My Autism Insights

Manic Monday prompt by Mo

This weekend we met up with my sister’s family to celebrate her birthday at a new Japanese hibachi restaurant nearby.   Gus has had a sort of love/hate relationship with Japanese hibachis: when he was very young, they were no problem, at around 2 they traumatized him, and now he loves them again.  It was a great time, especially since he spontaneously decided he wanted to try sushi!  Fortunately for him, my nephew eats it and ordered some so Gus could try it.

He shoved a piece of raw white fish (it was either squid or halibut) in his mouth, and with a full maw exclaimed, “I wike it!”  The salmon didn’t get as positive a reception.  I was so impressed he actually ate it without spitting it out, that I didn’t bother to remind him not to talk with his mouth full.  We had a great time and he must have eaten his body weight in food. MM tried some new things too: edamame (soy beans), soup, and fried rice.  It was a win all around!

Which gives me a nice segue into the Lemonade Award I received from 2 bloggers: Caregiving Daughter and More Than a Number.  So, I’d like to thank them for the recognition and will pass the honor on to a couple of bloggers who exhibit a positive attitude:

Healing…Through the Eyes of Autism

Autism SucksRocks

Spectrum Siblings

Have a great day, everyone & try to keep it positive!

Mia Hysteria shares her inspirational, humorous and sometimes heart wrenching journey of raising 3 young children, one with special needs, while managing a life of chaos, in her blog: General Hysteria .  Mia has been blogging on General Hysteria since September 5, 2008 about her son, Ben (1), her daughter, Violet (2) and her oldest son, Alex (6).  Alex has cerebral palsy, autism, sensory processing disorder, developmental delays, epilepsy, and ADHD.  Mia is a mother, wife, blogger, and practicing writer.  Candid about her current and pre-insanity-brought-about-by-children life experiences, Mia’s writings will leave you shocked, laughing, and reminiscing. On a laptop, in a cul-de-sac, somewhere in Colorado, she is single-handedly attempting to share her stories, thoughts, frustrations and elations so that no person feels isolated, forgotten or unworthy of their own journey.

He is my first born.  I can still recall doing as many things as possible with him.  I would cut open yard size garbage bags, carefully taping them to the floor before inviting him to sling paint all around.  He wasn’t as interested.  Or placing him with me in the kitchen while I pureed his food rather than buying jar food, talking to him all the while – giving him words to all the crazy things his mom was doing, thinking that would all make me a better mom and him the best raised little man in the world.  I’m far from those ideas these days.

Though I gave up the pureeing of food, I have not wanted to stop the art projects, but those have been hard for us.  The projects that make you feel as though you’re showing your delicately developing child all that the world has to offer; giving your child things to feel, experiment with, explore.  For various reasons, they’ve never worked out for us.  An unfortunate admission from me is years after his diagnosis, and too many times of these best of intentioned projects ending in turmoil or not beginning at all, I threw up my hands and stepped away from showing him this world.  I was wrong.

Today, I am back to wanting to show my Angel more of his world through art projects.  Much of this has come from a better understanding of how his mind works, what his limits are, what he is capable of and what he likes.  Alex has cerebral palsy, autistic features, developmental delays, and more; fun activities can take some planning.  Alex doesn’t have a huge attention span, he can paint with assistance, and patience is a consideration.  This, along with a little sister who interjects herself wherever she deems she’s needed, is perfect:

You’ve all seen these, right?  If you haven’t, go check the dollar bin areas at your local Michael’s Craft Store.  This is Alex’s favorite project. The first hurdle we had to get over, which took just a few minutes…the plane is not in one piece.  We had to work through this one time and now he is versed on what to expect.   The fun begins.The way we work it is to take the pieces out of the bag and then choose our paints.  I encourage him to pick more than one shade of blue (his favorite) and if he’s feeling real good about the project, more colors will be chosen.  We distribute the pieces to the appropriate people (remember his sister is ‘helping’).  Alex always gets the wings.  We paint.

