Re: new on this list, some questions....

[Guest guest]

Tina,

Welcome to the group. I am sure you will like it here. I am

JacquieH married to Jeff. I have 2 boys Greggory 6 this month

autistic and Alec 4 yrs autistic and BP. Greggory is very high

functioning and Alec is severe to moderate(only time will tell).

Greggory was potty trained at 3 yrs when he started his preschool

class, but he still would only have a bm in his pants. Alec is 4 yrs

and no where near being potty trained. In fact I dont think it is

that uncommon for kids with autism to be very slow in this area. I

wish I could give you some good advice but I am still working on it

myself.

I dont know what you mean by sing song. I am asuming she is

singing rather than speaking or in a singy type voice? Sorry. Alec

doesnt speak at all and Greggory never stops but nothing with singing.

Greggory and Alec both also know all their videos. They know

lots of things like that. I dont think that is too uncommon either.

You will soon find out that flaming is just not allowed on this

list at all. Jacquie is very firm about that. WE are all very

supportive of each other and that is what makes this list so great.

We may have different ways of doing things but we all understand that

each child is different. As for me, my boys have had a tv and vcr in

their bedroom since Alec was a baby. They have tons of videos and I

let them watch them as they please. Greggory learned how to talk from

the blues clues videos and show.

Greggory is on no meds and is in regular kindergarten and doing

great! He has only speech that he recives at school. Alec is on

risperdal and will be staring a new SSRI med this week. He is in an

autistic preschool class and is doing pretty good.

Again, welcome to the group!

Jacquie H

> Hi Everyone:

> I'm new to this list, have been reading only so far. I have some

questions someone might be able to help with.

> My third child , who is 4yrs9mos, is high functioning

autistic, ( I guess) She shows many of the signs of it, and then on

the other hand, she has some areas with no problems, however, I can't

even remember what they ARE and the rest is overwhelming. From some

things I have read here, I feel that I have it easy, but some days it

doesn't feel easy.

> I have 4 children, an 18 yo son who I am SURE has undx'd

aspergers. A 16 yo daughter who is a very hard working student, but

has problems with spelling. She works very hard for A's and B's in

difficult classes. Then my 4 yo, who was born at 28 weeks weighing

2#, and finally my 22 month old daughter who seems to be ''normal''

whatever that is, for now.

> is in Early Intervention 5 days per week, last year it was 3

days (not enough!). She is NOT potty trained and seems no closer now

that she was at 12 months of age. She has NO CLUE when she will go,

is never dry at night and has just now started to even tell me when

she ''wants'' another pull up. This is atleast 6 months after her

little sister started telling me she was poopy! Am I doing something

wrong? I have tried everything I know to help her train. NOTHING

has worked. She is NEVER dry at night. Her ped acted as though this

is ominous and I must train her by age 5. Right now, I can't see it

happening! Comments anyone?

> My other issue with her right now is the sing song thing. I think

I could deal with anything else she throws at me, her obsessions with

drawing T's and faces, and her using every stinking scrap of paper up

in the house and getting ziplocs out and stuffing them full of ROLLED

up paper that she has drawn 1 million t's on, and her constant

constant destruction of things and her tying up EVERY single thread,

string, ribbon, coiled string of a toy, elastic from my sewing,

thread, measuring tape, etc etc. and weaving them endlessly through

any object you can think of. Today it was a stylus pen from her

magnadoodle. She tore it off the toy and then wove it and tied it

and strung it through a phone cord. It took me 20 minutes to get it

out the whole time she was FREAKING out about it with that sing song

thing. She does it all the time.

> She is really a beautiful child, very loving, doesn't have as many

social issues as some asd kids, and she can talk now. She talked for

the first time at age 4. But this sing song continues and some days I

cannot stand it one more minute! Has anyone had any luck with

changing this behavior?

