Autism Awareness

[The boy formerly known as Evil Muzz 27]

Date: 4/14/2005 4:23:48 AM Author: jeronij

Hello everybody. First at all my support to all who are suffering those type of disorders, and its 'collateral damages'. I feel really identificated with Joesocwork. My 4 y.o. kid has also some kind of disorder, some light grade of autism but no doctor can say my wife and me what is exactly happening. He does not speak. He does not stop to 'talk' but he only says some words, hello, goodbye, 'pipi', and some others, but only once in his live so far, he said two chained words. He loves to watch TV and play with cars and plastic figures and when he is playing with his toys, he looks like living in his own world, but I guess all the childs when are playing are in his own world, aren

[jeronij 13]

Hello there

I do really appreciate your suggestions.

SkiGeek,  I

[Lamborghini 0]

Date: 4/15/2005 12:08:20 AM Author: Screwballl i have autism but i dont remember the term for it. it is basically a toned down version but the roots are still there. my 3 yr old daughter has it as well, I can tell based on her actions and the way she carries herself. Lets just say she will be 3 at the end of this April and she can use a computer (double click the proper icon to start her game, icons mixed in with 20 other icons on the desktop), she can spell cat and boy as of last week... physically she is just as advanced. she is wearing 5T clothes, is about 41' tall and 39 lbs. Of ocurs ei am 6'5 and her mother is 5'10 so she gets it from both sides. anyways i know how tough it is dealing with people like this, as a person having to deal with myself is a chore at times lol.

quote>

ski pointed out this topic to me, and she pointed out my bro replied here, but im kinda questioning this...

 

i think i got the general idea of autism from the first post, mechanical seeming movements and focusing on one thing at a time, well screwy, ive seen you for many years of my life and you never seemed autistic, you run up the stairs, you turn you flex you bend, you may focus on one thing only but that seems to happen to all the males in this family   ive also seen your daughter run around and be happy and she doesnt seem to have even mild autism, neither of you do for that matter... i dont mean to be offensive, but this kinda seems to be for gardering attention here from you mike... yea... anywho thats my 10cents

[Joesocwork 4]

Date: 4/15/2005 6:08:40 PM Author: Lamborghini

Date: 4/15/2005 12:08:20 AM Author: Screwballl i have autism but i dont remember the term for it. it is basically a toned down version but the roots are still there. my 3 yr old daughter has it as well, I can tell based on her actions and the way she carries herself. Lets just say she will be 3 at the end of this April and she can use a computer (double click the proper icon to start her game, icons mixed in with 20 other icons on the desktop), she can spell cat and boy as of last week... physically she is just as advanced. she is wearing 5T clothes, is about 41' tall and 39 lbs. Of ocurs ei am 6'5 and her mother is 5'10 so she gets it from both sides. anyways i know how tough it is dealing with people like this, as a person having to deal with myself is a chore at times lol.

ski pointed out this topic to me, and she pointed out my bro replied here, but im kinda questioning this...

i think i got the general idea of autism from the first post, mechanical seeming movements and focusing on one thing at a time, well screwy, ive seen you for many years of my life and you never seemed autistic, you run up the stairs, you turn you flex you bend, you may focus on one thing only but that seems to happen to all the males in this family   ive also seen your daughter run around and be happy and she doesnt seem to have even mild autism, neither of you do for that matter... i dont mean to be offensive, but this kinda seems to be for gardering attention here from you mike... yea... anywho thats my 10cents

 

There are a lot of conditions that appear to be similar but are actually quite different.  Autism and Asperger's Syndrome are somewhat similar and are considered to be Developmental Delays.  They often have little connection however to other things such as mental retardation, thought disorders, mood disorders, learning disabilities, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, just to name only a few.  They are all completely unrelated. The connections that all of the conditions often do share is that they are usually neurologically based (i.e. they exist through the wiring within the brain) and that they can affect social functioning.  Even the same syndromes can come from completely different sources such as heredity, a childhood illness, or an injury.

I have learning disabilities, including poor spatial recognition, dyslexia, and auditory processing difficulties that were diagnosed in my mid-twenties.  I often just say dyslexia to avoid the stigma of the word learning disabilities.  My 4 y. o. daughter has brilliant social skills but has somewhat poor gross (large muscled) motor skills.  There will be a time where she when if the symptoms show up she could be diagnosed for L.D.