Why this works so great for him is that by the time we need to think about letting it dry so we can paint the reverse side, his attention has been caught by something else…or dinner is ready, or my one year old is pulling at my leg…we can leave the project for later.

Usually, we paint again the next day to its finish.  I glue it at night while he sleeps and in the morning, he’s greeted with a new present, yet another airplane, that he has pride in knowing he made (with his sister’s help).  It’s special for him.  It’s what he loves.  It’s blue.  I showed him another piece of this world.  And he molded this world to fit into his.

What about you?  Are you able to do project activities?  Are there projects that work for you?

Prompt by Mo of Manic Monday

Does allowing an individual with obsessive tendencies to enjoy the object of obsession to a limited degree add fuel to the fire of said obsession? This is what I ask myself all the time.  Let’s use Pokemon as a fairly harmless example.

Gus loves Pokemon.  He’s got encyclopedias of Pokemon memorized and can tell you anything about any of the creatures. Sometimes when he lacks focus in school, the use of Pokemon as a teaching tool has proven effective (add these numbers and find the number of Pokemon in this region).  But there’s always a downside.  Even the most contained fire, if given the right opening, can consume a forest.  He will play his Pokemon video game to the exclusion of many other things, including outdoor activity when the weather permits.

Now, am I really all that concerned about Gus and Pokemon? Not now.  But what if it goes on for the next, oh, 20 years or so?  Is there a point where someone should step in and say, “this is no longer appropriate, so stop now.” And if there is such a point, it would be great if I could get one of those postcards like you get from the dentist when it’s time for a cleaning.

Left field is looking a little too attractive today, so I’ll end here.  Have a great Monday!

And for more on obsessive tendencies, check out Bonnie’s post at Autism Family Adventures .

And later this week, I’ll have a guest post from my buddy at General Hysteria .  Stop by ad check out what she has to say!

Prompt by Mo of Manic Monday .

I haven’t been able to come up with anything for the last couple of Manic Monday prompts, but finally, I’m back in the game.  Today’s word is candy.

We managed to get through Valentine’s Day with a minimum of candy incursions into Gus’s diet.  MM came home with a dragon’s hoard of candy, which I quickly had to confiscate.  So much for the ‘healthy’ drive at her school.  She ate more candy last Thursday than she, cumulatively, in several months.

We learned something interesting when we went to Gus’s school though.  While he wasn’t bombarded with Valentine’s candy (because he was home sick) it has been suggested to his teacher that he be given Starburst as a motivator.  This came from the behaviorist.  Because of his oral sensory issues, chewing on something helps him to focus.  He likes Starburst.  So that seemed like the best choice on short notice.  Carrots were another option, but since he tends to hum when he’s eating them (maybe the crunchiness is a factor?) it’s distracting to the other students.  Since the Starburst is working, I don’t really want to step on the teacher’s toes, but at the same time, I don’t want him eating candy.  He doesn’t process sugar well.

We came to the agreement that she will try to get him to chew fruit flavored sugarless gum (Wrigley’s Extra recently came out with a line) to see if that can replace the candy.  If not, I may allow the Starburst, although I will dislike it.

Any thoughts on what he can chew (he likes fruity flavors) that won’t wreck his teeth and send him into overdrive in the afternoons?  Ideas would be much appreciated, and I’ll thank you in advance if you leave a comment!

P.S. A word on comments: all comments are moderated, so if they don’t show up right away, don’t fret.  They will as soon as I approve them!

Despite the fact that it hasn’t gone above 65 in our house yet today, I am still in a surprisingly good mood.  Thankfulness for today:

I am thankful that both my kids did well on their second quarter report cards.  Gus is doing a little better with his IEP goals; out of 27 goals, he’s progressing in about 19 of them.  Last quarter that progress number was much lower.  His academic report is good, especially in Reading, Social Studies and Science.  MM showed great improvement in her writing and is doing really well in math and reading.  Her teacher also called her a “delight” and a “good example” in the class.  Sorry for the bragging, but I allow myself a proud mommy moment once in a while.

