Autism

ABA Autism Therapy: 6 Months In

March 7, 2012 By Robin 7 Comments

As most of my regular readers know, my little girl is autistic. It has been some time since I gave an update, since she has reached the 6 month point in ABA therapy (applied behavior analysis) and will be five years old in a few moths, this seemed like a good milestone for a progress report.

M. has been receiving 30 hours per week of in-home ABA Therapy, to help her overcome the limitations autism has caused her. While she has had other therapies in the past, and there was a set-up process, which did include some therapy, it has been roughly 6 months since we started the intensive 30 hour/week program. While M is still not saying more than a rare blurt of a word, she has made great progress in many areas.

The ABA program was an adjustment for both of us. M. gets frustrated at times, being asked to repetitively do tasks for hours a day (wouldn’t anyone), but she adores her therapists and they work hard to make things enjoyable for her. At this point, I would say she is in good spirits for more than 80% of her therapy, and whines or seems annoyed with the process less than 20% of the time. That seems like a pretty typical mood ratio for a preschool age kid, especially one who struggles to express her wants. Due to the intensity of her in-home program, her teachers at preschool are now focusing more on social skills, handling school routines, and getting her to use the bathroom at school. She also gets Occupational and Speech Therapy while she is there. Between school and therapy, we are pretty much booked 8:30am to 6pm M-F, plus Sat. mornings. Sometimes I think M handles the schedule better than I do.

My daughter enjoying a plum that she requested with a PECs (picture exchange communication) card.

Since starting the ABA therapy, my daughter seems to have better focus. It is easier to get her attention, and she seems to “get” what others are saying more. Although verbal words still escape her for the most part, and her fine motor delays hinder signing, she has been getting pretty good at picture exchange. This teamed with her improved ability to point out individual pictures, has prepared her to start using an iPad to assist in communication, which I am working on getting her now.

In addition to better focus and communication, M has been working on her colors, letters and a few sight words. The card exchange technique her therapists use with her allows us to better see how much M understands. It creates a simple repetitive scenario, where all she has to do is hand the picture of the item/color/letter/word to the therapist (or match it), out of a field of 3-12 cards. Initially, this brought a great deal of protest from M, but once she figured out what was expected of her, she has excelled in the part of the program. I’m sure it helps that she is a little ham & loves the extra praise and attention that comes along with it.

The ABA therapists are also working with M on imitation skills, something that can be tough for autistic kids to do. Starting out, M struggled in this area, more than with the card tasks, but has been making great progress in both object and physical imitation. They are also helping her to be able to carry out simple commands (ie. bring 1 object from a field of three, from a specified location). This is still something she struggles with, but it is starting to help with daily life. For example, I may have to ask M several times to bring her snack bowl for a re-fill, and wait her out a bit, she may protest, I may have to assist her to get it, but more and more she is doing better with these types of tasks.

There are small victories each day. Like most parents with autistic kids, you learn to focus on the progress your child is making, not what typical peers their age are doing. This is not to say you don’t fight to keep them from falling behind, but more to fight the limitations autism is causing them. If they can overcome those difficulties, they are stronger than most.

Filed Under: Autism Tagged With: ABA, autism, child development, kids

Fijit Friends Review: Great Toy for Kids with Autism or Sensory Issues

December 3, 2011 By Robin 2 Comments

My daughter (M) and I were sent a Sage Fijit for review a few weeks back. It was not the first item she went for that day (a Little Mommy doll also came in at the same time), but a couple days later she brought me the box. M is non-verbal due to her autism, so she generally brings me items or picture cards to express what she wants, and Fijit had caught her attention.

When I had selected a Fijit Friends doll as one of the items I would like to review, I didn’t realize it was geared towards children a little older than M. I pretty much expected her to investigate the Fijit for a few minutes and toss it aside forgotten… I was oh-so-very wrong. You see this little Fijit named Sage is actually a fantastic toy for children with strong sensory needs, like my daughter. I don’t think the dolls were created with this demographic in mind, but they are a perfect fit.

Fijit Friends are covered with a rubbery skin. It is the same material used to make those stretchy “tentacle” balls, that many occupational therapists and teachers use with children who have sensory processing disorders and/or autism. The Sage character has ears that stick out and are flat like a leaf. My daughter likes to gnaw on these, when she needs a little extra sensory input. Sage has become one of my daughters favorite toys, and he is often dragged around the house with her, When my MIL & SIL saw how much she likes this Fijit , they picked her up one of the other characters for Christmas.

Fijits are intended for girls around 6-10 years of age. They’re cute interactive little dancing pals, but I can’t really tell you how girls this age will like the toy. I can tell you my preschool age autistic daughter is in love with hers. I think the toy would be fine for little boys in her age group with similar sensory issues, as well. Sage is not particularly “girly”, and Logan seems to be a male Fijit.

Disclosure: Product sample was provided. All experiences and opinions presented here are my own.

