysfunction, suggested calming and alerting vestibular activities, ways to develop fine motor prewriting skills, and activities to develop right and left discrimination. And told to read The Out-of-Sync Child by Kranowitz.

Jane, thanks for the encouragement! I know it's going to get better! New year, new beginnings!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! May 2011 be filled with peace and joy!

I find the O/T stuff to be confusing, no matter how many times I read it. So, i just try to focus on things like "what can we do at home, and when we're out to make things better?"

Once you read the Out of Sync Child, you may want to pick up The Out of Sync Child Has Fun. It has so many activities that we tried during school breaks, summer etc. Good luck!!!

 

[kirstenb1]

A little milestone, I wanted to share with you my friends. Zoe who's 5 and has ASD went to her first movie yesterday. It was Tangled, and she really enjoyed it. I thought the theatre would be too loud, but the sound didn't bother her at all. On the other hand, when she was backstage at our Christmas pageant 2 weeks ago, it was "too loud". Another piece of the puzzle. Actual decibels, not so much, but surrounded by many people, "too loud". This was really helpful to me in continuing to understand how to help her.

 

[lovethattink]

Started the first OT session today. I was taught the Wilbarger Brushing protocol. Boy did the brushing stimulate him! Then I was taught joint compression. He worked with putty, rolled a tunnel, did lacing, buttoning, zipping, made a mat man, worked with diagonals.

Lovethattink---I've heard of those therapies, but my DS never did them. He did Tomatis which involved therapeutic listening and seemed to work quite well. I've never read The Out of Sync child either.

DS was invited to a friend's last night, but when he got there, it turned out to be an actual gathering of maybe 10 kids, most of whom were on the basketball team. DS is not a sports fan and didn't have much to talk about and left early. I was happy that he gave it a try and not surprised that he couldn't handle 4 hours with kids he didn't know plus the anxious anticipation of knowing that midnight would be noisy and he would have to cover his ears. I felt bad for him because I knew it was difficult. But, we talked about the idea that he should reach out to some of the kids he knows who share his interests and belong to the same clubs at school. He has a better chance of socializing happily with them.

Today we saw Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Loved it! You're never too old for Narnia.

What is Tomatis? That's great he gave the party a try! Glad you enjoyed Dawn Treader! My oldest saw it with friends but said it was too intense for his brother. Guess I'm gonna have to wait until it comes out in the Red Box.

I find the O/T stuff to be confusing, no matter how many times I read it. So, i just try to focus on things like "what can we do at home, and when we're out to make things better?"

Once you read the Out of Sync Child, you may want to pick up The Out of Sync Child Has Fun. It has so many activities that we tried during school breaks, summer etc. Good luck!!!

Thanks for the book suggestion! Right now I'm still reading Tony Attwood's The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome. Will definately see if our library has that book!

A little milestone, I wanted to share with you my friends. Zoe who's 5 and has ASD went to her first movie yesterday. It was Tangled, and she really enjoyed it. I thought the theatre would be too loud, but the sound didn't bother her at all. On the other hand, when she was backstage at our Christmas pageant 2 weeks ago, it was "too loud". Another piece of the puzzle. Actual decibels, not so much, but surrounded by many people, "too loud". This was really helpful to me in continuing to understand how to help her.

So glad she enjoyed it! That's awesome to have a great first movie experience! My son's OT mentioned something about the "noise" like that. He is very noisy when he plays, yet doesn't like other noises. Sometimes he has the tv turned up so loud it makes me feel uncomfortable, and I go turn it down, yet that doesn't bother him when he controls the volume. Yet coming home from church on Sunday he was overstimulated. Got in the car, and needed us to be silent, no talking and no radio. His sunday school class has about 50 kindergarten and 1st graders.

 

[toodycat]

Tomatis is a therapy in which you child listens to Mozart and Gregorian monk chants through these special headphones. Apparently, these compositions have the most comprehensive range of sound. It is combined with vestibular stimulation, such as swinging. It is often supplemented with humming and brushing. There are a lot of Tomatis naysayers out there and it is not cheap nor covered by insurance, but DS did it when he was around 8 and he definitely started to break out the autism "cone of silence" shortly thereafter. It requires a big time commitment. In my son's case, we did eight weeks of driving into Manhattan to the Tomatis Center every day after school and then an additional ten days later in the year. After that, we followed up with Samonas listening at home. I think it worked, but I would totally understand if you thought I sounded like a crackpot.

DS's kitten is sick. She was spayed and tore into her stitches and chewed them. Now, she has an infection. DS is quite the doting daddy. He actually skipped anime club yesterday to tend to the little kitty. I wish I had gotten him a kitten years ago. He loves her so much!

 

[HeatherL]

Hi! I've been coming to the DIS boards for a few months, but just found this community board. I have a 7 year old with Aspergers. He is a wonderful and incredibly smart little boy, who is obsessed with hot wheels cars He has a lot of anxiety and has attention issues in school. Glad to find this board!

 

[lovethattink]

Welcome, HeatherL!

 

[Kat77]

Welcome, Heather! We have a wonderful bunch here.

 

[bookwormde]

Welcome Heather

 

[Nik's Mom]

Welcome to HeatherL!

 

[kirstenb1]

Hey Heather, I've learned so much from other parents here. I hope you'll find it a great place to stick around!

 

[disneyobessed]

Reading so many of these stories have helped me realize my husband and I are not alone in this.. my DS is 11 and has cerebral palsy and we are going through some OCD ADHD sleeping issues.. we are exhausted.. frusterated and at times.. see NO LIGHT at the end of the tunnel.. if a day goes by without a major meltdown or he actually goes to sleep easily its like hitting the lottery.. I have another DS who is 9 and a DD 3 and we fear this is taking a toll on them as well.. Thank you to all who have shared their stories..

 

[Kat77]

Reading so many of these stories have helped me realize my husband and I are not alone in this.. my DS is 11 and has cerebral palsy and we are going through some OCD ADHD sleeping issues.. we are exhausted.. frusterated and at times.. see NO LIGHT at the end of the tunnel.. if a day goes by without a major meltdown or he actually goes to sleep easily its like hitting the lottery.. I have another DS who is 9 and a DD 3 and we fear this is taking a toll on them as well.. Thank you to all who have shared their stories..

Welcome Disneyobsessed! Stick around, we're happy to have you here. This is a great group.
I totally understand what you mean, DH's friend has a son with cp and we've shared many of the same struggles over the years. My girlfriend has a child with basic MR and despite the difference in our childrens cognitive abilities, we still have the same struggles, like juggling OT, PT, IEP's... I've noticed parents of SN kids have much in common no matter the dx. We have different joys and sucesses than NT parents.