Autistic children - Share your experiences here.

twinstar,

yup, if I am correct, babble is considered not verbal.... if you point to yr hubby, can your son say 'a pa' ? or ask him where is 'a pa' if he can say/ point then that should mean he understand.... I suppose

Tam,
My son will only 'speak'/ 'ask' for the things that he wants badly.... sadly he only desires milk, ipad and doodle board .... so not much opport for him to request
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he will say 'I want milk' when we present the milk infront of him ....
 


hi momto3

how about creating opportunities for him to ask for it? say put his milk somewhere high so that he can see but can't reach.. n if he ask for your help to take the milk, then praise him for good asking followed by giving him what he want.

also to create a pic work system with him. like 1. playing with mama (maybe puzzle, and u can put a piece in a see thr, tightly close conta
iner so that he will need to 'ask' for your help.
2. other simple games / toys that involve turn taking or pretend play. (eg the doll needs to drink milk but the milk bottle is out of reach to him purposely..) ~ to create opportunities for him to interact n request with others..
3. play ipad for 5 mins (show a timer that will ring when 5 mins up.
 
frequent interactions with adults is very important.. adults can create opportunities to play and learn (similar to ABA). hence i don't really encourage to send him/her to child care at really young age cos they will not take initiative/not keen to play with others and not sure if teachers will have the resources to focus on them too.. and children's brain development is at the peak from birth to 6 yrs old (esp the first 3 yrs)..
 
Tam
we also used the method like your ST on our boy and it works well during feeding time. My boy is exceptionally spontanuous and cooperative during feeding time.

Eg. I will ask him "What are u doing?" and he will reply "Eat".

Then if there is something on the table that he wants to eat, he will 'eh eh eh' for it. Then we will say, "No, you ask for it, what must you say?", and he will reply "I want...eat". And we will reply "eat what?" He will reply "Egg". Then after 2 to 3 rounds, he will say it automatically himself, "I want...eat egg". Or he will keep pointing at the egg and say "egg".

But strangely, its only feeding time. At other times, he is less responsive.

And one thing is worrying me, his bad habit of looking at straight lines with the corner of his eyes has returned. It stopped for a period but these two weeks, it gets frequent again. Any ideas how to stop him apart from scolding him? I realise that he does it when it is bored with his toys or when no one else is playing with him.
 
Hi scrumpee,

My boy will olso mimic sound during meal time. But due to his dyspraxia, he cannot produce the sound clearly.


Hi mumto3,

Did u attend more than words or it takes two to talk prog? Thou tis prog will helps our kids to attempt talking more .,.?
 
My boy is finally combining two words, slowly but steadily. His first and second two words is "move up" and "move down" and he said these when he is playing with his car.

And these was after a few mths of drilling and repeating by us. I hope there are more to come. Mummies, persevere.
 
Dear All,

Just to share - I have taken the following steps for DS:

1. Visited polyclinic to obtain the referral letter to be referred to CDU in NUH. Now waiting for appointment time. Heartbroken when the GP mentioned that after his observation, DS indeed falls under the risk of ASD.
2. Enrolled him for the 'Toddler-Parents' playgroup every Saturday at WeeCare. Going for a trial lesson on 17 Sept and they will assess if he is suitable for the class or any other assessment is required.

I would like to tap on your resources/experience for the following:

1. On the look out for Speech Therapist, can anyone share your contacts if you find them good? I am residing at Bukit Panjang and hopefully don't have to travel all the way to the east. I have thus contacted 'Bridges in Communication' and 'Kaleidoscope' but they did not return call. PD suggested Leapfrop but heard that only the Director -Michelle is good but she is no longer handle one-to-one.
2. Any suggestion to encourage DS have eye-contact with us when we play with him? For now, he doesn't look at us and also can't sit still, will either turn away or crawl away when we talk to him.
3. As he is attending flexi-care end Sept, we are trying to teach him to be a little more independent e.g. sit to drink instead of lying down, drink from mug or bottle instead of milk bottle etc but he will throw tantrum and cry non-stop when we do that. Any suggestions?
4. I am at my wit's end on how to handle him since he is only 17+ months and I really don't know what he should/ would understand.

Tam and Scumpee - special thanks for the sharing via emails too.

Thanks.
 