[clindhartsen 5]

I will admit, this may be a little bit off topic, but always take a look into many different possibilities before taking the direct conclusion of doctors of which sometimes do not know exactly what they are talking about.

In my early years, I had my own class of problems which were primarly concluded to have been possibly signs of an autistic child. My own mom wasn't even completely sure what to think about it years ago, but found herself watching some special about alergies and your children. Luckily enough, she was convinced to buy the book they were selling. Oh shoot, I believe it was about telling if your child is alergic to something.

Reading through the book, they explained the main object about how alergies are not always the same sneezing and watery eyes that everyone thinks about, but do show in other ways. Effects on the body vary but for myself, it was my cheeks usually having a red appearence. Though the book, somewhere, it suggested about a milk allergy and sure enough that was what she believe it was and before she knew it was like night and day. Once being a rather odd child with speaking problems, slow learning, not being able to speak well, and taking preschool, I all of a sudden changed and even the school called my mom asking what she did to me.

I guess my only word of advice is don't always look directly at the doctors and possibly experiment on something as simple as food, since the effects are not the same for everyone. (end off-topic presentation)

[bevanl 6]

I have got Asperger's Syndrome (AS) and been diagnosed years ago (I am now 16), a form of Autism, and I find it quite differcult to make friends and get bullied at school, probably my only true friends are you guys at Simtropolis, but there is a plus side, People with Aspergers are usually intelligent, many clever people through History probably had Asperger's e.g Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, my specal ability is Computers, I even know more than my I.C.T teacher!,I am now projected to have 4 A's in GNVQ ICT!, the highest I can get!

Because of my AS, I was put into the bottom group in Year 7, which was an Insult to my Inteligence, but eventually people noticed that I am a Intermediate/Higher person who has lots of Certificates, I have moved up groups several times in Maths and now I am In a Higher group! I am now guaranteed 5 GCSE's which is enough for college!, even though it is not really GCSE Exam season yet!. Also I had to see a Student Councillor to discuss about my problems at school and it did solve most of my problems, through out my time at school, I have learnt that not everyone is friendly.

[Joesocwork 4]

Date: 4/16/2005 2:46:51 PM Author: clindhartsenI guess my only word of advice is don't always look directly at the doctors and possibly experiment on something as simple as food, since the effects are not the same for everyone. (end off-topic presentation)

quote>

Amen. Second, third, fourth, opinions etc.  And take absolutely nothing for granted.   Research, research, research.  In recent months my wife and I have been exploring with diets to compensate for hidden allergies to dairy and processed wheat products.

[lonaryl 3]

Hi all!

As a fan of Jeroni's SCR CJ, I ran into his link on his SCR page. I personally have quite a bit experience with autism. My older brother has a very rare disorder named Sotos syndrome, which has an overlap with symptoms of the autism spectrum. Also, since I was twenty (am 25 now..) I've been a volunteer on summer camps for teenagers with autism spectrum disorder. And last but not least, I've worked for the last one and a half years (until I started graduating three months ago) at a day-care center for (how do I translate this..) 'severely mentally disabled people' where most of the clients (that's the appropriate term, never say patients, you don't cure their condition..) had some kind of autism related disorder (not to mention, severe behavioural problems and often psychiatric disorders too..). An amazingly interesting place to work I might add!

 

I haven't seen mentioned yet a very important thing: autism is a spectrum disorder, which means that there is almost an infinite number of ways in which the disorder can show. The way they diagnose autism is by looking at many many things, and if someone has more than (e.g.) 60% of all possible symptoms he/she is diagnosed with autism. If someone has over (e.g.) 20% of the symptoms one is diagnosed with an 'autism related' or 'autism spectrum' disorder. An important thing to realize is that almost everyone, and certainly every male, has some of the symptoms that are part of the autism spectrum!!

Everyone has his or her own way of looking at the world, but people with autism have such a different way of looking at the world that they get problems because of it. Often, what they see as important or interesting is seen as mere details by most people, and on the other hand they seem to be unaware of things that most people see as important. People with an autism related disorder find it at least hard, at most impossible to understand the way other people see the world and the way other people think. But the opposite is also true! Most people find it hard, if not impossible to understand the way some one with an autism related disorder sees the world and thinks!

