New Autism therapy - use their strengths

It is amazing how much faster our kids progress when using their strengths to connect and communicate with.  Anything that he enjoys is the best opportunity for speech..... much like most humans on the planet.  Pity it is not the most used "therapy",  even though he seems spoilt in a way, It is a hell of a lot cheaper than ABA therapy and a lot easier to swallow that ABA therapy too. 

The amazing Christmas speech therapy tool: http://youtu.be/TSLUklus-Go

Helping get a compliant ASD toddler

I have found if I am very clear and specific on the reason why something has to be done.....if I convince Edward it is a must he will comply.....just because mummy says so is never good enough.  Yes this info is the complete opposite of what the experts tell you to speak to your ASD toddlers.....but it works for us as long as I explain clearly enough and that Edward understands the why.
Another trick that works and also helps with interaction with others later is teaching the 'this now then that'
Mummy needs to finish washing the bottles then we can go out the back and play....just the way Edward loves numbers saying "one mummy washes bottles and two downstairs and play on the trampoline" that way he knows that I am not saying no forever, it will be the next thing we do and it help with teaching taking turns.

Me reversing autism

1) Using intellect over pretend play, using toys to show patterns of colour or sequencing.

2) Other children don't seem interested in the things our kids like.

3) After thinking past events through shows signs of expressing those events later.

4) Love life and or can be deep thinkers.

5) Brilliant hearing or can deep in thought and cut out outside noise.

6) Utilises more means of understanding the world around them, giving an advantage of looking for new answers that help with discoveries.

7) Brain utilises more areas, thinking is used way more than speech.

8) Prefers structure in life so randomness in non life essentials can be studied more comfortably.

Last but not least amazing concentration and focus that can push other concerns out of the picture.

Goodnight

Mummy:  Goodnight Edward, I love you
Edward:   Goodnight
Mummy's heart jumps for joy
Daddy:     Goodnight Edward
Edward:   Goodnight Edward

We are getting there :-)  and I am very happy and proud of how far we have come.

Worried about child's future

Someone asked in an ASD group are you scared for your child's future.

My answer :

Hell yes, all the time.  But I work in his life with the assumption that he will succeed and all means are to that end. To assume the opposite is to create a negative future.

Hair cut

Hair cut

Oh my goodness, no tears, no putting hands in the way of the hairdresser and he even let her use the little razor to trim the edges.  And notice last visit was tears, this time a smile. :-).

He grabbed hold of me the whole time and kept moving his head.  He also kept saying "all done" and "well done" suggesting that we could go now.  But this is still a momentous positive.

We have this cool app since August that I think has helped a lot http://tocaboca.com/app/toca-hairsalon-me/

Vent alert ----
I have been socialising Edward since 2 months old.  Taking him to swim class, 6 months before kindy he has been having kindy visits, taking him to SPACE, taking him to ygym, many zoo visits, 3 observatory visits, many hospice visits before mum passed, many friends visits, many creche visits, taking him to small poppies, he tries so very hard to get on with other children.  I most definitely have not been hiding him away from people.  It is sad in my eyes that just because he does not look like a special needs child it has to be my fault he is having social issues, that I have not done my damnedest to recognise his weaknesses and obviously done nothing and he is just spoilt.  In yet with all his lack of communication and lack of sitting on mat he has better numeracy skills than some 5 year olds and better spelling skills than some 6 year olds.....oh yeah that is my fault too...chained him to a table and made him learn to write and count and did not speak to him obviously.   If he managed to learn as much as he has his way....why oh why is his way of listening "wrong"?????  What more could I have done to teach my son social skills and non verbal and verbal communication?????

Maybe this might help, in this video Carly who is on the severe end of the spectrum and is non verbal finds her voice (I think the more our children get the chance to communicate the better they do), she is able to feel more in control of herself and her life.
Carly teaches us so much....never give up, don't set a limit on potential, don't listen to the experts (the experts believed because of outer appearance Carly was mentally deficient)

Our children learn and grow and when making noises Carly is able to concentrate on what she hears, quite the opposite of what we first thought right....anyway please watch.  If someone as severe as Carly can find her way out we NEED to believe in all our ASD kids and help them.
 Autistic Girl Expresses Unimaginable Intelligence: http://youtu.be/vNZVV4Ciccg

Be patient with "that parent"

Please be patient with that parent in the waiting room....yes the gorgeous little guy next to your child looks "normal", you have no idea why we are jumpy and worried about our son showing signs of being a little pushy....lucky for you we are.....we are concerned that our son will bite your child....you did not seem to notice that our son did not walk up, look at your child and and gently show signs that they wanted to join in.  But our son didn't, he smiled when he saw the toy, sat next to your child and then started playing with the big wooden toy, saw your boy on the side he wanted and started to push your boy out of the way.   This is when you decided that we were shite parents because we could see the next step for our son was to reach in for your son's hand to show him exactly what he thought.  But no you advise us that you are a fully qualified ECE teacher (preschool teacher), so you reason with the boys.....when you notice that your son is having to make all the allowances you take your son for a walk.....because obviously we have no idea how to raise our son.  And to be honest I really could not be bothered explaining that Edward is autistic and having to apologise yet again when I an feeling I really have no reason to apologise....  For your assumptions.  You did not seem to realise that Edward said oh if any words in front of you would have been 2 words max.   - vent from this autism mummy.