> Oh, and I found out today something very odd. can tell which

video tape is which, when they are not in the case. How can she do

that? I showed her tape after tape that were all in a pile in the

kitchen that I was rewinding them all. She didn't always SAY the

title, sometimes she would say: The dinosaur movie, for Land before

time, but she knew them ALL. This kid cannot write her NAME, but she

knows all these movies.

> Sigh! And before anyone flames me for ''letting'' her watch

video's she is totally totally obsessed with them and sings the

songs, and copies the dialog, etc. I started letting her watch them

and she started talking. I don't know why, but this is how she is

learning and I can't take it away from her, or limit her. She self

limits anyway. But she has several ''song'' tapes that she dearly

loves and does all the pantomime to the dances, etc.

> Any comments welcome. BTW, she is not on any drugs, or other

therapy, other than EI. She is a great eater, not picky, but I limit

sugar because she already had WAY too much energy and sugar and

caffeine she doesn't need. I'm 42 with a pacemaker (long story) and

I can't keep up with her as it is.

> Tina

>

> Tina

> Lebanon, OR

> foxcreekquilts@c...

> ___________________________________________________

> The ALL NEW CS2000 from CompuServe

> Better! Faster! More Powerful!

> 250 FREE hours! Sign-on Now!

> http://www.compuserve.com/trycsrv/cs2000/webmail/

[Guest guest]

Tina

Believe me the last thing you will get here is a flame. If we didn't let

these kids watch videotapes I think we would probably all have locked them in

a closet or something a long time ago (just kidding). My daughter is 2 1/2

and also a tape addict. There are some areas in which our children are

ahead. knows all her letters, numbers and although I don't think she

" reads " I think she has memorized the letters and has that linked in her head

with what tape she sees.

#2 if your daughter is interested in tapes you may want to get the tape Once

Upon A Potty - it's a book too but they have a videotapes and it's cute. I

pop her on the potty in the living room in front of the tape. knows

the whole thing now and just yesterday said " I got to pop " (we were too late

she had already gone but still very exciting). Here it's at Babies R Us.

You ped sounds like he doesn't have a clue... you may want to find someone

either more open minded or sympathic. I'm on our sixth ped and have finially

found someone who is open minded enough to write Rx for bloodwork that my DAN

dr needs. It really makes it alot easier to find someone who has worked with

autistic children and now it's the first thing I ask.

Best of luck G

[Guest guest]

Hello.

sounds wonderful and really like she is doing GREAT! (You sound very

tired though, do you get a break in the week or day? How old are your other 2

kids?)

sounds very much like was at 5 and 6 years old. He too started

talking around 4 and had an extreme obsession with video tapes. Probably for

the first one to two years of his talking, nearly EVERYTHING was echolalic

and delayed echolalia. I could almost always recognize his video tape

language in his speech. By now I recognize his learning language style as

this echolalia. He memorized chunks of language and out it came it similar

times. Magic school bus was a common theme in his language. Also

(from N64) was frequently with us on our excursions. had 's

style down pat and would mimic him running with his hat in hand all the time.

He was also Ms. Clavell from Madeline any time he went up stairs--with hand

outstretched and one hand on forehead.

He was a totally adorable yet exhausting child.

I'm happy to state he is MUCH better now, at 9, then he was at 4,5 or 6.

He's been on buspar (med for anxiety) for 2.5 years and it's helped a lot

with things like toiletting, getting through his fears (of walking on grass

or seeing bugs or handling loud noises like smoke detectors).

All in all he's a wonderful kid unfolding on his own time chart in his own

way.

:-)

kandie(in ca bay area)

Kandie and (9 years)

* 's website: <A

HREF= " http://kidsactivities.homestead.com/spage.html " >spage</A>

*

[Guest guest]

>From: foxcreekquilts@...

>Hi Everyone:

>I'm new to this list, have been reading only so far. I have some questions

>someone might be able to help with.

Welcome! You'll love this list.

>My third child , who is 4yrs9mos, is high functioning autistic, ( I

>guess) She shows many of the signs of it, and then on the other hand, she

>has some areas with no problems, however, I can't even remember what they

>ARE and the rest is overwhelming. From some things I have read here, I

>feel that I have it easy, but some days it doesn't feel easy.

