Comments on: Has Autism Touched Your Life?

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 21:37:40 +0000

Well I’m way late here, but just found the post! Maybe it will bump it up a little… such an important topic!

You can read about our life with autism at my blog, http://theleibyfamily.blogspot.com

And you can view Michael’s Movie at http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/670709

By: Liam Scully

Liam Scully — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 13:22:43 +0000

Susan,

There is a great article published in the South Florida’s Parenting Guide Magazine titled “Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew”. That is a primer to PRINT OUT and give to friends and family.

Its a list of things parents of autistic kids naturally know, but are not aware enough to understand why, or smart enough to teach to others.
It’s at
http://www.southflorida.com/sfparenting/sfe-sfp-autism,0,6196233.story

By: marie

marie — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 15:29:31 +0000

i have a son of 27 who was only diagnosed with autism at the age of 21 i feelso let down because more could have been done for him if they haddiagnosed it in his early years

By: Shannon Johnson

Shannon Johnson — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:30:47 +0000

Hi-
I have a 12 year old son with autism. He has his challenges, for certain, but has brought our family so much insight and perspective. Fortunately for children who are now being diagnosed early with autism, there are many treatments that are proving to be very helpful. I would recommend that parents visit http://www.unlockingautism.org as a wonderful resource. They can help parents connect with other parents and resources in their geographical area for an immediate support system. My mother co-founded Unlocking Autism when my son was diagnosed 9 years ago and I have witnessed the thousands of lives that her organization has been able to touch all over the world. Also,I have recently launched a free online community for families facing autism. I encourage anyone who cares about an individual with autism to sign up and meet others who can offer help and support. Members can create a personal page, add photos, journal, participate in forum discussions, send messages to other members and browse the library for helpful articles and resources. An autism diagnosis can often isolate families as they try to build a safe haven around their child. Hopefully, my new site will allow families to find friendship and support. Visit it
at http://www.foggyrock.com/.
Thanks-
Shannon Johnson

By: Heather

Heather — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 01:50:13 +0000

My oldest son is on the autistic spectrum, suffering from sensory integration disorder among other things.
It’s been quite the roller coaster – he’s almost 6 and our lives exploded around the time he turned two.
I have been writing a lot about my experience with him as a lot of my experience involved anger and fear. As a mom who loves God, it was a rough place to be. I have been honored to be published in a book written by mothers of special needs children called Special Gifts. It will be in Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Borders etc within the next few weeks. My essay is about raising Samuel, and the struggle i was feeling at the time. I think it’s an honest, painful and helpful essay. There are other essays in the book by mothers of autistic kids too. It’s not a christian book, but has some good stuff in it.

http://www.amazon.com/Special-Gifts-Writers-Heartache-Happiness/dp/1932279598/ref=sr_1_2/104-4101900-2245539?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181948149&sr=8-2

Links to the book can be found on my writing website at http://www.heatherristau.org
my blog where i write daily about stuff is http://www.xanga.com/hippmama
stop by either place and spend some time with me.

By: melody is slurping life

melody is slurping life — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:42:17 +0000

Touched x2, maybe x3 . My almost 10 yo is dx Asperger’s Syndrome and is about to undergo further evaluations…he’s “slipping away” recently. My 9 yo is dx PDD NOS and is about to undergo further evaluation…his anger and acting out issues have become huge. My 12 yo was originally dx PDD NOS as a tot, but as the years have passed ADHD and Bipolar are known to be his true issues.

Whatever a child’s psychiatric, psychological, behavioral dx…it is love, acceptance and patience that are the keys, as with any child, to guiding him into his most fulfilled life (in my opinion).

Thanks for the links. The Son Rise Program seems to be pretty much how we approach our sons. I need to read more before I absolutely confirm that statement. We don’t look for a “cure”…we seek to understand, accept and teach our sons.

I haven’t been blogging much about autism or anything recently, but am about to begin again. My blog does record much of our lives with our special purpose sons, words and photos. If anyone is interested, the best thing to do would be read through the category archives…as I said I haven’t blogged about our life much recently. No technical stuff at my place, just the real events of life with the boys.

Sorry so long here.

By: onemotherslove

onemotherslove — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 14:12:06 +0000

It is also possible that more children are being mis-diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. Not to dismiss those who really have it – all of the previous posts sound like they know what they’re talking about. But there may be someone out there who is struggling with the diagnosis, really wondering if their child is autistic. If you are one of the ones who has received the diagnosis, but feel strongly in your heart that it is not correct, I suggest the books Late Talking Children or The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late, both by Thomas Sowell. Do your own research and do what is best for your child.

By: Mary in MN

Mary in MN — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:21:55 +0000

My oldest grandson, now 17, was diagnosed with autism at 2 and Asperger’s at 8. At that time, it was quite unusual. He’s been mainstreamed in the school system and will graduate next year. It’s been an interesting journey. He taught himself to read at 2-1/2, but wasn’t toilet trained until 5. When he was younger, it wasn’t apparent that he was “different,” but the older he got, the more pronounced the autustic tendencies became. There is an enormous wealth of information on the Web dealing with autistic children, but very little concerning older teens and young adults.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:41:48 +0000

This book may be of help: http://books.google.com/books?id=mZmeimF2HJEC&dq=luepker+autism&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=RMukVcLaCe&sig=2M5WnYHa2iFjnh8sWViWxg3qOMQ
(A Drug-Free Approach to Asperger Syndrome and Autism).

By: Linda K

Linda K — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 18:35:24 +0000

My 13 year-old daughter has PDD, which is a version of Autism. We fought so hard for an original diagnosis around age 2 1/2, that we were even glad to have Autism as part of the diagnosis.

She is now going into 7th grade, in a special needs class but phasing into regular ed classes for some things. She loves playing the flute and music has been a blessing.

Most people can’t tell she has problems, but we have worked really hard to get to this point. There have been times she wandered away into the middle of a busy highway, times we had to call police to help find her, walking up from behind a horse to grab it’s tail, physical violence against us as parents, and many many more things.

Each child is different but I believe that each can be helped with the right kind of therapy.