Hi there,

In my humble opinion my theory on autistic children seems extremely logical to me with Occam's razor making the most sense in looking at our asd children (with genetics of parents or grandparents with computing, engineering, physics backgrounds).  Sorry this is not dated.....If your child is now way older and this is an old article I would love to hear your thoughts on my theory.

And when you have time to just be a bit open with my theory....not concerned about the ramifications (because they can be disconcerting) or be so negative (because you are too scared of a positive outcome....parents out there are and that is sad) then you might just say "she might be on to something".

My son loved watching educational videos at a young age, and even after a diagnosis of moderate autism and even now at 3 years and 5 months he is partially verbal he is able to read words... not so good at putting them together (but if you think about the fact that he is still on the frontier of learning how to verbally put sentences together this makes a ton of sense).  After reading negative talk from parents time and time again..........and positive talk from parents.... I can only come to one conclusion.  

These are the important sentences - Autistic children and gifted children sit on the same spectrum.

I hear from gifted parent who poor their hearts out about how the education system is failing their child.  Their child refuses to do the work because they did it 3 years ago at home and it is like asking an adult to start sucking on a dummy (Americans call them pacifiers).  You might get a few adults who will humour you but effectively if you start enforcing it they will start putting their foot down and say "stuff you".  

Does this behaviour remind you of our Autistic children????   Especially the non verbal children who get annoyed, stressed and down right peeved with things in their lives that even if verbal are unable to explain to us?????

I believe so....very much so.

Parents of children with gifted children complain/ so show concern that their child can be very sensitive to texture, sound, light, taste, social situations......Where have you heard that before???

What is the difference between a gifted child and an autistic one??? Severity I believe is the answer.

Why is Dr Simon Baron Cohen (Professor of Developmental psychopathology at the University of Cambridge)interested in getting autistic kids into what they are good at?  Leading them into fields of engineering and computer programming etc??? Aren't these professions considered for the ultra geeky???   Ummmm yes

Our autistic children, just like gifted children flourish in environments when they can play (the way they play), they play lining up, intrigued in geometric designs and patterns, some art, painting as they are beautifully gifted in the visual spatial area.  When encouraged our kids do so very well (be it hyperlexic which is our children's focus on letters and words or be it insects and bugs like a buddy Darwin or even Quantum Theory like a very encouraged and encouraging young man called Jacob Barnett).

Disclaimer - This part I can't fully discount.  There MAY be children who how ever much you encourage their focus to help them learn to embrace the world around them and they don't succeed, but I have not come across any such family or child yet.

Again most of this is theory including what I know for a fact that my son has difficulties but is also extremely intelligent.  I have met more severe children on the spectrum and the more they are encouraged the more they join us in this world and the more they show their brilliance.

reference to this article - http://www.autismtoday.com/hyperlexiamistaking-a-disabled-child-as-gifted/#comment-7104

Dear Autism NZ I think you are the leader in understanding and parents with children on the spectrum and you do a great job......yes there is a BUT.
I was wondering since recently more non verbal children are communicating with communication aids that are proving that non verbal children aren't slow or unintelligent just based on the term "non verbal".
And also because Dr Kanner's  " classic autism" when looking at his notes sounds awfully like the old diagnosis of Aspergers which is no longer diagnosed using the current dsm5.
Because the above is all true and I can give you references if you request them.

Can you please remove this from your website or at least rephrase it.  As it marginalises many diagnosed people including my son.

Your websites words that I feel need to be reworded -
"This term includes Asperger syndrome, which is a form of autism at the higher functioning end of the autism spectrum. People with Asperger syndrome are of average (or higher) intelligence and generally have fewer problems with language, often speaking fluently, though their words can sometimes sound formal and ideas which are abstract, metaphorical or idiomatic may cause confusion and be taken literally. Unlike individuals with 'classic' autism, who often appear withdrawn and uninterested in the world around them, many people with Asperger syndrome try hard to be sociable and do not dislike human contact. However, they still find it hard to understand non-verbal signals, including facial expressions."


Edward would have been diagnosed with autism under the dsm4, and to the majority that meet Edward that is what they see ......mean while at home.  This is what we see.
Edward for teachers movie short version: http://youtu.be/5k2VA_MZwNE

These people who are diagnosed through to severe and are non verbal (including my partially verbal son are my proof that the statement is not correct)
Carly Fleishmann (going to university this year, still non verbal) http://youtu.be/vNZVV4Ciccg , http://carlysvoice.com/home/aboutcarly/

"I am not able to talk out of my mouth, however I have found another way to communicate by spelling on my computer. (and yes that is me typing on the computer by myself)

I used to think I was the only kid with autism who communicates by spelling but last year I met a group of kids that communicate the same way. In fact some are even faster at typing then I am."

