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I have a child in my care who I believe has autism, he falls into the vague line of syptoms you find when just looking up the basics, but I really want to dig farther. Does anyone have knowledge of a helpful website or book to help me a little deeper? and also, how would you address with the parent? or would you? the kicker is...she's my sister, and she tends to run on the defense in general. HELP!
Oh wow ~ ya dealing with family is even harder!
I will admit that autism is not forte ~ in 25 years I have only ever had exposure to 1 child with it and she was not directly in my classroom and came with her own support worker so we did not really have to 'work' with her too much cause the PSW did all the programming and support.
Had lots of children whose DR had said they were on the 'spectrum' but I am starting to think that any children are being labelled as autistic cause it made people feel better to explain why their child did not behave just like for years many children who could not sit still and listen were labelled ADHD without being truly 'tested' to have that brain disorder and well were just not the sit still and listen learning personality!
i agree reggio. thanks for your input. I do have experience with severe autism in my husbands family and I see a lot of similarities in my nephew, I am doing my required yearly training on a autism class, I think that will help me to understand it a little better as well. was just wondering if anyone had anything a little deeper. and I do agree, I feel mixed regarding all the "labels" that can be put on kids now a days, seems there are so many..my son has ADHD tendancies and quirks...the only thing I do with that knowledge is better handle him and his difficult personality, I don't give him meds, we don't even talk to him about ADHD, I just read the books and use what I find useful and disregard the rest. The best thing about coming to a conclusion on certain behaviors is, you then can reach a point of dealing with the issue, once I found the ADHD I found the tools to better work on the issues. My concerns are, IF my nephew has autism tendancies, perhaps we can/I can try proven practices to help him cope with the issues he has. ;) thanks for your input!
Kidlove, I wouldn't bring it up at all with the family but I would gently bring up things I notice and ask them what they think and if it happens at home, that sort of thing. Then you can ask them what their doctor thinks about this or that. If you have experience dealing with autism then you probably are able to spot it easier than most people. I wouldn't know it because I haven't dealt with it before.
Sadly we can only 'advocate' for children so much because ultimately these are not our children and as much as it tugs at the soul to see them struggling when there is such EASY fixes with or without the 'label' of whatever disease or condition they might fall under .... so while I do advocate to clients to seek second opinions around what I see in program that might be red flags for something ultimately if I see a child struggling I put the tools in place to help them regardless ... so IMO if you think your nephew might have Autism I would just TRY some of the tips and tools that work with children with those tendencies and see if they help him while in your program .... there are MANY things I do regularly in my program that are designed for children with 'high spirited personalities' or 'ADHD' even when I do not have any children with those 'tendencies' because well IMO they are practices that work for ALL kids to stay calm and feel like they have some control over their world.Quote:
Originally Posted by kidlove
thanks Mom of four. I have decided not to say anything. My sis is so hard to talk to on regular topics and she really doesn't seen to think (or admit) anything is wrong. My family (except me ;)) is very excuse driven, and perhaps pride filled, they can't admit anything is ever wrong, either sweep it under the rug or make excuses...either way...I wont say anything. I guess i will wait for her to come to me. and I thought of just making a comment regarding a few things but not point toward autism. So hard with anyone to bring up such topics, but family (defensive family) is even tougher. I was afraid IF I said the wrong thing she would pull him from my care and not talk to me. hard to explain her but, I don't think she is one to take such concerns lightly, she would perhaps think I was attacking her instead. he also has other things I concern over, he is almost 2 and his testicles have not descended also barley has a penis....she was on meds for acne when she got pregnant and the dermatoligist told her those specific meds could cause hermaphidyte (sp) child, so it was very important to not become pregnant. He was also in the nic unit for about a month after complications in birth. has never said Muma or dada, doesnt speak at all just growls and squeels to communicate. and when he's excited he wiggles his fingers a lot....these are all charactoristics i have seen in autism......he is very connected to toys, not people so much, reacts strongly to movies and charactors on TV rather than to other humans, and hates loud noises, if a child cries or even shouts in the house, he freaks out and cries throws a fit, growls and drools all over. Also loves repetetive actions i.e. walkinf in circles around the furniture, placing a toy on a chair picking it up placing it on another then repeating that over and over and over.
thats is how I handle my son, I don't treat him like there is anything "wrong" with him but I do use the techniques that seems to help.....I also want to do the same with my nephew, problem is...although I have seen autistic kids so I am familiar with a lot of the symptoms or behaviors, I have not had them in care, so my search is for proper sites to help or books that will direct me in healping him to deal with these behaviors. ;)
Kidlove,
I have worked with families who have children with Autism. And my oldest has ADHD and a few learning disabilities. I have had friends and family member tell me now that they always knew my son was different...man I sure wished they had stood up to say something years earlier. Some of the families have said they had wished someone had stood up and said something to them too. Its hard and yes it probably will affect your relationship with your sister, but if it is for the benefit of her child she will understand...eventua lly. The younger the child is diagnosed the sooner they can start in a program to help them.
Try, Autism Treatment Services of Canada, their website explains Autism and has links to several agencies and research centers. They also have recommended readings on the site.
I hope this helps.