The thing that always fascinated me when I was working with my autistic granddaughter and she lived with us, was how to decide how much to build a routine around her needs and how much to try to get her to look out at the world she had to live in. I tried to do a little of both, but also went out of my way to give her lots of new experiences and variations in that routine--I took her everywhere I went
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We've always taken our kid everywhere we went; he's an adventurous lad in that sense. I daresay that he's quite an experienced child when it comes down to travelling by means of public transport for his age group
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She different in that the following day she would be fine, but she might have a melt down at the instant that something unexpected was thrust upon her. I remember several times, when she wanted to stand when people were supposed to be seated and would throw a fit if someone tried to force her to sit (usually they had no good reason!). I would try to find seats at the back or the side at a puppet show in the park, for example. Where if she wanted to stand, she would not disturb anyone. Concerts in the park were great. She loved opera and string quartets, but I wouldn't have wanted to have asked her as a young child to sit through either in a cramped theater
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Sounds all too familair to me. Our kid is good in restaurants, just as long if he isn't forced to eat something foreign, he's a happy kid.
However... we discussed the demands that can be made on an autistic child with our psychiatrist. He explained to us that starting therapy or forcing a child into a mold won't do any good as long if the ratio can't be used to justify a certain behaviour for him. Around the age of nine you can teach autistic kids that kind of behaviour that will enable them to fit in because you can succesfully appeal to their ratio.
That doesn't mean that until then I am free from teaching my kids manners and alike. I teach him small tricks that won't set of people calling him rude when he's afraid to make eye contact for example. I taught him just to lower his gaze to the chin and folks will be happy. Those small things you can learn them... but there are also many children with a low GAF score who can't...
A common myth that parents and caretakers have to debunk is that Autism isn't contagious
I found this really surprising, that people believe this! I mean, I realize that many/most people are terribly ignorant about those who are different from them and seem predisposed to being fearful/suspicious of people with disabilities, but this seems really ... basic knowledge.
As a psych student and now a special educator, autism is a difficult concept for me to grasp because of the diversity of those affected by it. I suppose I like tidy definitions, and autism ain't got one! :) Your post really highlights the complexity in a way that is useful, I think, for most people. With so many more children being diagnosed, we all need to learn more about autism and other PDDs.
Btw, did you ever read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime?
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However... we discussed the demands that can be made on an autistic child with our psychiatrist. He explained to us that starting therapy or forcing a child into a mold won't do any good as long if the ratio can't be used to justify a certain behaviour for him. Around the age of nine you can teach autistic kids that kind of behaviour that will enable them to fit in because you can succesfully appeal to their ratio.
That doesn't mean that until then I am free from teaching my kids manners and alike. I teach him small tricks that won't set of people calling him rude when he's afraid to make eye contact for example. I taught him just to lower his gaze to the chin and folks will be happy. Those small things you can learn them... but there are also many children with a low GAF score who can't...
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I found this really surprising, that people believe this! I mean, I realize that many/most people are terribly ignorant about those who are different from them and seem predisposed to being fearful/suspicious of people with disabilities, but this seems really ... basic knowledge.
As a psych student and now a special educator, autism is a difficult concept for me to grasp because of the diversity of those affected by it. I suppose I like tidy definitions, and autism ain't got one! :) Your post really highlights the complexity in a way that is useful, I think, for most people. With so many more children being diagnosed, we all need to learn more about autism and other PDDs.
Btw, did you ever read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime?
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