Michael Weinstein (Non verbal) http://www.goldenhatfoundation.org/about-us/blog/125-golden-hat-foundation-blog-70211

"That was when I realized several things. I was not retarded at all, but I was very handicapped by my lack of ability to speak. People assume that if you cannot speak, then you must be retarded. Most people who are trained in special education know nothing about autism, although they think they are the autism experts. "

Dillan Barmache - (Non verbal) http://abc7.com/news/non-verbal-teen-with-autism-gives-grad-speech/96359/

""Always look inside other people's experience in order to gain another perspective," Dillan said on stage. For years, Dillan's ideas used to be trapped inside his head. Today they're spilling out with the aid of his tablet computer."

Jake Willmann (non verbal)  - http://youtu.be/q4pU9980Hm0

"

Autistic child is also math genius"


Rylan Kirksey (non verbal) - At 2 years, adding and spelling

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/25613637/tennessee-boy-with-autism-communicates-with-yard-sale-play-mat


Dashiell (minimally verbal)

http://www.specialneeds.com/children-and-parents/autism/autism-beyond-nonverbal-label

"“I wish people didn’t make fun of me. They don’t see me. They only see my disability. If they only knew I am an intelligent man who is saddened by people who tease me. I hope my story will help others understand that autism is not a disease you might catch but a condition that gives me the ability to see things that others don’t."

If you can't trust these people above to be a true representation of "classic autism", how about a recent study.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8749.1987.tb08506.x/abstract

"Seventeen children with classical Kanner autism and three children with Asperger syndrome, all of whom had Full-scale IQs above 65, were subjected to a neurobiological assessment, including CAT scan, auditory brainstem response, EEG, chromosomal cultures, cerebrospinal fluid, blood and urine examinations and a thorough physical examination. 15 of the 20 children had ‘definite abnormalities’ on at least one of these examinations. It is concluded that the number of cases of ‘non-organic’ autism, even among children with relatively higher intelligence, "

And Dr Kanners observations of his patients....
From -
http://abnormaldiversity.blogspot.co.nz/2008/05/kanner-autism.html?m=1

"In his 1943 article Autistic Disturbances of Affective Contact, Kanner said:

"With the non-language items of the Binet and Merril-Palmer tests, she [case 6, Virginia S.] achieved an IQ of 94. 'Without a doubt' commented the psychologist, 'her intelligence is superior to this'"

"A Binet test was attempted ... He [case 8, Alfred L.] finally complied in most instances in a manner that clearly indicated that he wanted to get through with the particular intrusion; this was repeated with each individual item in the test. In the end he achieved an IQ of 140." [Note: Alfred L and Virginia S were the only two children who cooperated enough for an IQ test.]

"Even though most of these children were at one point or another looked upon as feebleminded, they are all unquestioning endowed with good cognitive potentialities... The astounding vocabulary of the speaking children, the excellent memory for events of several years before, the phenomenal rote memory for poems and names, and the precise recollection of complex patterns and sequences, bespeak good intelligence in the sense in which this word is commonly used.""

I ask, neigh plead that you change this wording because parents are getting the wrong idea of their children's capabilities and hurdles.  As I see our very bright children with hurdles....some bigger than others totally, but still intelligent children with hurdles.  Being non-verbal does not equal low intelligence at all, just ask Steven Hawking.  And if I can't convince Autism NZ to please reconsider wording how do I help my son further?  How do I help other people realise his potential????

Yours sincerely,
Suzanne Warburton (crazy possibly undx on the spectrum mum of a brilliant partially verbal moderately ASD 3 year old)

The pushy parent theory

I know on  7 Sharp last night they yet again helped to make me feel like a shit parent by talking about forcing a child to do something younger than they should.  Please understand the only way Edward wants to even talk to us about anything is if it involves what he enjoys.
List of Edward hobbies;
Alphabet
Numbers
Rainbows
Solar System
Trampoline
Water play
Sand play
Swinging
Playing on the piano
Playdough
Likes watching peppa pig, Elmo, Bumble Bee Kids and pingu.
......

Did I say alphabet?
On long car trips from about 3 months old if we stopped singing the alphabet song Edward would scream the car down.  Other songs were not OK, but the alphabet to different tunes were acceptable.

I have never seen a parent manage to force a toddler to do anything other than when I have seen videos of autism ABA therapy (and we are not going there) and abusive situations and Edward is not being abused.....he runs this house most of the time

Anyway thank you for letting me vent.

Let's reverse autism

So frustrating being a mum with a child on the spectrum.  It seems like society is more accepting of a child that is being forced to learn how to get along with other people and for that child to be disabled.
And find it too hard to get around the fact that that same child can also be talented without being forced by the parents.

Let's throw this in reverse order shall we.
How would your typical child act and feel and respond if the reverse was true and parents expected that when happily or anxious they were supposed to spin and flap and jump?  And since they did not do these things but did this weird thing of looking into people's eye and talking far too early (yes the parents must have been really drilling talking into them far too early) that they would then need to go and get help and training on how to jump, flap and spin???