I am thankful that Gus is also being given a Principal’s award next week (alright, two proud mommy moments).  Now, he was given an Outstanding Effort award last year and there was an interesting incident with a microphone…hopefully, we won’t see a repeat.  And if we do, I am resolved to just laugh about it.  Those assemblies are often way to serious anyway.

I am thankful that my sister’s friend, who had asked me for an impromptu Reiki healing a few weeks ago, apparently decided to pay me.  She asked at the time and I told her that I didn’t want any money.  But she sent some anyway.  A nice compliment, and always useful!  That was an awesome surprise!

This all goes to show that even in the coldest and bleakest of times, good things can still happen.  Please share your gratitude below and have a great week!

  image from Wikimedia Commons

I will preface this post by making it very clear that I do not in any way think that my son’s Asperger’s has anything to do with mercury.  So let’s be clear that I do not generally jump up and down about mercury exposure.  But today I read a blog post by High Quality Mothering about an article from yesterday’s Washington Post online about two studies that found mercury in high fructose corn syrup, which is the sweetener of choice in (disturbingly) many foods.

I had heard something about traces of mercury in HFCS a while back but could never find significant information to back it up.  Here’s what creeps me out: it’s not that there has been mercury found in a rather high number of foods containing HFCS; it’s when you take what could be a tiny amount and consider just how much HFCS gets consumed on a daily basis…that’s an awful lot of badness in food!  Isn’t the corn syrup bad enough?  I know that trace amounts of mercury have been said to be innocuous - it occurs in nature after all.  Still, if I’ve been told I have to clear a room for 15 minutes if a tiny bit of this stuff gets into the air in my house, I certainly don’t want to eat it!

I knew there was a good reason we started removing high fructose corn syrup from our diet.  This just makes me feel better about it.

What do you think: is the food industry poisoning us, or is this an over-reaction?

  image from Webweaver’s Free Clip Art

Since Gus didn’t have school today, it was a perfect time to get him in to see the doctor to make sure his eyes were all right.  They are fine.  The eye exam says that he has 20/20 vision, although I think I annoyed the assistant when I asked if she wasn’t sure he hadn’t just memorized the line. (Which he did and he proved it by reciting it to me after we were back in the exam room.  Not my fault he has such a good memory.)  The doctor gave me some information on tics and said that we should probably not worry about it, but she gave me the name of a neurologist anyway, in case we were interested.  Gus has an appointment at the end of February to see the neuro.

From what I read on tics, they’re not as uncommon as I had thought.  They are defined as “repetitive, rapid, involuntary muscle contractions or vocal outbursts that usually involve muscles of the face, head, neck, shoulders or respiratory tract.” ~Disneyfamily They can last anywhere from a couple of weeks up to a year  before becoming a serious cause for concern.  The movements are frequently transient, meaning they can start in one part of the body and move to another, and generally end on their own.

The cause of tics is unclear, but has been associated to physical growth, stress and nerve disorders like Tourette’s Syndrome (which can include chronic and severe tics).

Apparently up to about 20% of school-aged children may experience some form of tic, and one study showed that the incidence of these movements increased during the winter months.

The advice for dealing with the tic that we received mostly said to help the child relax and to ignore it as much as possible unless it starts to interfere with daily functioning.   We’re not going to freak out over this.  We’ll try to find out what might be causing stress for Gus and will try to help him relax. Any other information or suggestions are welcome.  Otherwise, we’ll wait to see what the neurologist says next month.

   Now as for our Manic Monday on Snow (prompt from Mo of course), here’s a silly conversation I had with Gus at the bus stop while waiting for MM to get home:

“Did you want to play out in the snow today?”

“Yes.”

“Yes??  What do you mean yes??”

“Can we play in the snow?”

“No!  It’s too cold!”

“Why did you say that?”