 

Jeroni, I'm not an expert, no doctor, but do have some experience with autism.. I hope my English is understandable for you, if not, feel free to ask for clarification! From what you describe your son may not have any autism related disorder, though it is possible that he does. I would strongly advise you to find someone with real expertise on the subject. I just asked a friend of mine, who IS an expert on autism (and works directly under THE LEADING expert on autism of Europe), from what age autism can be diagnosed. Children can be diagnosed for autism (and related disorders) by the age of four or five. I also asked whether she knew where there are experts in Spain. The only place she knew was Salamanca. (Which is very far away from Mallorca..) There may be more places with experts, the best place to look would be universities and large hospitals. (Perhaps Barcelona?) It would be good for you and your wife to communicate in your own language with someone who really knows what he/she is talking about, perhaps you could search the spanish internet pages to find what and who exactly in Salamanca has expertise in autism and try to phone or mail them.

It's real important to find an expert, there are very very many wrong ideas about autism in the world and many many useless 'therapies' that don't do anything but give false hope.

 

I hope you and your wife can find someone in Spain who can help you out, the best thing would be a place where they could diagnose your kid. I wish you all the best, and.. keep those SCR updates coming!!

 

Rogier

[jeronij 13]

Hello Rogier,

Man, I do REALLY appreciate your post with your suggestions!!!. My English is enough ( but just enuogh) to understand your post, and in fact, my wife and me are actually searching for some other expert

[Slabrankle 4]

Man....I havent posted here in at least 6 months...heh

Anyway, I too have Aspergers syndrome, and slight ADD and borderline depression. When I was in school, I was driven crazy because of people overall, chewing, smacking, crunching, tapping...not to mention those noises continued during tests and I just could not stand it. After 3rd grade, I was able to convince my parents to get me homeschooled. I still am mind you. On a side note, if I went to 4th grade in the school I was in, I would have blown up, as the 4th grade teacher was a horror to the children, he even ate chalk.

 

Anyway, I went to a psychiatrist who didnt diagnose me with ADHD on the spot like most would.

And was diagnosed with Aspergers, slight ADD and a bit of depression.

 

Aspergers in not a fun ride, if you stray away from people for a while, you eventually won't want to be social, at all. I've noticed that it is somewhat like a form of Autism, as I tend to notice more details than some people do, like say, on a car, most people look at a car at a glance and see a car, I see at a glance: tire circumference, rim diameter, how large the tail pipe is, how many doors and windows, the silowette, what color, shadow, the grill shape and size blah blah blah. It can be usefull for somethings, like buying a house, car or whatever.

 

If you couple it with ADD, it gets wierd. heh

 

On my Dads side, my cousin is autistic, he's 14 and he hasnt snapped out of it yet which tends to suck. He runs around sayingthings like f*ck after he seen it on the internet. My Friend was autistic too, 15, and has grown out of it, but you can still see the autism, but he has no learning disorder, he plays piano well, he...um...learned...el vish... and he's taking algebra 2 and retaining all the information. He too is homeschooled, along with the 5 other siblings in their trailer. Hell, he even had a couple of girls who liked him, very much.... don't ask.

 

My friend is difinitly a sign that your children might grow out of autism

 

 

Also, back in like the 1900- 1950 they used to put children with disorders like that in asylums, theres a reciently made graveyard behind a new prison next to the railroad tracks where I live that has at least 50 of possibly hundreds of people, as young as 3, that had various disorders who lived and died there back in the 1900-1940s.

 

Its sad

 

[Meg 368]

Date: 4/21/2005 10:59:37 AM Author: Slabrankle

. . .  I tend to notice more details than some people do, like say, on a car, most people look at a car at a glance and see a car, I see at a glance: tire circumference, rim diameter, how large the tail pipe is, how many doors and windows, the silowette, what color, shadow, the grill shape and size blah blah blah. It can be usefull for somethings, like buying a house, car or whatever.