Well my ditch attempt to reach the people who can help in Edward's education - wish us luck

Well my ditch attempt to reach the people who can help in Edward's education - wish us luck

This is what the doctor who coined the diagnosis Autism said about Autism

I am actually really happy to find this because sometimes when you get enough parents telling you that you should shut up and that their child is just horrible and that I don't know what I am talking about and other mean things.  It hurts me more that they think that of their children more than my hurt feelings.

 Reference - http://books.google.co.nz/books?id=iFlFAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=kanner+on+his+autistic+patients+focused&source=bl&ots=ABLXLHBJmH&sig=jQzNxkdpgJlwxP8r_2luhsHg0AU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=EJthVICNIqTymQWt6ILIDg&ved=0CC0Q6AEwCA

I 100% believe in early intervention, not necessarily any particular kind.
1) because our kids aren't getting a natural raising (society backs off and does not understand enough for it to be natural)
2) The parents who have all done a ton of study like me ( or accidentally like mother in law) have all been succeeding because of steps that work that are equal to early intervention. Not all parents have the time (must work to get bills paid), energy or enough understanding of the importance to make it priority.
And with other children who are severe and not had early intervention we will never know their potential.
One thing that history screams out though is institutions which equal drugging, often abuse and definitely no intervention have caused the worst outcome.  And more recently trying the opposite of inclusion, assuming competency, intervention, love and patience has shown massive results.

First ever diagnosed autistic person

First ever diagnosed autistic person -
"he has many friends in Forest who are quick to defend the man they know is different but brilliant"
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2010/09/15/first-diagnosed-autism/10234/

Well if only good things happened for the first to be diagnosed why can't we expect that for all?

The positives are what will drive happy families, happy out comes and independent living.

Too many neurons not too little

At the very beginning of this autism journey I learnt very early that the "problem" was neurons don't or don't die as easily in the autistic brain. Ref http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/courchesne-gene-expression/

So I asked a question in a group saying so the problem is like talking to a friend across an empty room for NT people as opposed to talking to a friend in a crowded room with your friend across the room.  This still seems to be the best way for me to explain someone on the spectrum..... Depending on how severe the person is, basically the more people are in their crowded room.  So how do you help someone learn on the spectrum, well one train of thought is ABA and if done to the letter you are basically only telling certain people in their crowded room the answer to pass to their friend at the other side of the room.  The pros with this idea is that it will teach a person on the spectrum, the other problem is if not done in exactly the right way the stress starts showing and the whole system breaks down.
So how do you best teach a child on the spectrum, easy EASY, you teach pass that message on to as many of those 'people' (neurons) as you possibly can....actually our ASD kids naturally work on that theory, it looks repetitive to a very untrained eye, IT ISN'T.  They are spinning that toy at different times of the day, in different weather, when people are talking, when the room is quiet, when you have guests over, when you go out, when the TV is on.............these are all slight variations that help our kids learn.  Please please use this opportunity to teach your child, sit with your child while they are spinning, make as many connections as you can, branch them out, sing while they are doing their "obsession", talk to your child while they are doing their " obsession" , play with them by spinning with them.
This has been the absolutely most important part of helping and teaching we can do.
In my humble opinion.  And a reminder "TOO MANY NEURONS" means our children's problem is not lack of brain power.
It seems all too simple, it explains why on so many levels, I have reevaluated this basic theory of mine over and over and I can't see how it is incorrect.   My question is why if it is all as teaching how our kids learn why aren't the majority doing this?

We all find it easier to learn if we are interested in the subject, like our hobbies ("obsessions").  It seems to be what our brains are strongest at so we are more open to learning.......I hope that makes sense.

The importance of mirroring visual information figuratively and literally for a child on the spectrum.

Mirrors and why I think they are so important, other than helping our kids learn their own existence in time and space, and in doing so it helps with our kids learning to dress themselves (slowly Edward is getting better at this)
Edward's first impression was of someone different that is why I used it to help with introductions and conversation :-) when he is getting dressed upstairs I say hi mirror Edward and mirror mummy :-) how are you.  Edward can you wave to mirror Edward? .....blah blah blah blah blah. The great thing is mirror mummy and mirror Edward always seem happy to smile back and wave back :-). There are so many interactions our kids miss out on because of other peoples lack of treating like they are worth the interaction, we need to make up our our ways of teaching them basic societal politeness in a less stressful environment.

Reversing or curing Autism

Hubby was never diagnosed he is quirky and I love him to bits, no one now would guess that he  started talking at 3 and that his mum was worried about him.  No one now would guess that he slept very little and that he flapped and spun.  He was accepted as being Richard, his mum sat him down and explained social stuff to him.  His mum encouraged his "obsession" of letters and reading.  He had NO ABA, one primary school did not accept him, the next primary school realised he was bright.....just saying, I believe he is still on the spectrum.  Looking back mil accidentally did everything right.  And looking back at my history I am either boarder line ASD or am on the spectrum.  Is that a bad thing to be different from the norm??? We have things to work on for our son, we love him very much and we will raise him to be a good boy, help him with his weaknesses and encourage his strengths.  This is a whole family who wishes not to be cured or reversed.  Xxxxooooo

wow - Carly, I am reading your dad's book and you are teaching me so much

A page out of the "Carly's voice" book that I think ALL ASD parents need to hear and know.  Please share this to anyone you think NEEDS to know this.

