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

December 3, 2011 By 2 Comments

fijit sageMy 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.fijit friends

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

Filed Under: Autism, Children, Holiday Gift Guide 2011 Tagged With: , , , ,
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She Said “Red” : Autism (ABA Therapy )

September 14, 2011 By 4 Comments

autistic girlAs 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.

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Touching Autism Video from a Dad who Cares

September 11, 2011 By 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.

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

May 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

fly away movie dvd autism

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.

 

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

April 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

cutting edge therapies for autism book reviewCutting-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.

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Seedlings, Autism, Hope and Patience

April 19, 2011 By 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.

tomato seedlings ready to pot

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

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.

seedlingsPart 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: ,
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Loving Lampposts: A Frank Discussion on What It Means to Be Autistic

April 5, 2011 By 3 Comments

Loving Lamposts autism movie reviewLoving Lampposts is film which gives an encompassing view of autism.  The film looks at the differing viewpoints on what it means to be autistic, in a frank and open manner.  The filmmaker, Todd Drezner, is the father of an autistic child himself, so this film is not just a project for him, but also a quest for answers.

There are two seemingly very different viewpoints on autism.  The medical community and much of the general public see autism as a sickness, which must be fought and cured.  There is also a ‘neurodiversity’ movement, which proclaims autism is just a variation of the human brain, and should be accepted as such.  To them it is disrespectful to say autistic people should be cured.loving lamposts dvd review

Loving Lampposts presents the differing viewpoints from, parents of autistic children, the medical community and most importantly autistic adults.  From parents, there are discussions on how they have fought or come to accept autism.   Some children have indeed lost their autism diagnosis, others have not. Among the parents who have accepted that autism is the way their children are, they are still endeavoring to help their kids be the most they can be.  It is just their viewpoint which has changed.  The medical community takes a disease curing approach to autism.  Theorizing that if the underlying causes of the condition can be cured, the person will become “normal”.

Of the most interest to myself, and I would think most people who have a loved one with autism, were the interviews with autistic adults.  Many are proponents of the ‘neurodiversity’ movement.  They do not want to be treated as if they are damaged and sick.  They just want to be accepted as who they are.

I found Loving Lampposts to be a very thoughtful presentation.  As the mother of an autistic child, I sometimes feel a bit pulled between the cure vs. accept models.  As my daughter is still rather young, I am  focusing more on treatments that would be considered more in the “cure” camp, but for me the emphasis is more on helping her gain skills that will make her future life easier and more fulfilling.  Would I like her to lose her diagnosis, yes, but first and foremost I want her to be what makes her happy.  I guess that sort of puts me somewhere between these two camps.

Loving Lampposts came out on DVD March 29th.  It is now available for rent or purchase.  If you are the parent of an autistic child, an educator, or just someone who wants to better understand the “epidemic” of autism, I highly recommend this movie, from Cinema Libre Studio.

Disclosure: Media copy was provided for the purpose of this review.  All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Autism, Reviews & Giveaways Tagged With: , , , , ,
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