Filed Under: Autism, Children, Holiday Gift Guide 2011 Tagged With: autism, kids, review, reviews, toys

She Said “Red” : Autism (ABA Therapy )

September 14, 2011 By Robin 4 Comments

As many of my regular readers already know, my daughter is autistic and pretty much non-verbal. After sitting on a waiting list for nearly a year, M started ABA therapy (Applied Behavioral Analysis) set-up in the spring. Due to staffing changes, as well as, a change to her plan, the actual therapy sessions didn’t start until this Monday. This week she is only getting her 3 hour afternoon sessions. Next week, morning sessions should be staffed for her.

Although the ABA therapy is pretty intensive, M is handling it better than I expected, even often staying at the table during her breaks. She seems to enjoy all that extra focused attention, but gets frustrated with having demands placed on her.

The first day, included a little training of the therapist, by the clinician, but was mostly teaching. Yesterday was pretty much a regular ABA session. While working on colors with her therapist, M was repeatedly asked to “give red”, and hand her the appropriate colored card. Unexpectedly, M blurted out the word “red”, as clear as day. This is a word she has never said before. As the three hour session was nearly at an end, M announced “done”. It seems she had had enough at that point.

In just 6 hours of therapy, we have seen some great results. I am very hopeful that with the nearly 30 hours per week she will be doing, she will really blossom.

Filed Under: Autism Tagged With: ABA, autism, child development

Touching Autism Video from a Dad who Cares

September 11, 2011 By Robin 2 Comments

My friend Jessica, who also has a child affected by autism shared this video on Facebook and it really got to me. It brought waves of the memories of my daughter’s autism diagnosis crashing in. With the progress of my husband and I’s separation, my focus has been somewhat split. Thank goodness her ABA therapy is starting Monday.

It was good to see a man so dedicated to healing his little girl, and the music was a perfect choice.

Filed Under: Autism Tagged With: autism, child development

Sometimes It is the Little Things…

July 25, 2011 By Robin 8 Comments

I had a tough day yesterday. It seemed whenever I tried to get anything done, my darling little daughter would come along and make twice as much mess as I had just cleaned. She is autistic, and her sensory needs have been raging the past few days. On top of that, my soon -to-be-ex, was home last night, after staying out the past two nights. It is a situation we both have to deal with for awhile, but it can be a bit uncomfortable.

This morning I awoke at the ungodly hour of 3:30 am and couldn’t sleep. A few hours later, I was talking to the husband outside as he was leaving for work, when I looked down at the large planter near my steps, only to see the back-end of something dead hanging out of it (probably another dead possum courtesy of my German Shepherd). Soon-to-be-ex scurried off, saying he was late for work. I don’t have the constitution to deal with dead rodents, so the dread of a dead animal at my back steps all day, hovered with me as I went inside. Just then, my daughter whined a few times and came tromping down the stairs. I braced myself for a fussy display from her while choosing breakfast, but that is not how things went.

She came around the corner and went straight for me, hugged my legs, looked up with her big blue eyes and said mom-mom-mom. All the annoyances of the past two days melted away in an instant, as I heard that word I hadn’t heard in quite some time.

Filed Under: Autism Tagged With: autism

Putting a Non-Verbal Preschooler on a Bus

July 17, 2011 By Robin 2 Comments

As most of my regular readers already know, my daughter is autistic. She goes to a special education preschool program for a few hours 3-4 days a week, and it has really helped her with her social skills. I drive her back and forth each day, and during the regular school year, many other parents also choose not to put their children on the bus. Right now she is in the summer program. It is geared toward the children who need more help, and the teacher is concerned that missing all summer may make them take backwards steps.

I am the only parent driving their child in, all the rest of the children, are taking the bus to school. This seemed odd to me. I understand that some of these mom and dads don’t have the option to go get their child, but it still wouldn’t sit right with me personally. Call me over-protective if you wish, but I am not placing my non-verbal 4 year old on a bus, and hoping she is returned safely to me. I’ve heard a few too many stories of instances of poor student tracking, to feel comfortable with that. Every year we hear of a child that wandered off, was dropped in the wrong place or forgotten on a school bus. Of course some of these cases could easily be remedied by a simple vehicle inspection , at the end of each trip, but not all of them, and obviously despite rules being in place it doesn’t always happen.

To make me even more paranoid, in the next town over from me, a bus driver was blocked in by concerned citizens, when they saw him driving erratically on his way to pick up children at school. Police arrived and the school bus driver was arrested for drunk driving. That is pretty scary.

If I was in the position to have to put my little girl on a school bus sometime year, they would completely hate me. I would be doing a bus pre trip inspection each day, and eyeballing the driver with intense scrutiny. I sure hope that I am not put in that position.

Filed Under: Autism

Fly Away: Movie Gives an Intense Look at Life with Autism

May 9, 2011 By Robin Leave a Comment

I recently had the opportunity to watch a dvd screener of the movie Fly Away. I was particularly interested in seeing this movie, since it is about an autistic girl transitioning from childhood into adulthood, and the struggles she and her family experience during this time. Our little girl has autism, so of course it was a little hard to watch. My husband found watching the film very stressful.