Hi Twinstar
My boy is also attending the playgroup at Wee care on 17 Sept. Is it the 1.30pm class? if yes, we will meet each other
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Don't be too disheartened yet, get the appt from NUH and see how it goes. And if the initial assessment at NUH is not favourable, ask the NUH to help your boy apply for EIPIC immediately. They can do so base on clinical diagnosis, no need full assessment. Don't wait and see because the waiting time for EIPIC is very long. Just apply first, if your boy turns out fine, I am sure you will be happy to give up the vacancy.

You can try my boy's speech therapy which I have given you the contact. Another one is Dynamics at Forum. Heard is not bad too.

On point 2 and 3, I think there is no magic and you just have to be patient and keep trying. Perhaps you can play the things that he likes. For example, my boy likes to play with the ball and that we can sustain his attention for quite long. Now when he wants to play the ball, he will look for his daddy to play with him.

Actually, if finances allow, you should also start to do OT for him because OT helps with coping attention span and his motor skills.

My boy is still drinking milk from his milk bottle and a lot of my friends' kids are doing the same too and they are all 3 years and above. So I think you take your time, no need to be too hasty on this.

Maybe start with water first, train him to drink water from a cup. My boy could only do that after he was 2 years old too.
 
Hi Twinstar

My son is n ow 3.5yrs old. When he was younger, his eye contact was also very poor and he fleets from task to task. That was when i suspected he could be ASD. However, have faith, because eye contact can be improved. My son now has eye contact and he didn't attend any OT. (but his attention span still has a lot of room of improvement.) What i did was very basic. Consistently reminding him to look at me in the eye. When he talks to me, he has to look at me. It takes a lot patience and repetition to succeed.

Having said that, your son is only 17mths. Seriously a little too young to be diagnosed and for special education. Good to start him on SLT and OT first and see if he improves.
 
Hi Scrumpee,

My boy is attending the 9am lesson. They told me only 9am or 10.30am, did not mention about noon class. Could they be in different class due to age? If I rem correctly, your son is now close to 30 months?
 
CEL finally called me and we have enrolled our boy at Rainbow for EIPIC. But the waiting time is 12 mths?!

In the meantime, CEL suggests that we can send our boy to subsidized therapies at SPD. We will probably do that after my boy finishes his private sessions.

Any mummies send your kids to SPD for therapy sessions? Are the ST and OT there good?

Yesterday was the first time that my boy sought for 'help'. Our friends came over to our plc, as usual, he was shy and scared. He ran to my mum saying "por por, por por" and asked her to carry him. My mum and sis are staying with us for a mth and I find that his intention to communicate seems to be better. Maybe there are more people in the house that he can communicate with.
 
Mummies
I need to share this good news. CEL called me again and said that the Society for the Physically Disabled is starting its EIPIC programme this mth and my son can actually enroll there almost immediately...no need to wait!

The only thing is unlike Rainbow, SPD's class has a mixture of ASD, GDD, and ADHD kids whereby Rainbow will group the kids according to ASD and Non-ASD.

But I think I will go with SPD as I don't want to waste the 12mths. Furthermore, SPD is very near my place and my boy's CC, that will save us a lot of travelling time.

Really hope my boy will benefit from the EIPIC at SPD.

>>Twinstar
CEL does not decide for us but they will recommend us a centre based on distance and the kind of disabilities that our kids have. For my boy, I thought I can put him at ARC or ASS but because his diagnosis is GDD, ARC or ASS will not accept him.

How;'s your NUH appt? did they give you an earlier date?
 
Hi Scrumpee,

The original date given bu NUH was 12 Oct but I called them this morning and asked for an earlier date. They managed to find a slot on 15 Sept which I hv taken up. I think the earlier the better so that we can kick in th necessary interventions.

I hv problems looking for therapists though. The therapists that you hv engaged are too far for us as my domestic helper will be the one to ferry my son. Hv tried to call some therapists e.g. Leap frog, kaleidoscope etc but they nvr rtn call. Any mummies out there hv ST/OT contacts to share please? U can pm me if that works better for u. I am residing at bukit panjang and hope to find somewhere accessible. Thanks.
 
Adeline,
Yes, I attended MTW, the Prog is useful, but my son doesnt hv much desires so not much chance to exercise those 'tactics' ......
 
Adeline
yes I know, my boy is lucky to be able to enter EIPIC programme so quickly. We only registered for it last mth.