I recommend a book The Highly Sensitive Person .  Basically, it describes people like you, and me, who take in an excessive amount (by other people's standards) of auditory and visual information.  It talks about the sensory overload such people experience in situations that seem normal and routine to others.

 

A friend, (the one with the daughter who has apraxia) tells me Oh, they just say your a 'highly sensitive person' because you are an adult.  If you were a child, they would diagnose you with a sensory integration disorder. That is probably true.  They didn't have names for such conditions back when I was a kid.  I was just considered shy and introverted because I avoided crowded, noisy situations.   But, as you put it:  I just could not stand it.

 

I eventually learned to deal with such situations to a somewhat limited degree but I still require time to decompress afterwards.  To put it in SC4 terms, it's like the line on the garbage graph goes up quickly and, if left unchecked, causes problems.  but once the problem is fixed, it still takes a while for things to settle back to normal.

[Joesocwork 4]

I wanted to let the Community know I updated the Links post. 

Dr. Temple Grandin is a high functioning adult with autism who has used her condition to improve the world of science and in particular agriculture.  I saw a tv article about her on ABC PrimeTime Live a few weeks ago.  I just glanced at a magazine article in Discover this afternoon when I getting groceries.   Unfortunately you have to subscribe to the magazine to read the whole thing on the Internet, so I posted a couple of other links.  Regardless, she is quite amazing and inspiring.

Look for the links here:

https://www.simtropolis.com/idealbb/view.asp?topicID=62211&pageNo=1&num=30

[Vandy 110]

Jeroni,

 

I thought long an hard about replying to your message and finally, my wanting to say a few things won over my concern for stepping in to your private life univited.

 

Nonetheless, please let me share with you these thoughts...

 

You wrote: 

...It is hard for me and my wife to accept that disorder, and even much harder when no one can tell us what to do to really help our kid. But we love him, and that is what we give him. Lots and lots of love.

 

Jeroni, this is the best thing you could give Bastian -- love; pure, unconditional love.  There is NEVER anything ever wrong with showing your love for your son.  Let him not just know it but FEEL it -- hold him, talk to him, sing to him, play with him -- just be with him.  I'm sure you do all of these things already.  Just know that Bastian also knows -- in his own way -- that Daddy and Mommy love him.

 

...I will finish saying that I started to be an active member of this site some months ago, because I needed something that made me feel useful and I also wanted to feel valid again. Probably I was suffering some kind of light depression, (going better since SCR), and I was feeling in a hole, unable to do anything right, and with bad humour and no hopes.

 

It is only natural that you feel a bit depressed because of your son.  Who are we to say what is right or perfect.  I don't know your religious background and I won't impose my own on you.  Nonetheless, I take great comfort in knowing that there is someone stronger than I that I can lean on and count on to get me through the hard times.  Certainly, your friends and family are a great help in supporting you during the hard times as well.

 

...Since I started to be active, I have received tons of feedbak. Really tons of good feedback about my work, and that makes me feel positive again. That makes me feel as a valid member of this world, and it gives me forces to go ahead.

 

Jeroni, my friend, don't ever worry about whether or not you get feedback -- positive or negative.  Your creativity in your SCR CJ speaks volumes about yourself and your dedication.  If you are even HALF as good a Father as you are a creator of a CJ then Bastian is a very lucky child indeed.  You are MOST DEFINITELY a valikd member of not only this community of people but of the largert community of people -- the world.  I know that I am a better person for knowing you.  Thank you for that!

 

...So, I

[jeronij 13]

Date: 5/4/2005 4:22:41 PM Author: Vandy

Jeroni,

I thought long an hard about replying to your message and finally, my wanting to say a few things won over my concern for stepping in to your private life univited.

Nonetheless, please let me share with you these thoughts...

You wrote:

...It is hard for me and my wife to accept that disorder, and even much harder when no one can tell us what to do to really help our kid. But we love him, and that is what we give him. Lots and lots of love.

Jeroni, this is the best thing you could give Bastian -- love; pure, unconditional love.  There is NEVER anything ever wrong with showing your love for your son.  Let him not just know it but FEEL it -- hold him, talk to him, sing to him, play with him -- just be with him.  I'm sure you do all of these things already.  Just know that Bastian also knows -- in his own way -- that Daddy and Mommy love him.