It is not easy, no matter what your situation. Maybe she is high

functioning, but you have several other children to care for as well!

Jacquie (list owner) always says, whatever is hard for you, is hard for you

and don't ever feel guilty about sharing that with us.

>She is NOT potty trained and seems no closer now that she was at 12 months

>of age.

Kep, my son, was not trained until last summer, when he was 4 yrs. 3mos. It

took a very intensive program at the local Autism Center to get it done. I

never could have done it myself. I have the procedure if you would like to

look at it. I warn you, it is not easy, but once they get the hang of it,

you're done.

>destruction of things

Kep is a destroyer as well. I've learned to just live with it, as you have.

>She is really a beautiful child, very loving, doesn't have as many social

>issues as some asd kids, and she can talk now. She talked for the first

>time at age 4.

My sister is autistic as well, and she didn't talk until she was nearly 5.

I don't remember a sing-song thing, but I'll ask mom. Kep does not do that.

Oh, and btw, you'll notice that all of our kids are quite beautiful,

angelic really.

>Oh, and I found out today something very odd. can tell which video

>tape is which, when they are not in the case.

Many of the kids here can do that as well! Kep always destroyed the cases

immediately but still always knew which tape was which. We now are pretty

sure that he is reading, and may be too! It is not that odd, so don't

sell her short, if you think she is.

>Sigh! And before anyone flames me for ''letting'' her watch video's

Nobody flames here, and if they do, they get banned immediately! Besides,

the VCR is our best friend. Without it, how would we ever get anything

done? Seriously!

You said that is only in EI. Is that because that is only what is

available to you, or is that what you decided? Just curious. It does sound

like your doc needs a good knock in the head. We switched peds shortly

after Kep was diagnosed. Our regular ped was good and just flat out

admitted that he didn't know enough about autism. So, now we have someone

who takes care of many kids with autism, and he has been a great help to us.

Maybe you could find someone in your area with a little more expertise?

Just a thought.

Amy H--in Michigan

Kepler 4 1/2 ASD and Bethany 6 NT

" Harmony breeds ignorance. It is the dissonant chords of life that lead us

to wisdom. " ~me

_________________________________________________________________

Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.

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[Guest guest]

>>She is NOT potty trained and seems no closer now that she was at 12

months of age. She has NO CLUE when she will go, is never dry at

night and has just now started to even tell me when she ''wants''

another pull up. This is atleast 6 months after her little sister

started telling me she was poopy! Am I doing something wrong? I

have tried everything I know to help her train. NOTHING has worked.

She is NEVER dry at night. Her ped acted as though this is ominous

and I must train her by age 5. Right now, I can't see it happening!

Comments anyone?>>

I wouldn't worry about it...it's probably sensory (she can't tell

when she needs to go). didn't seem to recognize when he

needed to go until this past year...BTW, he is 8, and we are just now

tackling potty training again (after trying at 3, then at 7...he is

currently terrified of standing water, so it's tricky...) She'll

train...I know several kids who trained after 5.

>> Sigh! And before anyone flames me for ''letting'' her watch

video's she is totally totally obsessed with them and sings the

songs, and copies the dialog, etc.>>

No one here flames anyone...ever. This is one autism list you will

NEVER get blasted on...Jacquie won't let it happen. Say what you

need to say here...chances are there is someone else who is either

doing the same " terrible " thing, has in the past, or is seriously

considering it...

Welcome!

Raena

[Guest guest]

Hi Tina. I'm Tamara. I live in Wisconsin with my

husband (Terry), two stepchildren (Nikki,17 and

Josh,10), and my two children (Ebony, 4 and 10

months). Ebony is autistic and ADHD. She is not

potty trained either and we have tried everything.

She will be 5 in September. I am not too worried

about it as I know many autistic kids do not train

until 6,7,8, etc. While it would be a convenience for

me it is not essential. Ebony just started verbal

imitation this summer and is now pretty echolalic.

