Autism

I think it is wonderful that people are being told what they are contending with. Think of the many adult aspies who did not know until adulthood that they were not alone and just what their "unexplained, undefined" differences were.

One thing that has always bothered me was that for a long time clients and parents were not given diagnoses.

Yeah. I'm very happy about myself anyway and the autism does not bother me.

Jessica, if you don't mind my asking, do you have Asperger's?

I don't mind answering. No, I don't have asperger, it's autism. But it's not that noticable.

One thing that has always bothered me was that for a long time clients and parents were not given diagnoses.

That's what happened when we took our son to a specialist twice. He hemmed and hawed about it. He wouldn't give us a definite answer. He kept saying "Well we don't want to say it's autism just yet. Let's wait and see if he'll grow out of it." Great. Wait for what? What was I supposed to do in the meantime when he had a meltdown in school or at home and we had no clue how to deal with it? We talked to a social worker who observed him and said "I think he really is autistic." So we found another specialist through our family doctor. After one session he said he is autistic. Finally! Now we know what to do.

The empowerment of knowledge! Once you know what you are contending with, you are in a better position to act. I don't know why people are so reluctant to tell parents and children since THEY are the ones most directly impacted. I have always thought that cruel and stupid not to give out information to those most directly involved.

Originally Posted by The New AimeeAndBeatles

Any comments on my memory?

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Originally Posted by VersusBatman

No it's not. My son wasn't diagnosed until he was 9. When he was a baby up until age three, he seemed to develop normally.

I was diagnosed when I was 8. But that was after 3 years of failed diagnoses.

Here's something interesting. A robot that helps autistic kids. It looks creepy though.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/7...kids.html?pg=1

That robot would have SCARED me as a child! I still think it looks creepy, but if it has helped people with autism, then power to it. That is all to the good.

I felt bad for my son the other day. He was trying to say what was on his mind, but the words never came out right. He growled and yelled, "Why can't I say the words?"

Today my son raised his hand in Sunday school, not once, but three times. I was so glad.

Originally Posted by VersusBatman

Today my son raised his hand in Sunday school, not once, but three times. I was so glad.

That's great!!!

I read the sweetest story about autism and MJ this morning. Actually, it was a fan's account of meeting MJ, but there was a part about autism. The woman who met MJ was a mom and one of her kids was autistic. Michael (he's so funny!) had asked to see inside the woman's purse (being adorably curious), and they wound up looking at photos of her kids.



....I said to him that she’s Autistic. He said, “Oh no, I’m sorry! I do know Autism. They live in a world all on their own.” “Sure," I replied, "and you are part of her world too. Since she was a newborn baby, she always listened to your music when she breaks down and cries. She needs to listen to your songs to calm her. She does not play any kind of game, so most of the time she usually spends her hours watching your videos. When we were at the hospital, we had to take the video player and all of your VHS tapes with us to make her stay quiet.” He became serious, slowly taking a careful look at her pictures, visibly touched.

He said nothing at first, and then spoke. “She’s beautiful. Her glance; her smile is wonderful. Can I take her pics?” “Certainly you can," I replied. “How old is she?” He asked. “She’s five,” I said. “Can she speak?” “No, Michael. Unfortunately I never heard the sound of her voice.” He said, “No! My God! She‘s so beautiful! Is there something I could do for her? Do you need my help? How can I help you?” I simply thanked him. I could have asked him to let her meet him because he often gave hospitality to many disabled children in Neverland, but I did not have the courage to ask. I’m still regretting this decision. I’m sure that she would have been so happy there. She loves to see him singing and dancing.

Michael took my hand, and looking into my eyes he said, “Don’t ever lose your faith or your hope, and don’t stop fighting for her. Never! Don’t give up!” We embraced each other once again, and just as I was crying I said, “Thank you Michael, I love you!” and he answered, “I love you too; I love you more.” It was such an intense moment; so special that I have real a difficulty telling it. I fear that it may go away somehow.

I hope that woman wrote down her account in journal or something.

We had a parent teacher conference last week and he is doing much better than last term. He's pretty popular amongst some of his classmates.

The Parade Magazine top story features a young woman with autism. It's heartbreaking how difficult it is to get the help we need.

I read that "City Slickers" drives Temple Grandin crazy because it used Jersey cattle rather than beef cattle. That reminds me of how my son reacted when we took him to see "Iron Man 2" and he saw they replaced Terrance stamp with Don Cheedle. He found it unsettling at first.

I'm not sure if this movie has been discussed in this thread yet or not? It's about a pen pal friendship between a young girl and an aspie man. It's called Mary and Max.

It's based on a true story. This is one of the best movies I've ever seen.

Thank you for the info about the video.

I am going to watch Adam, which is about a young man with Asperger's.

In 1994, Melissa Gilbert played the mother of a 7-year-old boy with severe autism. Patty Duke played a teacher. The boy was a very convincing, severely autistic child. I just can't think of the name of the movie. It was really good. The boy in the movie was helped by Facilitated Communication.

One excellent movie about autism is Miracle Run. Two brothers, fraternal twins have autism. Over time, some of their more severe behaviors recedes into the background. One boy is a musician and the other a track star.

The book is even better than the movie. It is a true story.

I understand Temple Grandin's displeasure at the inaccuracy of the choice of livestock used.

One thing that drives me up a tree is date inaccuracies. For example, in 2003 there was a show set in 1963, but showed a 1965 car! The 1965 models didn't roll out of the factory until the late summer of 1964! Date inaccuracies are for me like nails on a damn chalkboard.

I picked out the book "Mockingbird" for my book club. They really enjoyed it. I mentioned Temple Grandin and we decided to watch it for a movie night. The ladies all enjoyed it too.

Although my son likes hugs and kisses, he does wrap himself up in my bed sheets when he feels stressed.

Yesterday I asked my son why it's hard for him to say what he thinks and he said "My brain won't shush."