...I will finish saying that I started to be an active member of this site some months ago, because I needed something that made me feel useful and I also wanted to feel valid again. Probably I was suffering some kind of light depression, (going better since SCR), and I was feeling in a hole, unable to do anything right, and with bad humour and no hopes.

It is only natural that you feel a bit depressed because of your son.  Who are we to say what is right or perfect.  I don't know your religious background and I won't impose my own on you.  Nonetheless, I take great comfort in knowing that there is someone stronger than I that I can lean on and count on to get me through the hard times.  Certainly, your friends and family are a great help in supporting you during the hard times as well.

...Since I started to be active, I have received tons of feedbak. Really tons of good feedback about my work, and that makes me feel positive again. That makes me feel as a valid member of this world, and it gives me forces to go ahead.

Jeroni, my friend, don't ever worry about whether or not you get feedback -- positive or negative.  Your creativity in your SCR CJ speaks volumes about yourself and your dedication.  If you are even HALF as good a Father as you are a creator of a CJ then Bastian is a very lucky child indeed.  You are MOST DEFINITELY a valikd member of not only this community of people but of the largert community of people -- the world.  I know that I am a better person for knowing you.  Thank you for that!

...So, I

[Meg 368]

Date: 4/15/2005 3:35:28 AM Author: jeronij

Hello there I do really appreciate your suggestions.

SkiGeek,  I

[jeronij 13]

Date: 5/15/2005 5:46:33 PM Author: SkiGeek

Date: 4/15/2005 3:35:28 AM Author: jeronij

Hello there I do really appreciate your suggestions.

SkiGeek,  I

[Meg 368]

Date: 5/16/2005 3:28:51 AM Author: jeronij

 

 

Hi again, SkiGeek, your link is very appreciated !!!. Indeed!!!. We (me and my wife) did talk with the doctors some days before you post this word for the first time. They say they dont think it is apraxia. But they do not tell us what it is.

But with your suggestion, I found some ways to search. There are some other posibilities like dispraxia and similiars. We are looking on it.

Thanks for opening us some alternative doors .

quote>

You're welcome, Jeroni.   I hope you find something that works for your son.

 

My friend said that site grew out of a listserv she was on and there were people from all over the place there.  I don't know if they switched to forums or what but they would probably be happy to talk with you.   She talked about those people the way I talk about people here.  They seemed to chat about all sorts of related topics.

[jeronij 13]

Date: 5/16/2005 3:37:18 AM Author: SkiGeek , Jeroni.  I hope you find something that works for your son.

My friend said that site grew out of a listserv she was on and there were people from all over the place there.  I don't know if they switched to forums or what but they would probably be happy to talk with you.  She talked about those people the way I talk about people here.  They seemed to chat about all sorts of related topics.

quote>

Hello again Skigeek, you will have to excuse me, but my English is limited sometimes.

About My friend said that site grew out of a listserv she was on and there were people from all over the place there.  I don't know if they switched to forums or what but they would probably be happy to talk with you.  She talked about those people the way I talk about people here.  They seemed to chat about all sorts of related topics. I understand I should contact with someone in the site that you linked. Is that right ?.

I

[Joesocwork 4]

Jeronij:  How is the diet you're trying coming for Sebastian?  I appreciated your picture in the Picture Post.

Candidly, the glutein/cassein free diet my wife and I have been trying for Elijah has been very difficult to maintain on a consistent basis.  Our initial experiences with Sucretin was positive, but I've grown skeptical about the dosages and conditions in order to replicate what may or may not have been the initial success.  I don't always believe that correlation=causation.

 

At 7, Elijah is developing more fine motor skills however and he wants to communicate with others even if he does not comprehend the mechanics.  Despite his autism spectrum disorder he is a very loving boy.

Joe

[jeronij 13]

Date: 5/30/2005 10:48:58 AM Author: Joesocwork

Jeronij:  How is the diet you're trying coming for Sebastian?  I appreciated your picture in the Picture Post.

Candidly, the glutein/cassein free diet my wife and I have been trying for Elijah has been very difficult to maintain on a consistent basis.  Our initial experiences with Sucretin was positive, but I've grown skeptical about the dosages and conditions in order to replicate what may or may not have been the initial success.  I don't always believe that correlation=causation.