She will repeat pretty much anything. I have heard of

stimmy speech like the sing song that you are talking

about. Ebony will speak in a high voice and then a

growly voice. I think it is particular to each child.

A speech therapist could probably help with that.

The school system should be providing speech to your

daughter.

As far as movies go. I was the mom who was going to

not have a tv when I had kids and thought it was just

lazy parenting. Now Ebony watches movies a LOT.

Sometimes it is the only way to calm her from a

tantrum or get her to stop screaming, etc. When you

are dealing with a disability like this, you do what

you have to do. Plain and simple. Survival is

important. Ebony does learn from the videos too.

She learned bye bye from teletubbies for example.

I look forward to talking with you some more and

welcome to the group. It is great!

Tamara

--- foxcreekquilts@... wrote:

> Hi Everyone:

> I'm new to this list, have been reading only so far.

> I have some questions someone might be able to help

> with.

> My third child , who is 4yrs9mos, is high

> functioning autistic, ( I guess) She shows many of

> the signs of it, and then on the other hand, she has

> some areas with no problems, however, I can't even

> remember what they ARE and the rest is overwhelming.

> From some things I have read here, I feel that I

> have it easy, but some days it doesn't feel easy.

> I have 4 children, an 18 yo son who I am SURE has

> undx'd aspergers. A 16 yo daughter who is a very

> hard working student, but has problems with

> spelling. She works very hard for A's and B's in

> difficult classes. Then my 4 yo, who was born at 28

> weeks weighing 2#, and finally my 22 month old

> daughter who seems to be ''normal'' whatever that

> is, for now.

> is in Early Intervention 5 days per week, last

> year it was 3 days (not enough!). She is NOT potty

> trained and seems no closer now that she was at 12

> months of age. She has NO CLUE when she will go, is

> never dry at night and has just now started to even

> tell me when she ''wants'' another pull up. This is

> atleast 6 months after her little sister started

> telling me she was poopy! Am I doing something

> wrong? I have tried everything I know to help her

> train. NOTHING has worked. She is NEVER dry at

> night. Her ped acted as though this is ominous and

> I must train her by age 5. Right now, I can't see

> it happening! Comments anyone?

> My other issue with her right now is the sing song

> thing. I think I could deal with anything else she

> throws at me, her obsessions with drawing T's and

> faces, and her using every stinking scrap of paper

> up in the house and getting ziplocs out and stuffing

> them full of ROLLED up paper that she has drawn 1

> million t's on, and her constant constant

> destruction of things and her tying up EVERY single

> thread, string, ribbon, coiled string of a toy,

> elastic from my sewing, thread, measuring tape, etc

> etc. and weaving them endlessly through any object

> you can think of. Today it was a stylus pen from

> her magnadoodle. She tore it off the toy and then

> wove it and tied it and strung it through a phone

> cord. It took me 20 minutes to get it out the whole

> time she was FREAKING out about it with that sing

> song thing. She does it all the time.

> She is really a beautiful child, very loving,

> doesn't have as many social issues as some asd kids,

> and she can talk now. She talked for the first time

> at age 4. But this sing song continues and some days

> I cannot stand it one more minute! Has anyone had

> any luck with changing this behavior?

> Oh, and I found out today something very odd.

> can tell which video tape is which, when they are

> not in the case. How can she do that? I showed her

> tape after tape that were all in a pile in the

> kitchen that I was rewinding them all. She didn't

> always SAY the title, sometimes she would say: The

> dinosaur movie, for Land before time, but she knew

> them ALL. This kid cannot write her NAME, but she

> knows all these movies.

> Sigh! And before anyone flames me for ''letting''

> her watch video's she is totally totally obsessed

> with them and sings the songs, and copies the

> dialog, etc. I started letting her watch them and

> she started talking. I don't know why, but this is

> how she is learning and I can't take it away from

> her, or limit her. She self limits anyway. But she

> has several ''song'' tapes that she dearly loves and

> does all the pantomime to the dances, etc.