“I didn’t expect you to say yes.”

Fortunately, he wasn’t too attached to the idea of going out in 20 degree weather, or else I’d be standing outside cursing my own big mouth.  He actually got a laugh out of it, so it’s all good.  Happy Monday!

Adonya Wong

As promised, today is the big day!  Adonya Wong, author of In My Mind and also of the blog Healing…Through the Eyes of Autism , joins us to share some experiences with her son Nicholas, her feelings on inspiration, and her thoughts about her book, which sheds light on autism and the way Nicholas may see the world.

Adonya’s had a diverse professional background, and started writing in her youth.  In My Mind is her first publication, just released earlier this month.  Her intention is to raise autism awareness and tolerance for those with differences.  She currently home-schools Nicholas in Oklahoma, and is donating a portion of her book’s proceeds to the Autism Center of Tulsa.

Without further ado…

Describe a “typical” day with Nicholas?

I am thankful that we do not have typical days.  However, we do have some days where it seems like I’m in a forever tailspin of déjà vu. 

There isn’t a whole lot of  “structure” in our lives.  I know… it seems as if everywhere you read, folks are telling you that our children “crave structure and routine”.

During my early homeschooling days, I learned that it was the structure and routine that frustrated Nicholas most.  Since incorporating more of an unschooling approach, life has been very relaxed.

For the most part, we spend our days traveling the information super highway or engaging in a favorite board game or reading stories or drawing or whatever HRH (aka His Royal Hiney) feels like doing.

Life is good!

Have you attempted any biomedical intervention?  If so, which one(s) and what was the outcome?

When Nicholas was in kindergarten, I put him on the GFCF diet; he was on it for 3 months.  I didn’t notice a single change in anything he did or said.  His baby tooth was also tested for toxins by the Autism/Asperger’s Research Center at Arizona State University, and the results were very interested.  He wasn’t overloaded in any way, so I didn’t bother trying anything else after I reviewed the results.

We’re pretty organic and holistic now, and we no longer eat junky foods or drink junky stuff.  I also no longer clean my house or launder our clothes with toxic chemicals; I use vinegar & water with a touch of essential oils to clean my house and natural washing soda & Borax to launder our clothes).

I’m doing my best at keeping his environment as toxic-free as I can.

Your husband is Nicholas’s stepfather, was the transition difficult for Nicholas?  How has their relationship grown over time?

Nicholas is very intuitive which makes him a pretty good judge of character.  If he doesn’t like the vibes you’re emitting, he won’t have anything to do with you, or he’ll shy away from you.

During our courtship, I told my husband that if Nicholas didn’t take to him, there wasn’t going to be a “he just has to get to know me” phase.  Fortunately for him, Nicholas greeted him with a hug.  {wink}

Their relationship has since grown into one of great strength and love.  If you didn’t know them, you would naturally “assume” they were biological father and son.

Are you easily inspired to write?  If not, what do you do to keep the writing fires burning?

Not really.  My past writings have come from great love for the recipient.  What I mean is I don’t write unless I have deep feelings for my muse which is why it should come as no great surprise that I wrote In My Mind.

Nicholas is such a joy; he inspires me every day.

Is In My Mind the beginning of a series or theme?  If not, do you foresee chapter books in your writing future?

I see In My Mind as the pilot for other stories written about autism; there’s definitely a theme.  I’m not sure at this time if I’ll transition to chapter books.  My imagination is vivid and child-like, and me likey pictures too much.  {giggling}  Picture books are such a joy.  Given the subject matter of my work, I’m going to always want to educate children about autism while these children are still very young (K-4).  I want to teach them about “differences” and about the importance of patience, compassion, and tolerance before they’re taught how to judge others.

The tour doesn’t end here!  Please follow Adonya to her next stop: the Rainbow Mum Forum.  Don’t miss out!

Thanks for joining us, and thanks so much to Adonya for sharing this wonderful book with the world!