The absolute pure definition of don't judge a book by it's cover.

I feel people need to know this, this page shows that what in most circumstances people would see someone not listening, not wanting to listen, not capable IS actually listening, wanting to listen and soooo very capable.

I believed that children who were severe with autism were just as capable (if not more capable for not having an easy straight forward life), but could not find real solid proof and this is even better than I presumed.  If Carly is stimming this profoundly and still taking in information better than your average person, it is probable that a whole heap of children are being misunderstood and diagnosed as "cognitively delayed"

I just was stunned when I read this I mean my son can listen and take in info when he is running around, spinning, flapping and dancing.....but I was wondering how many others like me had no idea that Carly was doing all these sorts of stims while taking in what she was hearing.   It sounds reading further into the book she is using her stims to be able to take in this info, just like my son moves to hear.

Autism / ASD disability?

When I say my son has a disability - I mean it purely in the Clinical sense and a social one.  At  an appointment at the hospital I have to hold my son down for the very basic of examination (that breaks my heart).  In the mall I have to stop him from running out of my sight because he does not have verbal skills to say "I have lost my mummy" or even yell for me :-( , he is likely to run out in front of cars.  We went to a friends birthday party and this reminded me of how ASD my son is...we walked into her living room with all their family and friends and Edward just started screaming and having a full on meltdown.  If feeling nervous he can recite the alphabet, count or spin.  He is just getting conversation communication at 3 years and 3 months.  Edward has pica still.  And he is extremely intelligent but it took I think 5 visits before the other ladies at our little class we go to weekly got to see why we were there when Edward at 3 picked up a red felt tip and wrote red with it, picked up the page and said red, then turned the page over and wrote his name.  Preconceptions need to change in society for my son and other children on the spectrum to flourish and succeed.  In other countries 2e (having an ability and disability) is diagnosed.  Here in New Zealand it is ignored, definitely not diagnosed.  I may as well be screaming in the mall pink elephants are about to trample you than someone believe (before proof) that Edward is gifted.
I have been told categorically that if I say that my son is gifted to people that supply services to help him with things that need a little help I can forget any help.
But I refuse to tell people that my son is just broken.  I don't see Edward as broken.  It is not fine sailing but I love my little man to bits and the highs far exceed the lows.

autism /ASD experts

Us ASD parents need to stick together, if experts don't know the why's how the heck would they know the answers?   - they just are there to annoy me and confuse other parents.

autism / ASD and echolalia

An explanation of echolalia  and why our partially verbal children use it to start talking.

It's just on the tip of my tongue, it means it was the first made?  Can you help me find the word please?
"Original" you say? Yes that is the word I want.  "Original"

-----------------------------
I am saying "J would you like a ball?" and then J says "ball" ------
He may as well be saying 'ah yes thanks mum that is the word I am wanting' "ball"

------------------
A lot of us echolalia -
"The computer crashed!!!!!" "Crashed?"
(Asking for an explanation)
"Do you want an Porsche or a Lamborghini for Xmas?" "Hmmm Porsche or Lamborgini?"
(A thinking/processing out loud example)

Autism / ASD - where to start

In a group someone asked how would we describe autism. - This is my best answer.
" Difficulty with verbal and non verbal communication that impacts on everything else.  -  In many ways the more severe children remind me a lot of the first part of the movie "Helen Keller".

And that was achieved only after connecting / bonding with her and teaching her how to communicate first (with a ton of patience and love and acceptance :-) )

I found while connecting it was a great time to sing and talk. As a verbal child said "I can't hear and look at the same time"..... So an excellent time for your child to hear you while they are in their comfortable place and in motion...... Kristine Barnett did a lot of her teaching with her son while he was in a swing.

Lecithin, fish oil and vitamin e for autitory processing disorder

At the moment Edward is on probiotics, still on formula, fish oil, lecithin, creatine (in the more digestible format) and ubiquinol ( the more digestible version of co-q10) - and I have been asking other parents if they have been using lecithin as it seemed rather coincidental that Edward's speech seems better the last few days I have been using it....I have just come across this - from http://www.diannecraft.org/improving-your-memory-with-lecithin/

Regarding soybean and the amount of oestrogen it contains that may be an issue for males.  We are presently using the Thompson's super lecithin which is from soybean with no warnings on it.   Soyabean is also the product in soy sauce and that has not really hindered Japanese men.  But I will take it on board.  Lecithin can also be derived from sunflowers, corn and egg.

As an ASD parent please question EVERYTHING

I think that is the absolutely most important thing for a parent with a child who has been diagnosed asd.  If "experts" tell you that your child is mentally handicapped and you have even an inkling that that does not sound true then please please question what they say.

I think I was just extremely lucky that every time I heard or read something that said asd people were lower in intellect it did NOT sound right.  Also just before I got married to hubby I was angry and asked google a question, it brought up aspergers male.  I read it and said "Honey they have listed your personality", he said funny you say that, when I was at university I found that out and told my friends, they kind of ignored it and we carried on as normal.