> Any comments welcome. BTW, she is not on any drugs,

> or other therapy, other than EI. She is a great

> eater, not picky, but I limit sugar because she

> already had WAY too much energy and sugar and

> caffeine she doesn't need. I'm 42 with a pacemaker

> (long story) and I can't keep up with her as it is.

> Tina

>

> Tina

> Lebanon, OR

> foxcreekquilts@...

> ___________________________________________________

> The ALL NEW CS2000 from CompuServe

> Better! Faster! More Powerful!

> 250 FREE hours! Sign-on Now!

> http://www.compuserve.com/trycsrv/cs2000/webmail/

>

>

>

>

>

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Hi Tina!

> I have 4 children, an 18 yo son who I am SURE has undx'd aspergers. A 16

yo daughter who is a very hard working student, but has problems with

spelling. She works very hard for A's and B's in difficult classes. Then my

4 yo, who was born at 28 weeks weighing 2#, and finally my 22 month old

daughter who seems to be ''normal'' whatever that is, for now.

I have five children, my oldest, Enrique, is fifteen and was dx'ed with

Asperger Syndrome last summer. Long story. I also have , an NT

twelve year old, and Sophie, a definitely NT 8 year old, a definitely

autistic son, called Putter, who will be six tomorrow, and a three year old

called Robbie who seems pretty NT but who has some speech issues. I have no

idea what normal is either.

> is in Early Intervention 5 days per week, last year it was 3 days

(not enough!). She is NOT potty trained and seems no closer now that she

was at 12 months of age. She has NO CLUE when she will go, is never dry at

night and has just now started to even tell me when she ''wants'' another

pull up. This is atleast 6 months after her little sister started telling

me she was poopy! Am I doing something wrong? I have tried everything I

know to help her train. NOTHING has worked. She is NEVER dry at night.

Her ped acted as though this is ominous and I must train her by age 5.

Right now, I can't see it happening! Comments anyone?

Putter is not potty trained fully either. He is mostly potty-trained at

school but not at home. His school says this is not at all uncommon for

kids with autism. Their sensory issues can make potty training confusing.

And there are some pretty high functioning kids on this list who have potty

trained quite late. Don't let it become a battle of wills; I imagine she

will potty train sometime in the next couple of years.

It took me 20 minutes to get it out the whole time she was FREAKING out

about it with that sing song thing. She does it all the time.

Oh, yes, obsessive behaviors. Aren't they fun? Putter has had plenty of

these, well, actually my fifteen year old has had plenty of these. Keep a

good sense of humor about you which can be very hard when your daughter is

freaking out.

> She is really a beautiful child, very loving, doesn't have as many social

issues as some asd kids, and she can talk now. She talked for the first

time at age 4.

Putter was past four also.

But this sing song continues and some days I cannot stand it one more

minute! Has anyone had any luck with changing this behavior?

Probably, but I wouldn't expect it overnight.

> Oh, and I found out today something very odd. can tell which video

tape is which, when they are not in the case. How can she do that? I

showed her tape after tape that were all in a pile in the kitchen that I was

rewinding them all. She didn't always SAY the title, sometimes she would

say: The dinosaur movie, for Land before time, but she knew them ALL. This

kid cannot write her NAME, but she knows all these movies.

This is odd? This is NORMAL autistic kid behavior. I would guess that AT

LEAST fifty percent of the kids on this list have the same story. Welcome

to the wild and wonderful world of ASD.

> Sigh! And before anyone flames me for ''letting'' her watch video's she

is totally totally obsessed with them and sings the songs, and copies the

dialog, etc.

We don't flame ANYONE on this list. We're all doing the best we can. No

one who hasn't raised your particular child can really understand the issues

that you face. Jacquie, our moderator, would probably ban anyone who flamed

you, so just don't worry about that.

I started letting her watch them and she started talking. I don't know

why, but this is how she is learning and I can't take it away from her, or

limit her. She self limits anyway. But she has several ''song'' tapes that

she dearly loves and does all the pantomime to the dances, etc.