SPD is located at Tiong Bahru.

We went for the EIPIC orientation program at SPD over the weekend. Can tell that the people at the centre are really sincere in helping the kids and unlike some EIPIC centres, SPD has no term break. Kids will not be missing out any lessons. This is good for the kids and parents so that they get continuous training all year-round.

SPD also provides ST and OT (on top of EIPIC) at their centre. So we parents do not need to send the kids to expensive private ST and OT.

For kids who they deemed are ready to join the mainstream, they have a program where by a team of SPD workers will visit the child's Childcare centre regularly and work with the Childcare centre's teachers on how to handle the kid.

Not sure if other EIPIC centres offer the same programs but it does sounds good to me. But of course, these come with charges.
 
Scrumpee,

wow, your son so lucky to receive intervention fast ......
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how often is your boy attending spd ? how many hrs and sessions ?btw just heard that Pathlight is opening up more vancancies
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Thank God
happy.gif
 
momto3
For now till end of the year, SPD can only offer 2 days per week, per session is 2.5 hours. They will increase the frequency when more of their facilities are ready, likely by end of the year.

I think the government finally recognise that the waiting time for intervention programme is too long.

SPD shared with us that the government approached them to start the programme in June and wants them to ramp it up soonest.
 
hi mummies here, I would like to check with those who went through KKH, which doctor did you see?

My son has been with KKH since 2 yrs after I suspected him to be not 'normal'. Then when we see the KKH's doctor, he seems skeptical about my son's case as during consultation he has eye contact with us and wants to engage us. Nonetheless he put us through OT & ST. And these are infrequent at KKH. Finally 1+ yr later at the report of the OT (OT feels he needs regular intervention which KKH can't provide and wants to refer us to SPD for OTs) he referred us to EIPIC.

So we waited for EIPIC. And EIPIC has its process.... which took a few mths. Then after identifying the EIPIC centre near my place, we had to wait for screening. On the day of screening, my boy was exceptionally cooperative with the whole team of therapist/others. In fact he performed too well that day. The centre sent us a letter to say that his cognitive skills is of age, except for speech & social skills. Then they refer us back to CEL. CEL called and ask what we want to do??? I ask them I really don't know!!!! And CEL can't do much!!!! Apparently I need to go back to consult the KKH doctor on the next step. And my next appt is Apr 2012 and my boy would be at K1 already!! Frankly I'm quite tired and frustrated of this whole process. It's been more than 2 yrs and I feel that I'm going nowhere. Anyone has such encounters and any sugguestion on the next best step?

The thing is, at school he is being singled out as the more difficult case. He is not socialising well with peers, reliant on teachers and not conforming to classroom etiquettes eg. finishing a worksheet. Just spoke to his form teacher recently and she mentioned there are things he can do. Just that he doesn't want to do eg. we all know he can spell his name. But when asked to do he doesn't. When its time for the class to drink water, he will say 'I dunno how to open', when we all know he can. His teacher mentioned that in K1, they are required to be independent and she's not sure if he is ready for K1.
 
Srumpee could you share the contact at SPD? I couldn't find any EIPIC info at their website. Thanks
 
Thanks Srumpee. Will call up later to enquire. A little far away from my place though.

There's a new program by CEL recently. Go for Private institutions' EIPIC and get a basic monthly subsidy. It's a pilot program for 1 yr. So just went for screening at Kits4Kids. Within 30mins, the person could assess what is lacking in my son & what are the areas he needs to work on. Which makes my really wonder what happen to the assessment at the other EIPIC centre where 5-6 people interviewed and assessed my son and deem him unsuitable for their program?

Anyone with Kits4Kids at Toa Payoh? I've been recommended a 2hr or 3hr session 3 times weekly. Have not decided yet though cos this is a pilot program till Sep 2012. I'm not sure what will happen then & I will have to rejoin the queue again.... Or maybe I chose the wrong centre in the first place.
 
Those on CEL's EIPIC, any idea how they calculate the means testing? I have 3 kids, so how do they calculate and decide how much you have to pay?
 
ojx
Its based on per capita income. For SPD, there are 4 tiers of fees. Can't remember all the tiers but for the 4th tier, if the family's per capital income is more than $1400, we have to pay $260 to $450 per mth. And calculation of per capital income is total household income divided number of members in the household. So if your total household income is $2000 and you have 5 people in the family, the per capital income is $400. Should be something like that.
 
yah I noted that there is a range for the 4th tier. Do you know how they assess if you will be $260 or $450? Makes a lot of difference.....
 
