Hi, my 6th Child was diagnosed with autism at 3 (a few months ago). I suspected very early on (at a couple of months old when he wouldnt make eye contact)...when a newborn and in the first couple of months he barely woke up so I wasnt able to use the usual black/white/red and other baby intellect stimulation methods. I put him in daycare a couple of days a week starting at six months to force socialisation on him, as I was concerned how he might turn out as an adult if not socialised properly early (I was thinking about Martin Bryant at the time - Australia's worst mass murderer who murdered 35 people in a massacre and did it because he had been rejected by so many people due to his Aspergers and lack of "normal" social behavior). Sounds like I was treating him as you would a puppy, but it has helped him a lot. His type of autism hasnt yet been diagnosed (it needs a full assessment and he's on the waiting list for it) but he doesnt say many words and his pronunciation is terrible. Cat is "ha", pug is "Ha" Puggy I s"haggy, Yucky is "yuhhy" - he cant pronounce so many letters let alone combinations like sp or st. He's had his hearing checked numerous times and it is fine. But he cant speak in sentences or even 2 words together.
I dont know what sort of success you'll have with Brillkids material as my son wouldnt even sit still to watch anything until he was 2 and a half. He wasnt interested in anything on a screen. I havent pushed flashcards on him I am more concerned with his speech, his social interaction and his being happy and not angry (he was such an angry child for so long - he changed for the better at 2.5 years old and became loving, affectionate and interested in TV shows. He relates to Elmo from Sesame Street now and seems more "normal". But he's still difficult. My paediatrician said he'll likely need to go to a special school as he seems to have developmental delays. So be happy with your child making baby steps and try what you can but dont be disappointed if he doesnt measure up to your expectations of intelligence. I know of a child with autism who is an amazing artist and can draw anything from memory. My son might have some amazing gifts I dont know about yet. Just try things but dont be upset if they dont work out how you hoped. Lucky for me this is my 6th child so I've had other children with different abilities to fulfill my parental desire for genius - I have friends who have 1 child and that child has to shoulder every burden of their parents hopes and dreams and really can only disappoint - you'd probably have to have 20 kids before all your hopes for a child are fulfilled (by all 20 not by 1)...none of them will meet our own ideas of perfection. I've had to just "let it go" and let my child just be....just accept that there are some aspects of him I cant reach.
I found this article that seems helpful...
http://parentingexpertadvice.com/the-parenting-aspergers-resource-guide-z-nmf007.htmlThe biggest hurdle is the anger - the not wanting to sit still and watch a screen and throwing a tantrum. When I want him to do something is not when he wants to. I actually still have him drinking from a bottle (partly because he throws cups of fluid on the carpet) - a nice warm bottle of MILO (milk and nutritional chocolate drink) this helps to settle him so he will sit sedately in a relaxed, happy manner and watch things with me.
Digg