She is not the first who has learned language from videos. The very

repetitive nature of a video makes it easier for a child with auditory

processing issues (such as my Putter has) to learn and remember the words.

> Any comments welcome. BTW, she is not on any drugs, or other therapy,

other than EI. She is a great eater, not picky, but I limit sugar because

she already had WAY too much energy and sugar and caffeine she doesn't need.

I'm 42 with a pacemaker (long story) and I can't keep up with her as it is.

I am forty six, Tina, although I don't have a pacemaker (thank goodness) but

I definitely lack the energy some days.

Welcome to PA!

Salli

[Guest guest]

>

> Kep, my son, was not trained until last summer, when he was 4 yrs. 3mos.

It

> took a very intensive program at the local Autism Center to get it done.

I

> never could have done it myself. I have the procedure if you would like

to

> look at it. I warn you, it is not easy, but once they get the hang of it,

> you're done.

It is a good system, but The Evil Mr. Putt foiled it.

>

> >destruction of things

>

> Kep is a destroyer as well. I've learned to just live with it, as you

have.

>

Putter at three was destroying hundreds of dollars worth of things every

month (VCRs and CD-roms mostly). Now he isn't quite so bad so it does get

better.

> Oh, and btw, you'll notice that all of our kids are quite beautiful,

> angelic really.

It's God's way of keeping them alive. Otherwise we'd throttle them. Putter

is ADORABLE!

> Many of the kids here can do that as well! Kep always destroyed the cases

> immediately but still always knew which tape was which. We now are pretty

> sure that he is reading, and may be too! It is not that odd, so

don't

> sell her short, if you think she is.

Oh, and you might want to look up the hyperlexia website. I can't remember

its address (probably www.hyperlexia something or other org? surely not

com?) But a google search should find it.

>

> >Sigh! And before anyone flames me for ''letting'' her watch video's

>

> Nobody flames here, and if they do, they get banned immediately! Besides,

> the VCR is our best friend. Without it, how would we ever get anything

> done? Seriously!

You betcha. Except that Putter has moved on to computers...

>

> You said that is only in EI. Is that because that is only what is

> available to you, or is that what you decided? Just curious. It does

sound

> like your doc needs a good knock in the head. We switched peds shortly

> after Kep was diagnosed. Our regular ped was good and just flat out

> admitted that he didn't know enough about autism. So, now we have someone

> who takes care of many kids with autism, and he has been a great help to

us.

> Maybe you could find someone in your area with a little more expertise?

Yeah. Amy speaks the truth here.

Salli

[Guest guest]

>her train. NOTHING has worked. She is NEVER dry at night. Her ped acted as

though this is ominous and I must train her by age 5. Right now, I can't see it

happening! Comments anyone?

>

There is an autistic boy in my area who trained at 7 years old, and his aides at

school were part of the process. I can't see any reason that age 5 should be

some sort of potty-training death sentence!

> Oh, and I found out today something very odd. can tell which video tape

is which, when they are not in the case. How can she do that? I showed her

tape after tape that were all in a pile in the kitchen that I was rewinding them

all. She didn't always SAY the title, sometimes she would say: The dinosaur

movie, for Land before time, but she knew them ALL. This kid cannot write her

NAME, but she knows all these movies.

>

Just another little autie quirk. could do the same thing. He could also,

before age 4, recite the alphabet backwards, count to 100 in english, to 10 in

Swahili (learned that from Barney) and recognise his music tapes. But he could

not string 2 words together, tell me what he wanted, or give me a hug.

> Sigh! And before anyone flames me for ''letting'' her watch video's she is

totally totally obsessed with them and sings the songs, and copies the dialog,

etc. I started letting her watch them and she started talking. I don't know

why, but this is how she is learning and I can't take it away from her, or limit

her. She self limits anyway. But she has several ''song'' tapes that she

dearly loves and does all the pantomime to the dances, etc.