It's $300 base subsidy. If u require more subsidy u can go for means testing. 4 private schs r in this pilot program starting this mth till sep 2012. There r certain criteria to qualify for the program.

Ur kid at kits4kids? Anybody w this place at the toa payoh branch?Seems this place has quite a number of Filipinos.....
 
Does anyone know if insurance will cover autistic children? What will happen to their existing policy ? Will insurance company void the policy?
 
Bobo,

Im keen to noe as well. I quickly bot life insurance n endowment plan for my boy before he goes for formal test. I heard its ok if we buy it b4 formal diagnosis. Insurance company might not wan to cover or may require us to pay premium fees.
 
Hi Bobo,

No, the existing policy it wont be void.U bought before the sickness noticed the insurance co still need to cover u.(if i not wrong)

Hi Adeline,

U bought alry or haven't? Coz my son the insurance co reject his medical rider before he go for formal test. Becoz my insurance agent told me need to provide the info even we suspect him have problem.
 
How's everyone doing?

BTW, Have you heard of Temple Grandin? I learned that she is autistic but has achieved great things and HBO made a film about her starring Claire Danes. I just ordered the DVD from Amazon.

An update on my boy. He started his new school last week. So far so good, cried badly in the first week when we said good bye to him. Now into the 2nd week, he's emotions are much better. He will still sob when we reach the school's entrance but he will walk in himself. Like knowing that he 'bo bian' have to go to school, cry also no use. And the teachers' feedback are generally neutral so far, so I hope he will really benefit from the monterssori teachings.

He also attended the EIPIC screening at SPD this week. It was a nightmare at first. He was uncooperative and crying loudly because we refused to give him his toy. Cried for almost 30mins until both hubby and I almost gave up. And I was 'die lah, sure fare very badly for the assessment". He only settled down and do the things that the screening staff asked him to do when they whipped out the bubble. He then started to cooperate and talk.

I am still waiting for SPD to get back to me on their assessment and when he can start his EIPIC.

And I got a call from his KKH doctor yesterday. Told me that they reviewed my boy's assessment after discussing with the psychologist and his KKH's OT and think that since he has joint attention, he may not be autistic after all and suggested that I postpone his full assessment until he is about 3.5years old. Said he could be just delayed and encouraged us to sign up this course called "Sign Post" with KKH. I was a bit relieved when I hear this but still skeptical because of his lack of desire to play with his peers and the inability to ask me things like "Mummy where are you going"? Now his speech is still functional and mainly on the things that he wants.Guess I just have to stay positive and continue to give him as many therapies as possible.

Have anyone of you attended "Sign post" ? Apparently it will equip parents with knowledge on how to manage our kids' behaviour. Anyway I have signed up for it's Nov run as I really need tips on how to manage my boy. His temper is getting bad these days, throw tantrum when he don't get his way, every thing must be fast, has no patience to wait.

Just a quick check, are any of your kids still diagnosed with ASD even though they have joint attention (express desire to share his/her interest with you, looking and waiting for you to response after he do something?)

Have a good weekend everyone.
 
Yes i had attended sign post at kkh last year.
For my case, its useful to apply the skills on my elder kid as my asd boy has difficulties understanding instructions.
He throws tantrums becos he cannot express himself n not becos he is defiant. His meltdown has decrease due to our better understanding of his conditions n needs.
 
Hi all!

Its been a long time i didn't log in here!

Sorry I know I still have 2 PM not replied, ve drafted but incomplete, will do so asap.

Srumpee - glad to know ur son isn't autistic and he has much improvements.

regarding insur - i think got grace period like 6mths after buying insur. meaning must make sure no prob with ur kid for the first 6mths of purchase, if not its considered pre-existing condition n insur won't cover.