When I took Edward to see the specialist I was expecting a diagnosis of aspergers, not autism.  I thought my son was intelligent and quirky and showing all the signs of aspergers minus delayed speech.  But hubby and Mother in law said hubby was slow to speak.

After diagnosis and the shock of not understanding Autism at all, I kept coming across things that really did not ring true.  I could not believe the experts.  I was lucky to come across the book "The spark" by Kristine Barnett.  And Edward was 2 years and few months by then, while reading the book I could see some similarities between Jacob (Kristine's son) and mine.  So instead of doing what the experts said, my first plan of attack was to find Edward's love.

Without the book I have no idea how bad it would have been for my little man. So with lots of YouTube videos, a patient hubby and tons of toys checking his body language to everything. Well Edward is now 3 yrs and 3 months, he loves the solar system, gravity (still checking to see if the next thing will fall down), maps (inclusive of google maps) globe, swings, the trampoline, letters, numbers, words, spelling, writing, dancing, jumping, spinning, flapping and he is still only partially verbal.....not to bad for a moderately autistic little man also diagnosed with developmental delays with the paediatrician telling me there was no way of telling what the outcome may be.

What is the difference between Aspergers and Autism?

If Aspergers was still being diagnosed Edward would still be autistic.

Here is the long version (Dr. Catherine Lord talking about being on the committee that made the new DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition) (DSM5) for Autism and what they did) of my short paragraph.



Before DSM5 came out the main differences between Aspergers and Autism was.
1.speech delay - whether you had fluent speech at 2 (Edward still does not at 3)
2. Which state you lived in/ who the clinician is.
3. What your IQ is - and the IQ level was different in different states and by each clinician (Edward was diagnosed with developmental delays, his intelligence was almost fully masked by his ASD at that stage)

So some people were being bounced around both diagnoses. And in the states people were getting services if diagnosed with autism and dropped off services if diagnosed with aspergers.

Teaching Edward to look where I point and clearer speech and getting better at communication

Edward is pointing and his speech is getting better.
Trying to teach him looking where I point, it has to be at something he wants to find and often I get down to his level and use his arm and mine at the same time......we are getting there.

How we communicate with each other while Edward is partially verbal and his learning abilities

This is how Edward asks us for information and learns /absorbs info. I have had to learn Edward language and I use his loves to encourage speech. I thought this might help other ASD mummies.

I just love his little laugh when he is starting to get something.

Magnetic alphabet, it is on both android and iPad. He was totally just loving the alphabet but he has started using the pictures more and more too. I think Tasha put me on to it.

This is one of the major reasons why I don't believe in too much technology. There are no games on Edward's iPad other than educational games. This is why I feel that classes should be embracing our children as they are and supporting how they learn.

It is this app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.dotnext.magneticalphabet

Edward was not feeling well today (8th October 2014) but decided to do a bit of writing and has not done this for a while, so it was lovely.  Interaction when he is doing what he wants to is always great for both of us. I cut it down from 15 to 8 mins, sorry it is still long.

Thinking out loud - My thoughts on autism and pretend play

As I am watching Edward watch the Bumblebee pretend play video, he enjoys watching it, but he uses little pretend play. 'Experts' believe pretend play is so very important to learn. I think the video helps Edward learn how other kids learn. He is obviously learning without using pretend play. Pretend play is a way of physically imitating others. Edward learns more by looking repetitively and via brain processing. Why would anyone think Edward's way is less than a typical child's way? It keeps me on my toes though, to help him progress and understand things in this world I have to find videos and go places that he can learn by visual learning.....repetition in visual learning instead of a typical child learning by repeating via pretend play and listening.

I am terrible at pretend play. He does tiny bits like pretending to talk into a phone.... To help him when others want to pretend play with him I reword it. Like when we were doing one on one teaching for a while and our lovely teacher produced a stuffed dog and said "what does he say?", Edward looked down with a smirk on his face, I knew exactly what he was thinking. I said "honey if the stuffed dog were real what would he say?" And Edward said "woof woof"

Regarding the supposed importance of pretend play -

What are our kids learning by making pretend cookies? Pretend play is a very new and in my opinion wrong assumption as it stands now. Typical children used to do it naturally to learn by imitating their parents, but the children in the spectrum are leaders not followers, they will watch and learn fast then do their own thing.

I know many a typical child that does not seem to have learnt a lot through pretend play as children. I think this is the 'expert' bug again. I can't imagine Einstein or Jacob Barnett being more successful because of pretend play. But if you are a child that learns better by constantly having to have physical and verbal feedback pretend play would be very important.

I think people totally underestimate our ASD kids because of this belief they are dumb instead of the fact that they try teaching how verbal children learn. When you teach as they best learn (well in Edward's case anyway) they can adapt these ideas fast, they watch the videos they see real life examples and they make their own perfectly good adaptions to suit.

I use real life stuff to work on communication. Edward loves his little house but he does not play house. We use it to learn "this is Edward's house" "Edward is in this house" "Edward has shut the door", "Edward has opened the door" and Edward will stand there and open the door and say "open", and close the door and say " close". He initiates what he wants to learn.