At 7, Elijah is developing more fine motor skills however and he wants to communicate with others even if he does not comprehend the mechanics.  Despite his autism spectrum disorder he is a very loving boy. Joe

quote>

Hi Joe,

thanks for the compliments about Bastian, I have seen also some of you and your family pics, and look like a real happy family .

About a diet. Well, we are not following any special diet. No doctor has mentioned such a posibility so far. I remember I have read something about the glutein alergies some time ago, but since none specialist has mentioned it, I did not think that it was important. How important could that be?

I am glad that Elijah is going better and better. I think we are what we live when we are babies and childs. If we live in a happy atmosphere, we will probably be happy. So is Elijah I guess.

Anyway thanks indeed for your worry about Bastian. Really appreciated !!!

 

[Meg 368]

Date: 5/16/2005 4:15:17 AM Author: jeronij

 

Hello again Skigeek, you will have to excuse me, but my English is limited sometimes.

About 'My friend said that site grew out of a listserv she was on and there were people from all over the place there.  I don't know if they switched to forums or what but they would probably be happy to talk with you.  She talked about those people the way I talk about people here.  They seemed to chat about all sorts of related topics.' I understand I should contact with someone in the site that you linked. Is that right ?.

I

[jeronij 13]

quote>

Hi Jeroni,

Try this page

I haven't done this myself but I know it can work.  My friend is often quoting things someone from that group said.

quote>

Hi SkiGeek, many many thanks for the link !!!. I

[hummer0328 6]

I don't know a lot about autism, but I do have a cousin with downs syndrome and a wierd type of alzheimers.  He is only 30 yrs old and completely confined to a wheel chair.  Instead of deteriating the part of the brain concerned with memory, it is destroying the part responcible for movement.  About 3 1/2 years ago, he got sick, could barely move, and has not recovered.  It took 2 visits to the Mayo Clinic in Florida to figure out what is wrong with him.  I feel sorry for my Aunt, who has to manage between a low paying job, caring for my cousin, and having to deal with a lazy alchoholic husband who hasn't had a job in 10 years.  We keep urging her to kick him out of the house, but she is WAY to nice for her own good!

[Joesocwork 4]

Going back to school

There was an article in the New York Times last spring/summer that I cannot find anymore that discussed how parents with autistic children spend more time with their children due to this condition than with children who have any other disability.  If homework were the key, I think it

[Meg 368]

Date: 10/13/2005 11:48:42 AM Author: Joesocwork

 

. . .

 If hypothetically we ever became lost, I think I could possibly trust his autistic sense over my dyslexic sense of direction.

. . . 

quote>

 

Sometimes things work that way.  My nephew has ADD along with various issues with written words.  But I learned that his sense of direction and spatial acuity are far superior to mine back when he was 2.  I have no sense of direction but a good visual memory so I navigate using the maps I can see in my head.  But, even at age 2, my nephew could point out the best route of travel faster than I could figure it out.

 

When you have a special needs child, it can be difficult to sort these things out.  My friend with the daughter who has apraxia found out that the kid also has impulse control problems and ADD, which she takes medication for.  and it becomes very obvious when she doesn't take the meds.

 

But it's good to hear that your kids have a sense of just being kids.    Good job

[rybolton 135]

Joe,

 

I met an autistic child at a University of Washington football game.  She was about 12 if I recall.  She loved football more than anything on earth and her parents had gotten tickets to every home game the Huskies played so that they could take her.  While she wasn't able to communicate with me, her parents assured me that at home she was quite talkative, more along the lines of fixated ramblings or mantras than real communication but that she could and did communicate her needs to her parents.  (For them it was more knowing through experience what this grunt or that grunt meant and then acting on it.)  She was obviously very courageous to attend such a public function due to her dislike of loud noise and the crush of people but her parents said that she was never happier than when at a game.  You could tell even when she hid herself from the noise and closeness of the crouds that she was very happy to be there.  Her smile was infectious and she was cheering at every appropriate moment.

 

I don't know anything of autism beyond my brief experience watching her at the game.  But she was someone I'll never forget.  A very special kid with wonderfully dedicated parents.

