spectrumom

Bemusedly, I have watched the debate over whether the kids with higher functioning autism should be diagnosed and/or treated. Whether they are stealing services that should be used for lower functioning kids or stealing money from normal kids who deserve to have more of an already over-stretched school budget. Whether over-zealous parents want their kid's every quirk ironed out. My first two boys couldn't have been mistaken for high functioning. Although my oldest now has language, his speech has that odd autistic quality, he perseverates on favorite topics, he stands too close and forgets common social rules (burping and farting loudly in a restaurant are just not acceptable.). My middle son. Let's just mention that at 11 his language is just emerging. He bites and hits himself, sometimes others. So a diagnosis for either boy was not optional. Then comes boy #3. Speech at all the right times. Likes his bedtime story. Sleeps with a whale and penguin. Talks about adoptin...

Both of our boys have had the hysterical laugh that can drive parents of autistics insane. There is something about it that grates on our last nerve. When a laugh is not a laugh. "How can you be upset about a laugh?" my mom asked incredulously. Because this is not laughter about happiness. This is laughter that goes on when others are angry and upset. When people get hurt and cry. When there is nothing funny going on. And when I try to stop it, it gets louder. Mostly this seems to be about trying to perk oneself up. Nathan uses it when he is very tired. I tried it one day and it does help. Go ahead and try it yourself. I'll wait while you do. There. Don't you feel just a little perkier? It only work for a minute or two. And so the laughter goes on and on. Nothing gets done. People stare. And then, because it is a symptom of overwhelming emotions, it leads to...other things. I do keep trying to understand why it triggers such a negative response in me. ...

Through a happy conjunction of events (acquiring the task of dog walking, a news story and an assignment for Sam on Greek mythology) I now spend an hour nearly every evening alternating between staring in people's homes and developing a permanent crick in my neck staring at the stars and planets. Staring in people's homes is an old habit and really has nothing to do with this blog. Except that it amazes me how many people leave their windows unshaded while they lounge around the house in their skivvies being bums and watching tv. Unlike me who is out diligently exercising the dog. It also amazes me how neat their houses are. Which is perhaps why they leave their shades up and lights on. Show offs! But back to the planets. It all started when I was walking the dog and saw a star near the eastern horizon that was so red, I thought "It could be Mars. Nah." But on arriving home I was looking though "all the terrible things that happened today" on MSNBC a...

Recently I took Nathan to a psychologist to see if we can get more help for his problem behaviors. Unfortunately, hearing us talk (or even seeing what I write) about his behaviors really upsets him and creates more irritability and behaviors. So I wanted to let him know that I was going to talk about them, but that we were doing it to try to find a solution. I whipped it up on my iPhone while we were in the waiting room, so there are some typos. You know, it worked! He got a little upset, but nothing like in the past. And when he did, I reminded him why we were there and about the story. He was able to calm down. Talking About the Bad Times Sometimes I feel very mad or sad. These can be very hard times. I have trouble controlling myself. That is why I am at the doctor today. The doctor will help me and mom and dad learn to stop those bad feelings. So I don't have to feel so sad or mad. Mom and the doctor will talk about the very hard times I have had. Li...

Yeah, not one of those fly by night, grab your number and sell them kind of thing. This is a great site that tells you about great apps for your SN kid. And some are even free. Now they are giving away 4 refurbed iPad 1s. We use a refurbed 1, and it works great. So head over there and see about getting yourself a starter model. We have had ours for 9 months, and haven't begun to think about out growing it. http://www.smartappsforkids.com/2012/03/win-one-of-four-ipads.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SmartAppsForKids+%28Smart+Apps+For+Kids%29

Each week the kindergartners take it in turn to be "Star Student" and are featured all week. This week is Isaac's turn. Monday he took in 3 favorite things. Tuesday he took in a favorite book to be read. Tomorrow we get to eat lunch with him. Today we wrote a letter about what makes Isaac special in our eyes. Here is what I wrote. Isaac Isaac is our third son. He is very different from his brothers. Isaac loves Legos. He is very good at following the directions and making what comes in the box. But what he loves most is making his own creations. Mostly he likes to make rockets, boats and other vehicles. There are Legos everywhere in our house! In the cupboards with the cans of food, on top of the refrigerator and in the bathroom. Isaac loves sea creatures. He loves to see them at the aquarium. He likes to read about them and he likes to watch videos to learn about them. He likes them so much that his favorite stuffed animals are his squid, manta ray and bab...

Paul, my husband, homeschools Nathan. That alone is a huge commitment. He has given up a humongous chunk of free time (all of it, really, because he is never free to pursue his own interests. Nathan requires SO much intervention and monitoring that there is hardly anything Paul can do of his own.) And he is trapped with Nathan all day, every day. When Nathan was so bad over the winter, Paul had it 24/7. Because being alone in the house with him was so fraught with peril, he sometimes felt that he could not even leave me alone, especially if the other 2 were home (which escalated Nathan further.) On top of that, we both have always valued academics. Even though Paul was never hung up on grades (a nice way of saying that as long as he passed, he really didn't care about grades) he has a dual BS in Math and EE. So he knows shit. A lot of it. Dinners at his house often involved him and his dad (who worked for NASA) and his brother (who has a physics BS and works with compute...