>

No flaming here! Flaming is not only discouraged, but quickly addressed.

There's enough judgement on OTHER lists -- we have none here whatsoever. If

someone doesn't agree with someone else, they just keep it to themselves. As a

result, we have the most peaceful list out there.

Besides, we are all well-acquainted with the video obsession! LOL. And YES,

they are a great motivator for talking. If she's saying what she hears on the

tapes, that's echolalia. If she's saying them later, in context, that's delayed

echolalia. ANY form of echolalia is considered the first step to meaningful

speech! That's a good, good, thing. Most of 's early forms of telling me

what he thought were lines lifted directly from videos.

Glad you jumped in so early, Tina! As you can see, we've got a real friendly

group here. Welcome aboard!

Jacquie

mom to , 5

Parenting Autism moderator

" Everything in nature invites us constantly to be what we are. "

--Greta Ehrlich

[Guest guest]

> >ARE and the rest is overwhelming. From some things I have read here, I

> >feel that I have it easy, but some days it doesn't feel easy.

>

> It is not easy, no matter what your situation. Maybe she is high

> functioning, but you have several other children to care for as well!

> Jacquie (list owner) always says, whatever is hard for you, is hard for you

> and don't ever feel guilty about sharing that with us.

Yup. My view is (I'm Jacquie) that if something is the hardest thing you've

ever done, then it's the hardest thing you've ever done -- and someone else's

hard thing doesn't take away from YOUR struggle at all.

Jacquie

[Guest guest]

> He was also Ms. Clavell from Madeline any time he went up stairs--with

>hand

>outstretched and one hand on forehead.

That made me laugh Kandie. Kep likes to mimic movements from videos and tvs

too. It's almost like a dance.

Amy H--in Michigan

Kepler 4 1/2 ASD and Bethany 6 NT

" Harmony breeds ignorance. It is the dissonant chords of life that lead us

to wisdom. " ~me

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[Guest guest]

>>>>>>This is atleast 6 months after her little sister started telling me

she was poopy! Am I doing something wrong? I have tried everything I know

to help her train. NOTHING has worked. She is NEVER dry at night. Her ped

acted as though this is ominous and I must train her by age 5. Right now, I

can't see it happening! Comments anyone?<<<<<<

Yep...Here's a comment. The ped is dope and YOU are doing NOTHING wrong.

Potty training an autistic child is one of the most difficult, worrisome

things for parents. She will use the potty WHEN SHE'S READY. Lots of praise

and reward systems MAY help, and there are some other systems you can use (I

think Amy H. used a system that worked very well for her son).

Do NOT beat yourself up on this one. It will take time...and you are NOT

doing anything wrong. Do not let your ped make you feel guilty!!!

>>>>My other issue with her right now is the sing song thing.<<<

The " sing-song " stage will get better, especially if she starts working with

a speech Therapist. Is she in any kind of therapy right now?

As far as the paper....What I do is have my dh bring home scrap paper from

work and I save all those loving envelopes from junk mail. That works very

well. As far as the twirling, you may be able to buy her something more

apporpriate...sounds like an obsession or a tactile/sensory thing. Silly

putty or Theraputty or even playdough is good. koosh balls, rubber balls,

things that stretch... Superduperinc has sensory toys that might give you a

little more sanity....lol

>>>> can tell which video tape is which, when they are not in the

case. How can she do that?<<<<

Does she know Putter??? <wink><wink> Actually, this is not an " odd " thing

for autistic kids. She may very well be hyperlexic.

>>>>Sigh! And before anyone flames me for ''letting'' her watch video's she

is totally totally obsessed with them and sings the songs, and copies the

dialog, etc. I started letting her watch them and she started talking. I

don't know why, but this is how she is learning and I can't take it away

from her, or limit her. She self limits anyway. But she has several

''song'' tapes that she dearly loves and does all the pantomime to the

dances, etc.<<<<<<<<

You TOTALLY just described my daughter at her age!!!! Believe me, you will

NOT be flamed for anything here.