 

I don't know how this story relates to your comments but I just felt like sharing it.

[Joesocwork 4]

^^^ In this area there is an autism support group, KEEN  K.E.E.N. -- Kids Enjoy Exercise Now ,  that has activities that I take my son to on a regular basis.  This past August they had tickets to a pre-season Washington Redskins football game that I went to with my son.  There were several developmentally disabled youth with their respective parents/ guardians.  Some were talkative, some were quiet, and some talked in odd Asperger's Syndrome ways that I'm sure confused the fans sitting next to us.  My son was pretty much quiet trying to absorbing it all.  However he seemed pretty overwhelmed by everything and we barely made past half-time before he started crying. We obviously couldn't stay if people around us were going to enjoy the game.  The odd thing is now whenever we watch a ballgame on tv, or pass by a school playing field, or he sees the pictures I took then on our screensaver he says (his first name) football game over and over again as if he is fondly reminiscing.

 

 

One of his symptoms, btw, is echolalia.  That is where he repeats things that he hears over and over again.  It's like listening to tape-recorder that continuously loops the same 10-15 seconds.  Last year I remember getting stuck in rush traffic and him saying "You're watching Boomerang from Cartoon Network"... for almost an hour straight.  I sometimes have to ask him to change his tape.

 

[Adley 0]

Wow, I need to pay more attention here...

I also have Asperger's Syndrome, tho, not officially diagnosed. Anyway, I came to learn about Asperger's Syndrome 6 years ago from a dear friend of mine whose untimely death only 9 months after I met her was very stressful on me... But yeah, she herself had Asperger's syndrome, and me and her would get along wonderfully... We were very close by the time she died from wounds in a car accident... But at any rate, what I learned from her really opened my eyes about Autism and Asperger's in particular...

By the time I knew about Autism and its seemingly limitless subcategories, I was already 3 years out of the education system. Having graduated from highschool with a bareful sufficient grades... Subsequently didnt last a year in college, dropped out as grades were too poor to really continue at the time, Also was the time I found the net and got involved there...

But anyway, I was indeed interested in trains and even had [still have in fact] the cars for an HO scale model train. I was also interested in space and space travel and had a dream of going to Pluto [which I still regard as a planet] and then going to find a habitable planet within a nebula. I can dream cant I?

But I also have a birth defect that essentially forced me to be right handed tho I think left handed. A sort of fingerial inflexibility thing with a majority of my left fingers... Yet it suprised me that when I thought about my elementary years and the various ways I tried to hide my left hand [which was subconciously my biggest detracted in my own eyes] that I was singled out from other kids not for my uniquely designed hands, but for the way I simply acted.
Kids are cruel in the smallest ways. Specially if you grew up in the midwest small town on indian reservation and were only child living on a farm 20 miles from nearest town which was 200 odd miles from a true city...

Then thanks to my parents moving I suddenly withdrew socially... See, where I grew up, I had maybe a couple aquaintances I played with then, and all that was taken when my family moved, and I just wasnt prepared to deal with that. So I became a social wall flower, stuttering alot and to the point where I was in speech therapy till sometime in high school...

High school wasn't too bad for me, if you count getting asked out and really regretting actually giving a definative answer not bad. But I was still adjusting then and I'm still adjusting now... Never had much of a social life, havent really seen in the past at least what they're actually worth.. Now I'm starting to see that fact that having a social life does work tremendously...

As for what I was diagnosed with, Avoidance personality Disorder, I guess its supposedly similar to Asperger's syndrome, but I wasnt diagnosed with the latter cause the doctor I was sent to had no experience with it...

I also have allergy to gluten and dairy but I consume in moderation, in some cases tho I'm starting to think I need to find alternatives to what I do eat... I have heard that those with Asperger's [or higher forms of Autism] LOVE ice cream, which in turn causes some of the effects of Autism/ Asperger's to manifest. IE, if you eat ice cream, your actually contributing to the Autism instead of lessening it in a way. Might be an idea for parents to watch the child's ice cream consumption and possibly test this out.