Manic Monday prompt from Mo

The other day, someone was asking about tools to help a teenager with high-functioning autism get more organized (I apologize for not remembering who/where this came from).  Kids with high-functioning autism, Asperger’s syndrome, ADHD, and other learning challenges can find it overwhelming and frustrating to keep track of all their responsibilities as they get older and expectations increase.  There are a few tools and strategies that may be helpful.  Some of these I use in my own home office because I seem to have a harder time keeping my own brain straight with every passing day.

Young Students & Pre-readers

When Gus went into kindergarten, he transitioned from an ABA program to a TEACCH program.   Each student had an office, a desk walled in by tall file cabinets that held the student’s instructional materials and files for the year.  The front of the student’s cabinet held his schedule, small laminated image cards to represent each segment of his day (think of PECS cards).  Each card had a Velcro back and the student could remove each task as it was completed.

With the help of Gus’s teacher, we adapted this system for home to help Gus in managing his routine without constant verbal cues from us.  For example, at bedtime, he could put up his cards and then remove each one (bath/pajamas/brush teeth) as it was done, right up to the point of getting in bed.  Until he was able to set his own schedule up, I could do it for him and he just had to follow it.  It was very helpful at the time.

Older students

There are several computer applications that work wonderfully for getting organized.  I personally use the calendar in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.  But I also spend a great deal of time in front of my computer, so this type of tool is great!  Google offers a free calendar if you have a Google account.  If your child has a cell phone, many of them have some sort of calender function, or information from an online calendar can be imported into many of them. This may not seem appropriate for a special needs student, but it largely depends on the child.  Some students are much better interacting with technology than others.

The computerized calendars may not be practical for other special needs students, so my next best suggestion would be the Flylady system.  I have no affiliation with Flylady, except that I’ve used her suggestions, and even though I fall off the wagon regularly, they’ve helped me a great deal.  She offers a section of her site geared toward kids including tips specifically for students that can be customized any way they need to help get organized.

You can also get creative and work with your child to create the organization method that best suits him or her.  You can have loads of fun with a large desk sized calendar and some stickers, or perhaps your child is tech savvy and responsible enough to handle more sophisticated tools.  How do you help your child learn to become more organized?

I mentioned in a previous post that My Autism Insights will be hosting Adonya Wong on her Virtual Book Tour promoting her book, In My Mind, and spreading autism awareness around the blogosphere.

“She will be sharing her thoughts on living with autism, writing, getting published, and future works.  In addition to these interviews, you can read reviews of In My Mind and listen to an audio interview by Autism Hangout.”

Adonya will also be conducting a giveaway - a pretty sweet one - for commenters along the tour route.  My Autism Insights will be stop #6 on Saturday January 24, so please be sure to follow along!  Here’s the rest of the tour itinerary:

Monday, January 19

Host: Bonnie Sayers, Autism Family Adventures

Tuesday, January 20

Host: Matt Gilbert, Doctorious.org

Wednesday, January 21

Host: MaryTara Wurmser, The Bon Bon Gazette

Thursday, January 22

Host: Katrina Shanks, The Queen’s Pen

Friday, January 23

Host: Sunshine Boatright, Rawtism

Saturday, January 24

Host: Andrea S., My Autism Insights

Sunday, January 25

Host: Lori Guthrie, Rainbow Project DFW

Monday, January 26

Host: Tim Welsh, Tanner’s Dad’s Blog

Tuesday, January 27

Host: Kari Wolfe, Imperfect Clarity

Wednesday, January 28

Host: Tammy Lessick, Autism Learning Felt

Thursday, January 29

Host: Adonya Wong, Healing… Through the Eyes of Autism

Please check out all Adonya’s stops!

And a small disclaimer, while I may or may not necessarily agree with everyone’s opinions, I do fully support their right to be heard and respect their contributions to the autism discussion.  We’re all interested in the common goal of raising awareness and furthering the discussion, so each perspective is a worthwhile one.

Have a great day!