Autism Part 1- Plus a Freebie

With the high numbers of kids being diagnosed with Autism as a teacher I think we need to get more training and education on the subject. More than likely a student on the Autism spectrum will be in your class.

My Own Personal Journey

My child is a brilliant kid. He is three years old and kicking butt in preschool. Academics are wonderful but socially, sensory and speech related he is making steady progress.

Here are a few things that have helped along our adventure. 

Early Intervention:  Our pediatrician pointed us in the right direction when we had concerns.  Early intervention was able to look at the needs we had and help.  We had a wonderful developmental specialist that came to our home and work with my son.  She found Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist to work with him. A local play group was a big help. Sadly at three he no longer could be provided services.  It was valuable intervention for him.

Group:  There is a support group that meets once a month.  It is a wonderful outlet just to get resources and support.  My husband attends these more than I since he is the primary care giver. This week I hope to attend but we will have to bring our son and we will see how focused he can be on games while the adults talk and drink coffee. 

Family acceptance and support:  We live far away from family so we don't have daily support but even the fact that our families accept and provide us support through phone calls and social media is wonderful.  Since they are aware when we visit they are understanding and ask questions.  We have friends that still aren't so accepting.  By that I mean they don't truly believe the diagnosis.  I find it easier to understand that they are't in a place to accept it and go on.

Respite:  We have been fortunate to find respite opportunities for my husband.  As the primary caregiver he needs time to just be.  

Items that have helped along the way.

This helped with a few signs to understand what my little guy wanted.

He loves the iPad so this has helped for when there is  an occasional accident. Wonderful apps have helped him pick up letters, numbers and words.

This has helped my little man when he is anxious. Instead of biting his shirt collar or his hand he uses this chewy tube. We haven't had to use it too much anymore.

My little man isn't so little anymore so we moved on to this high chair and it is highly recommended since it provides a solid place for his feet to rest on. He won't be out growing this anytime soon. FYI- we got a "vintage" one on Etsy.

This book has helped with our interactions with our smarty pants. We have increased his speech. It is a wonderful program if you can be trained by a Speech Pathologist to implement the program the way it was meant to be.

This car seat is for special needs kids.  It has helped because  other chairs  for older/bigger kids don't have a four- point harness. It isn't cheap but you can see if you have a local organization that can "loan" you one.    

This post has grown rather long so I have decided to add a few more things an another post.  

Here is a freebie on something I've done with my little boy.  We try and notice things around us in new situations and during our walks.  I hope you could use it. Just click on the image.  There are three scavenger hunts to try out. Also, check out the linky party by clicking on the picture above.