Well when my son stops learning because I have been so careless to not force pretend play on him I will reconsider my teaching.

If pretend play is life or death, chance of living a productive life and I just have to teach it to my son, give me proof. I see many ASD kids growing up just fine without pretend play... So is it really that important? But please 'Expert's don't talk down to me and say 'it just is' when there is living proof that seems to defy it.

***********
Addendum - I have just been asked some great questions and my answers maybe handy for other parents.

We had a foster baby who would try to play with Edward and would parallel play. We are especially lucky at our kindy a undx (suspected) little girl has taken a liking to Edward, when he goes for the 2 hours approx I have seen her imitate Edward's movements wait for him to enjoy her company and she will natter away and include him in her play . So our own therapist. He gets lots of time to visually learn at under 5 gym on Mondays, Tuesday is kindy, Wednesday is creche at our local mall with excellent qualified kindy teachers, Thursday is small poppies, Friday Creche again and Saturdays music and dance class.

Edward pretends he is letters and numbers and gets the whole family involved in the H with him being the bar between us. He has pretended to be me when he was making fun of me tripping. He is pretending to be us when he uses the phone. ---- different pretend play. Pretend play more to learn more basic communication.

If people allow their children to play with our kids.  it makes a massive difference for our children's better outcome.

 I am happy to work at Edward's pace. He maybe at new entrance (start of primary school level) in scholastics, but I think he is actually using toddler level skills to understand pretoddler communication and social skills.

Autism and eye contact

If you want to get an idea of autism - Try talking to a friend for 5 mins looking into their eyes and no where else, it is a great way to understand how hard it is for a person on the spectrum. But it is that much harder for someone on the spectrum.

Edward is happy to look at me when he is happy and relaxed. I don't force the issue. If he is comfortable, relaxed and enjoying being around me then there is no anxiety connected. It makes me so happy when I see him do it because of my previous comments.

Mirrors for extra visual feedback

This is how we change nappies now, so he can get more visual feedback on what I am doing.
Addendum-
I am running out of ideas. I put the top tile on the wall ages ago to help with Edward's verbal feedback, he sings in front of the TV and this is just to the right so he can (and he does) practice words and looks at his lip movements. I still had another 4 tiles, so I added 2 more tiles 

I put them down at Edward's height where he likes to be. At first I put the alphabet and numbers on them to draw him in.....now most of the time they are clear, other times they have messages on them.

Dated 8th Oct 2014 - PS, I am getting more recognition already as in he is starting to give me a hand dressing him and he is looking at me dressing him. Yay  a good start at least.

Neglecting my blogger

After seeing a comment from another ASD mummy also looking for answers I realise I have been totally neglecting my blogs here, since a lot are going up on Edward's World Face Book Page  https://www.facebook.com/EdwardsWorld?ref=ts&fref=ts, and on the Edward's World YouTube Playlist http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9S2SzEwJrjlsSlGIgdr4LQy .
There are how ever advantages (Search is way better on here that on the facebook page) to adding the better posts also to this blog so I will do a bit of a catch up.

Autism and low intelligence and over diagnosing

I think the ASD and other supposed brain "dysfunction" difference in thinking is what can make our children look at the world differently and help make it a better place.  I can't change how I think.  Temple Grandin (severe side of the asd spectrum), John Nash (nobel prize winner with schizophrenia), Jacob Bennett (ASD regressed from talking to nothing in his 2's), Raun Kaufman (diagnosed with classic autism), Carly Fleischman ( writer of 2 books, presently going to mainstream university and still non verbal, considered retarded, behaviour calmed amazingly as soon as she was able to 'voice' her feelings etc), Dr John Hall (diagnosed severely autistic and retarded), parents now are trying harder with their ASD kids instead of giving up on them and many are starting to see that experts were wrong when they said that their child would never be able to do this or that.  Many experts have been extremely incorrect about the ASD child's intellect.  Children originally diagnosed severe and retarded have made massive strides into the mild side of the spectrum with people constantly saying "well maybe they weren't in the first place".  This is my experience over the 1.3 years.  So if kids are going from severe to mild or even staying severe and writing books with the help of technology where is this so called wall of misdiagnosis?

Why I call my son autistic and not with autism ---part 2

Why I call my son autistic and not with autism ---part 2

Depends on whether you think the word is negative or an asset.  I consider that lovely little guy is autistic and not "with autism", because I feel it is his super power, it makes him different and stand out and I am very proud of my son and his abilities and they come from him being my adorable, blond, blue eyed, funny very intelligent, autistic Edward. :-). All describing words, all positive words.

Would you call an Olympic pole jumper, inability to be an Olympic heavy weight weight lifter and start saying " person with Olympic pole jumping disorder"?

Names will always be around while language exists in this society, cleft palate children used to be considered slow, left handers used to be considered the devils hand maidens, children used to be seen and not heard, but society changed as it must.  I have faith in society that they can also make the evolutionary leap in believing autistic people are valued members of society, just like artists, doctors, computer programmers, left handers, deaf people......................