The teen girl depicted in the film has somewhat severe autism. She gets around, but her self care skills are minimal, and her outbursts are a source of trouble both at school and with her mother. Her mother, as the primary caretaker (divorced), is overwhelmed with the stress of caring for her daughter, while trying to work and support them. Her father obviously cares for her and takes her a couple times during the film, but he has a hard time handling her.

The mother is receiving pressure both from the school and ex-husband to place her daughter in a live-in school for young people with autism, but she resists, viewing it as abandoning her daughter. Things soon spiral out of control, and she must face that she will not always be here to care for her daughter. There is a tough choice to be made.

Fly Away is an intense and, as my husband will quickly tell you, stressful film. That being said, it is effective in portraying the ups and downs of care taking with an autistic child. I would suggest this film to anyone who wants to better understand the dynamics of transitioning a child with severe autism, into adulthood. It is certainly thought provoking.

Disclosure: Press copy provided for the purpose of this review. All opinions presented here are my own.

Filed Under: Autism, Reviews & Giveaways Tagged With: autism, dvd, Family, movies, review, reviews

Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012 Edition: Book Review

April 21, 2011 By Robin Leave a Comment

Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism is a new series of books started last year by two fathers of autistic children. Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012 is the second and newest edition, and hopefully a new edition will be coming out, if not yearly, at least biennially. It is a wonderful overview of autism therapies available, treatments in development and theories concerning autism. It is an ever changing area of study, and parents want all the information they can get to find good therapy matches for their children, with the diagnosis.

Ken Siri and Tony Lyons, the editors of the book, do not claim to be experts themselves, but have done a wonderful job of gathering and compiling overviews and opinions about a wide array of autism therapies directly from experts in each type of therapy.

The therapies themselves are a mixed bag. Some (in my humble opinion) border on quackery, while others have proven track records of success. I liked that all were covered, regardless of general acceptance. I prefer to get all the information possible, and make selections that I feel would help my own child. Who is to say something I deem frivolous, might not be just the key for someone else’s child. After all, The innumerable ways autism presents itself has a good deal to do with the extensive array of therapies available.

I found the section on technological-based interventions particularly interesting myself. I have been wanting to get our daughter an iPad, since there are some great therapeutic apps which have been developed, and many children have been making a good deal of verbal progress using them. I’ve heard from a few other parents about the strides their kids have made, and after reading more about the applications in this book, I do think my daughter would benefit from them.

More traditional approaches are of course also covered in this book, such as ABA, occupational and speech therapy. Most children on the spectrum are like my daughter, either already receiving these established therapies (or on waiting lists to receive them), so the emerging therapies are generally not a replacement, rather, in most cases, they are auxiliary treatments. In years to come, perhaps, some of these may become the go-to autism therapies, so it is wise to be informed.

This volume is reasonably priced, and provides an excellent general overview of the various treatment options available for autistic individuals. I would suggest Cutting-Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012 Edition, as an addition to the bookshelf of anyone with a child on the spectrum. The book is currently available at most major booksellers.

Disclosure: Press copy of this title provided for the purpose of review. all opinions presented here are my own.

Filed Under: Autism, Books Tagged With: autism, review, reviews

Seedlings, Autism, Hope and Patience

April 19, 2011 By Robin 6 Comments

I showed you my tomato and basil seedlings a few weeks ago. On the day I posted I had just given up on my Beefsteak tomatoes, and proclaimed the seeds duds. Guess what… the next day a seedling started to push up. It was close to the edge of the Jiffy pot, so I was still thinking it was possibly a Cherry tomato seed that had been misplaced, but over the next week sprouts had appeared in all three of the little satchels of soil.

It seems to be a running theme in my life, as soon as I give up on something, presto.

Now the Beefsteak tomato seedlings, that I had given up on, have caught up in size to the Cherry tomatoes.

I didn’t get married that late by today’s standards, but much like the little tomato plants, shortly after deciding that my focus was going to be on graduate school and other endeavors, rather than a marital relationship, I met my now husband. He and I bought our home and hoped to have a couple children. The years went by, and no children came. Soon to be 40, I gave up on the having kids. If it hadn’t happened by that point, it wasn’t going to. Just shy of 5 months from my 40th birthday, I found out we were expecting.

Mammoth basil seedlings.

Our daughter was born a very healthy baby. She met all her milestones on time, or early. She had good eye contact. At 11 months she was walking and said mom-mom and “bubba” (bottle). M remained very engaged with me, but more words did not come. She started Early Intervention services and a few months before her third birthday she officially received a diagnosis of autism. Despite various therapies, our little girl still barely speaks.

Part of me looks back to the past. Every time I give up on something, and accept things as they are, low and behold that “something” happens. The thing is when it is your child you are talking about, giving up is not an option.

Filed Under: Autism, Garden Tagged With: autism, gardening