Tina, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy will help. Will you be

enrolling her in kindergarten soon????

Nice to meet you, btw....welcome to the list!!!

Penny -

Mom to:

Jacqui, 6 - HFA

Jeff, 19

[Guest guest]

Hi Tina,

I'm Tuna, mom to (7, ASD) and (3, NT).

's obsessed with videos too. He started talking

at four, and most of it was repeated from Veggie Tales

and Sesame Street. He could also tell which video was

which long before he learned to speak or read.

sing-songs alot too. I've found if I try to

curb it at all, he just does it more. It does get on

my nerves, mainly because it's so high and squeaky.

Welcome to the list, and don't worry, no flaming

allowed here.

Tuna

=====

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and relying solely on courage— there is hope.

Crowe

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[Guest guest]

Hi Tina,

Sorry it took me so long to welcome you. I get online to read the

posts and respond when I have free time, which means not often. I

have 4 kids too. A.G. is 13, possibly Asperger's (I'm working on

getting him evaluated/assessed/dx'd), Robby is 11, NT, although he

has plenty of quirks. Roland is 3, NT, and tends to have much more

energy than I can keep up with, Nicky is 28 mo, ASD. I call him my

green eyed monster, monkey-man, my cuddle-bug, and AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!,

depending on the situation.

I think you will fit in well here. I am a recent arrival, but I can

already tell you that this is one of the most wonderful, warm, and

supportive groups it has been my pleasure to have met.

Potty training

I know of NT kids that were late potty trainers and it doesn't seem

to have had any adverse effects on them. If some NT's are late potty

training, why should you have to feel guilty because you have a child

with emotional, social, sensitivity, and perphaps physical issues

that isn't ready to potty train yet? Excuse me for sounding rude to

your dr, but he sounds like the same kind who told me that there was

nothing out of the ordinary about Nicky, certainly no developmental

issues...after he had already been evaluated, and was in the process

of being dx'ed by a neurologist. Have you asked EI their oppinion?

You can always look for another ped that has a clue.

Nicky doesn't do the sing song thing, but I can see how it would be

irritating. I am sure others here could at least empathize. You

might even get some suggestions.

In general, Nicky's OCD's are, I think, less complicated, but he is

just as apt to feak out if you try to undo them. The last time he

had an OT eval, his fine motor skills rated at about what's normal

for a 9 mo (That eval was done 10-16-01. I FINALLY got EIP to

autorize OT for him. He gets a new eval the 19th)

Videos and T.V.

(sarcasticly innocent tone) What? Me let my children watch too much

T.V. or videos? You mean instead of removing Nicky from furniture,

wall fixtures, drapes, shelves, etc.? Putting in a " Bear in the Big

Blue House video instead of running into the kitchen just in time to

see him fling BBQ sauce, salad dressing, and eggs (he can actually

manage to hit the ceiling if he works at it...and he does.)? Why on

earth would I want to let an electronic babysitter teach my child how

to talk when I can't? Do I allow something soothing and repetative

to help me keep some of my sanity intact rather than completely

losing it?

You betcha! The T.V. is on, showing a video or some toddler

programming, at least 12 hours a day at my house. Not that he is

necessarily watching it all the time, but when he gets fussy and

bred, I would much rather have him learn words from his favorite

shows (His 10-15 word vocabulary includes many words frm his favorite

shows, including suprise, please, and thank you.) than emptying the

diaper pail, one diaper at a time, in pyramids of four, onto my bed.

BTW, EI in our area isn't a therapy, it's just the name of the

department that decides which therapies should be provided for a

child under the age of three. I assume from the way you have used

it, that EI means something else in your area. Mind if I ask what

she does, or what they are working on with her for EI?

Welcome again,

B

[Guest guest]

instead of running into the kitchen just in time to

> see him fling BBQ sauce, salad dressing, and eggs (he can actually

> manage to hit the ceiling if he works at it...and he does

Amazing the hard work our kids can put into stuff that really matters....

Salli