People on the spectrum have emotions - News Alert!!!!

Oh my god they are just working this out now? Our kids have tons of empathy they just don't know how to respond to it, they need to learn the socially acceptable way to do that which is a social mine field of danger when they get it wrong.

Sometimes emotion can be so strong I can't look at people and can't talk to them, those cases for me are extremely rare and very short (worst i think was 30 mins in my mid thirties but it helps we with insight about more severe ASD.)

http://seventhvoice.wordpress.com/2013/11/16/new-study-finds-that-individuals-with-aspergers-syndrome-dont-lack-empathy-in-fact-if-anything-they-empathize-too-much/

Oh PS our kids are no aliens, they have higher anxiety levels, and you would too if you could not find the right words to convey your thoughts and feelings and everyone miss understood you.

I have made 12 playlists for our specialist children.

I have made some playlists for our specialist children.
PS - The Basic learning social songs are great to help for all sorts, and some even replace social stories, way more fun and enjoyable to listen to. 

Alphabet songs  - 
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9TszXg98Jsailcu9QT9v-JJ

Animals  -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsDanlM8_3c&list=PLt1mf23I6t9Qz_iouyEKLyKNFpJYxNmLr

Ball/balloon/bubble songs  -
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9StIe1FZQIZfIojbO9aZpbU

Communication clips -
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9FexaiRQNK0dMmpnKMMPU_rs6TVpqAlU

Dinosaur clips -
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPphPHIzdSQOEjoWBCEu1txWsWswfi9Ay

Basic learning social songs  -
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9RXN7Ls7H02rvvDf4l64Ql-

Flags Places Countries States -
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9T2uqQLonJ95T3JggVVDcbE


Frozen fans (3) - (added bonus sub titles)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9QB2_Vyc_SNSORjxnEYCv8i

Numbers  -
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9QPYVxMwM8khzSGHKFuBfhX

Planets  -
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9Tgs_wLdmZ_Lp9QhC4g8ODp

Shapes -
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9R5hb6ukYY9JrNSBNlePpx4
Trains  -
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt1mf23I6t9TRLVfSoIEF54u-Eu7tgZU2

These are people with Autism

These are people with Autism -

Carly Fleishmann (going to university this year, still non verbal) http://youtu.be/vNZVV4Ciccg , http://carlysvoice.com/home/aboutcarly/

"I am not able to talk out of my mouth, however I have found another way to communicate by spelling on my computer. (and yes that is me typing on the computer by myself)

I used to think I was the only kid with autism who communicates by spelling but last year I met a group of kids that communicate the same way. In fact some are even faster at typing then I am."

Michael Weinstein (Non verbal) http://www.goldenhatfoundation.org/about-us/blog/125-golden-hat-foundation-blog-70211

"That was when I realized several things. I was not retarded at all, but I was very handicapped by my lack of ability to speak. People assume that if you cannot speak, then you must be retarded. Most people who are trained in special education know nothing about autism, although they think they are the autism experts. "

Dillan Barmache - (Non verbal) http://abc7.com/news/non-verbal-teen-with-autism-gives-grad-speech/96359/

""Always look inside other people's experience in order to gain another perspective," Dillan said on stage. For years, Dillan's ideas used to be trapped inside his head. Today they're spilling out with the aid of his tablet computer."

Jake Willmann (non verbal)  - http://youtu.be/q4pU9980Hm0

"

Autistic child is also math genius"

Rylan Kirksey (non verbal) - At 2 years, adding and spelling

http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/25613637/tennessee-boy-with-autism-communicates-with-yard-sale-play-mat

Dashiell (minimally verbal)

http://www.specialneeds.com/children-and-parents/autism/autism-beyond-nonverbal-label

"“I wish people didn’t make fun of me. They don’t see me. They only see my disability. If they only knew I am an intelligent man who is saddened by people who tease me. I hope my story will help others understand that autism is not a disease you might catch but a condition that gives me the ability to see things that others don’t."

Edward Warburton (nonverbal - partially verbal in public depending on stress, getting more verbal at home every day) - At 3 years and 1 month can read, spell and write words, loves planets, numbers and letters. http://youtu.be/sildWUJETlg

Dr Stephen Shore (verbal from 4) - http://youtu.be/VZlApgtt5Fs

"Stephen Shore, doctoral student and individual with autism, discusses his personal history and experiences with ASD. He states how important it is to him to give parents hope. Mr. Shore explains how he feels autism is a difference to be worked with as opposed to as enemy to be defeated."

Dr Temple Grandin (verbal from 4) - http://youtu.be/UKhg68QJlo0

"Temple Grandin, diagnosed with autism as a child, talks about how her mind works -- sharing her ability to "think in pictures," which helps her solve problems that neurotypical brains might miss. She makes the case that the world needs people on the autism "

Jacob Barnett - they can't test his intelligence because he keeps getting ALL of the answers right, started uni at 8 years of age. Not just any subject Quantum Physics.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g91IQsS2spA

"

Jacob (Jake) Barnett "Math and Science Prodigy" on 60 Minutes"