Updates on my son:

Developments:
- Able to speak more in short sentences eg I’m tired, I want to sleep, I’m hungry, I want to eat that one (with pointing), I want to go xxx (name of shopping mall), I want to take train, tomorrow go to school (his favourite line!) etc
- Able to ask qns (just started) eg, Where are we going?, Who is this (pointing to pic but also answer himself but look at me first, implying he is talking to me)? Why (did this once or twice when his didi cry)?
- Able to ask for help or make request eg I want help. Make milk for me pls
- Yesterday he said “mommy! Mother! (with pointing to me)”, “daddy! Father! (pointing to daddy)”, pointing to didi and said “my brother!”
- can self feed n scoop better
- can tell me verbally he want to pee but not poo yet. So at home he is diaperfree but in school still not telling at all.. (however, he can just let go his poo in his pants!!)
- but at least he is sitting down to poo in the toilet, he used to stand or squat!!
- More willing to try new food
- Can play with his 1yr old didi
- Can say “lau shi zao an” (good morning teacher)
- Can spell n read but not comprehend!

Behavioral issues:
- obsession with elevators (loves to go up n down the lift for the feel of up n down esp those glass bubble lift, even when playing with toys, he will take a box n pretend it to b a lift moving up n down!), carpark levels, numbers, MRT station names (in their respective order!). he can memorise n recite repeatedly “Level B Supermarkets, Level 1 foodcourt, Level 2 Cinema etc” or “CC3 Promenade, CC4 Esplanade, CC5 Nicoll Highway, CC6 Stadium” but he doesn’t talk to himself, he want us to listen too to him!
- Messing up the toys or school materials eg crayons n books/worksheets, he sort of shake them off the table violently and laugh! He think its funny! (teachers call me to complain!
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)
- Perhaps trying to socialise with other classmates but he did so by lying on them while seated on the ground! Kids get confused n disapproved! N sometimes will kick while seated on the floor till teachers ve to remove his shoes to avoid hurting the others (very worrying! Scared get kick out of sch!
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)
- Come back home, he has been reciting giggly “don’t touch ur friends face! Angry! Teacher angry!” well, its v clear what happened in class but he think its funny! Dunno how to tell him or teach when I tell him, he still laughing!
- Still walking ard in class when not interested (teachers say a lot depend on his mood!!)
- Still not writing v well.. weak pencil n scrissor grip
- teacher say to stay back 1 yr next yr bcos she feel he not ready for k1 yet

But there was one day, I told him get changed to get ready to go out, he dash to didi rm n said to sleeping didi “didi! wake up! Go change change! Go kai kai!”
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Another day he actually lead his didi to the bedroom, n close the door (korkor outside, didi inside!) n said to his didi “bye didi!” and came to me, look at me n ask “where are we going?” v cheeky!
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Qns to ask:
For those of u at Wee Care, how is it so far? Gd? For social class or others? Fees exp? Is it at polliwog? Pls share, I’m considering.

Also for those of you with younger kids as siblings to your ‘problem” child, do you think if I ve 3rd child, will my ‘problem’ kid lose his only companion (didi) to the 3rd sibling? I was thinking with didi being normal, its gd for him to ve didi as his soul playmate bcos didi doesn’t ve anyone to play with except him, so he won’t give up playing with korkor (this is definitely beneficial for korkor) but I’m contemplating to ve a 3rd child or not (want to try for a gal). I’m worried if 3rd child also normal (hopefully), will 2nd child eventually choose 3rd child to play with over korkor bcos 3rd child will be more responsive n know how to play or socialise better.. n then korkor back to square 1 w/o any friends.
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Hi, I've a 18 mth old toddler. I dunno if I shd suspect my child as autistic. I dun know wat toddlers at 18 mth are capable of.
Why I suspect autism:
1. He hardly looks at us in e eye. But I'm not sure if he can't be bothered or if he is too preoccupied w his toys.
2. He can't call mama n papa but can say 'ball' ' book' 'fish'
3. He follows selective instructions. Think when he is happy, he follows, if not, it's as if he in hear anything.
But why I think he is not autistic:
1. He loves to play w kids even those about his age.
2. Loves hugs n kisses. Kiss u to get his way.
3. Can use index finger to point.
4. Not obsessed w certain toys. Changes choice of toys fast. Only toy that can seat him down is mega blocks.
5. Can understand instructions like, take a piece of tissue for mummy, throw this into the dustbin. Take out ur shoes n keep them.
6. He is not afraid of strangers n r in fact very friendly towards them.

I really dunno wat is really counted as autism? May I know how ur children were like at 18 mths? Shd I be concerned bout autism? I really need ur valuable advice..
 
serene,

Yes, I would say keep observing and it will be good if you consult a pd to be on the safe side
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.....
 

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