My own thinking on why Autism is becoming more prevelent is the amount of processed foods that the world consumes. Generally as agriculture is shrinking as an industry, the amount of science and artificial tinkering of what we eat grows more commonplace. Look at the indgredients in ice cream for example, chemical city seems prevelent doesnt it, but thats the way the modern world makes ice cream, they have to induce the chemicals for preservation. Almost all food at the grocery store is this way... Some of the chemicals could be very distant off shoots and dirivitives of some refined product of crude oil or some other not so healthy mineral... Its a bit much to digest, but one or more of the chemicals in ice cream or other processed foods might be increasing autistic effects for those with Autism... Then again, all of this is my own thought and conjecture pretty much, so take this info with a planet sized grain of salt.

As for Autistics being more intelligent then the rest.. Some are, some arent, then again, it depends on various apptitudes of a particular individual... When I was 5 years old, I was taking piano lessons for unfortunately a short time, but in the time I was learning, I learned more in 3 months then a person who had been taking lessons 2 years...

The way I look at it now, as this just occurred to me , is that we with autism have a much higher interest in learning things particularly when we are younger then most other normal kids. We can pick up some subjects faster then others would. Parents need to recognize their child's talent and extend it, nurture that talent to a higher level, My friend, who I mentioned at the beginning, she was able to draw and sing very well, and possibly write poems as well. Myself, I could also draw pretty well in the past, before I actually moved over to writing... But this is encouragement for those parents like jeronij to recognize and foster the natural talents that might be peeking out.

Oh yes, also keep pushing them to brush their teeth, because for some odd reason when I was a kid, my parents eventually gave on me and brushing my teeth.. dont give up, keep pushing, they'll get it sooner or later. After all, they really dont want to have a upper denture and only 6-7 lower teeth remaining at age 28 I like I do...

Anyway, now that I've rambled on enough and probably caused a few to dig out their english dictionaries from all the larger words I accumulated. I think I shall shut up now.

[Joesocwork 4]

How about that, it's April again! My son still has autism but he is otherwise growing up fine. 

He still has his classic autism symptoms especially including echolalia.  I'm noticing more and more rigidity in expecting things in life to happen in a certain way.  He still is quite loving and affectionate however and he has become friendly enough to occasionally innocently "talk" to strangers in his repetitive fashion.

In second grade, he actually can spell and read a few words.   He does have problems with math.  He also has problems with concentration in and out of school.  Homework is still quite difficult; but like anyone else, he responds well to praise.  We are really pushing the local school system hard to have him reevaluated to find out his specific issues within the autism spectrum.   Despite some symptoms being similar here and there, treatment and accommodations for autism or other developmental disabilities are NOT the same as they would be for completely different concerns such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or  learning disabilities, or, for that matter, such conditions as thought, mood, or personality disorders.

The older he gets the more I continue to wonder how life will be like for him when he gets older.  I really don't want him to be in an institutional non-family setting.   I just know that my wife and I won't live (on Earth) forever.

Anyway, thanks to Dirk and the SimTropolis Community for letting me share!

[jeronij 13]

Hello Joe, 

yes, it is April again

I am glad to hear you son is somehow developing his reading/spelling skills . Progress is always positive in our/their postions.

Our son Bastian is also positively evolving. He does not speak yet, (5 y.o. now) but he is making many new sounds to design lots of new things of his interest, and to call different persons as well. He recently started to say " a e i o u" which is a really important step in our opinion

I notice somehow a negative background in your last post, maybe I am wrong . But if not, I would say you to not set you too many / too exigent milestones. There is (unfortunately) nothing you/we can do to accelerate their  progress, except give them tons of love, and being there when they need us ( which are probably many many less times that we think &nbsp. It is good to spend sometime with them trying to read a childs book or to paint or to sing or whatever, but since they will need to be as "autónomos" (I could not translate this word &nbsp as posible in the future, we have to let them act as free as posible without letting them fall into a dangerous situation. They have to learn by himselves as many things as posible. Is the best way for them to learn.

Ok, enough. I just wanted to add that I do completely agree with your phrase: " The older he gets the more I continue to wonder how life will be like for him when he gets older.  I really don't want him to be in an institutional non-family setting.   I just know that my wife and I won't live (on Earth) forever."  But I think this is something like dead: Only time will say when. In the meantime, we dont think about it, or we try to avoid thinking about it to keep mental sanity.