| Subject: Potty Training
|
 Question
- I have a nephew that is autistic and
he is 3years and 7 months old. How do you
potty train a child that still communicates
like a 1 years old child? My sister still
gives him a bottle. I would like to get him
off that bottle without him having a tantrum.
Sharon
Answer - There
is a really good book by Maria Wheeler called
"Toilet Training" that helps a
lot of people with this issue as it is quite
common.
Hope this helps:)
|
| Subject: High Functioning
Autism |
Question
- How can I get the school to understand
that "generalization" is a major
issue? Our son is age 7(High Functioning Autism)
Reg class with push in for speech,resource,etc.They
say he does all appropriate there - must be
we are not re enforcing it at home.At school
they are guiding him thru situations without
teaching him specifics.All the teachers &
school are basically using common sense without
knowing what he requires.All I hear is "
he does it for me " When I ask how they
can't tell me !They say they deal with each
situation as it comes up & that his teachers
are all wonderfull. IEP is so vague it means
nothing- Will use appropriate social skills.That
is the short term goal.The general goal- To
be a contributing member of society. We have
been disagreeing about this IEP /Methods for
3 years ! They say he can do it,Whats my problem
? PS We have had 6 different doctors reports,our
private they won't put in IEP(not a problem
there)& theirs is junk ex - Social"he
has a little difficulty"Psychologist
report.How can we show" the blind"
what they refuse to see ?The Legal Services
can't help us,Attorney charges so much &
we don't have it !
Sheila
Answer - I can
totally relate. Fortunately my son is in
a more collaborative (on the same page)
school environment. Would highly recommend
two titles for you to work with the school.
One is "Creating a Win Win IEP"
and the other (I just love) is What Does
It Mean To Me (a workbook for the person
with and helps bring EVERYONE on the same
page.
Best of luck.
|
| Subject: Is it a form
of autism? |
Question
- I have a concern for my middle granddaughter.
She is a little over 4 years old and has a
language problem and some other issues I would
like to have addressed. She seems to be of
average intelligence, but has a hard time
being understood and when you can't understand
her, she gets into a neverending circle of
repeating a phrase that doesn't make sense
and gets upset and cries out of control. She
can't seem to make friends and can only relate
to people on a one to one basis and not interact
in a group setting. She doesn't like her hands
held because she says it hurts or her shoe
laces tied because it hurts.
She potty trained herself when she was a little
over 1 years old and could draw perfect circles
at a very early age also. I don't know if
any of these items make any sense or have
to do with autism, but I have a concern. She
is the middle child and seems to be overlooked
alot. She is a more serious quiet and difficult
child to deal with. When she becomes upset,
it takes a lot to calm her down. Maybe this
is just a discipline problem, I don't know.
I would like some input of what someone else
has to say about this and if it is something
that should be looked into. Her brother and
his friends are calling her a dummy and she
even calls herself a dummy and it really hurts
me to see her so tied up in herself without
the capability to express herself.
Betty
Answer - Hi
Betty, its wonderful when grandparents and
extended families come forward with the
questions and concerns that should be so
abvious to parents. As a parent I know how
painful the truth can be. My husband was
in denial about Jonnys autism for years!
It certainly sounds like you are on the
right track. These signs sound like they
could easily be autism though I would have
her checked out to make sure. If the parents
are resistant, have them "prove you
wrong" by taking her to a specialist.
They may be mad and upset with you but don't
take it personally, stand your ground and
be firm. Afterall, it is in the childs best
interest to be examined by a professional
since early diagnosis and subsequent intervention
and therapy IS the key to the highest success
rate.
|
| Subject: Autism-PDD,
Vitamin therapy |
Question -
I have a couple of questions actually,
the first being what are some limitations
of having autism? The second is what as a
caregiver do you do to care for a child with
autism? Lastly is there any new informatoin
on autism that I wouldn't find in my school's
library books? Also are there any myths that
you've heard about autism?
Ashlee
Answer - There is a
book called "Special Diets For Special
Kids" You can find this book at www.exceptionalresources.com
Also, check out autism.org
for more information.
Hope this helps:)
|
| Subject: Autism |
Question
- I have a couple of questions actually,
the first being what are some limitations
of having autism? The second is what as a
caregiver do you do to care for a child with
autism? Lastly is there any new informatoin
on autism that I wouldn't find in my school's
library books? Also are there any myths that
you've heard about autism?
Ashlee
Answer - This
is one of those "how big is a tree"
questions! Autism varies a great deal depending
on the age of the person and level of functioning
and degree of involvement with the condition
of autism. Also if other elements come into
play such as multiple disabilities. So I
could better serve you by asking you to
let me know the answer to these. Regardless
of the type of autism, i.e. verbal, non
verbal, low functioning, high functioning,
certain areas are commonly affected. They
are behavioral concerns, communication issues
and social skills problems.
There is a lot of new information available
not found in libraries. Check out www.exceptionalresources.com
www.autismtoday.com and www.autism.org
Useful tools: The New Social Story Illustrated
Edition, What Does It Mean To Me?, Special
People Special Ways.
Hope this helps.
|
| Subject: Medication
for Autism |
Question -
My four old grandson was recently prescribed
a drug call Adderall by a
doctor at Children's Hospital in Maryland.
When my daughter had the
prescription filled, the pharmacist told her
she should by no means give
this medication to her son. He stated the
doctor should have his license
taken away. William is getting very out of
control, angry at times, and
hard to handle. Have you any information on
the use of this drug and its
safety
Answer - Hello Joann,
I would love to say that I know everything
about medications however the only one I
am truly familiar on a personal level is
dexedrine.
We are adding a "Resident Expert"
section with top experts in all areas
over the next 3 months so if you haven't
already, be sure to opt in to
receive our free newsletter. Amazing things
are going to happen.
Karen Simmons
|
| Subject: Autism |
Question -
I teach a very high functioning autistic
child. Many educators believe he
should be placed in a special education environment,
not regular ed where
he is now. How do you feel about this?
Answer - Cindy, I would
say, not knowing the exact circumstances
that after the early intervention they receive
they should be in regular school. It is
the job of the educator and the para professional
to include the child "into" the
class, not just place him/her there. Learning
to socialize appropriately is probably the
most important thing for them to learn to
do and placing them into a so called "special"
class limits their chances of modeling
socially appropriate behavior and interraction.
Karen Simmons
|
| Subject: odd eye contact
behavior |
Question -
my 5 month old boy will not look at you
when your holding him. He has
wonderful eye contact if he is out of your
arms. It just seems odd to me.
Idon't remember my daughter behaving that
way. am i just being paranoid?
Answer - Terry, Its
always good to be cautious. Keep watching
him and observe him for
other signs, not to get worried but just
keep a careful watch..
Karen Simmons
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