Autism

[BadFish]

I have a son on the Autism Spectrum (Aspergers), I am also a teacher and have had a little experience with other kids on the spectrum.

I am interested to know what peoples experiences and or opinions about Autism are.

Last night I watched this movie about Temple Grandin which was so interesting and inspiring and gave a really interesting insight into Autsim and the amazing way that an Autistic person's brain works.

I was also talking to someone during the week who clearly thought that all these kids needs is tougher discipline or a damn good thrashing.

To me learning more about Autism is a fascinating insight into the power of the brain and the differing ways it can work. There are lessons to be learned about everybody from studying Autism.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpkN0JdXRpM

This video is also amazing but a little harrowing to sit through



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1uPf5O-on0&feature=player_embedded

 

[Scampi]

My son is also on the autistic specturm. We have a diagnosis of Aspergers but this is as much a hindrance as a help as people make assumptions based on this label and my son just doesn't fit the textbook definition. He is a truly amazing,in some aspects his mind is brilliant, but emotionally he is still a toddler. I love him to bits but he's very hard work. Yet he also inspires great affection from most every adult he knows.

One problem we encounter is that because his disability has no outward signs when you are out if he is finding it hard to cope you can get muttering from other people. I find the tutters fall into two groups, the elderly and people who exhibit borderline asd symptoms themsleves, the suspected undiagnosed ASD.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

On he Museum of Curiosity last week (I don't remember his name) one guest had Asperger's which allowed his brain to function in an extraordinary way - he learned to recite Pi to thousands of places; he knows ten languages and learned Icelandic in a week; he experiences numbers as colours and textures, and the list goes on.

A fascinating bloke; reminded me of the kid a few years ago who could sketch fantastically accurate drawings of the world around him. The 'spectrum' is obviously an enormous one and the extremes will always get noticed, but all of it is a little insight into how complex the brain is and how little do we know about it.

 

[BadFish]

My son is also on the autistic specturm. We have a diagnosis of Aspergers but this is as much a hindrance as a help as people make assumptions based on this label and my son just doesn't fit the textbook definition. He is a truly amazing,in some aspects his mind is brilliant, but emotionally he is still a toddler. I love him to bits but he's very hard work. Yet he also inspires great affection from most every adult he knows.

One problem we encounter is that because his disability has no outward signs when you are out if he is finding it hard to cope you can get muttering from other people. I find the tutters fall into two groups, the elderly and people who exhibit borderline asd symptoms themsleves, the suspected undiagnosed ASD.

I think the problem is that their is really no text book definition. One of the things that This Sue Larkey said was " to know someone with Autism Specturm Disorder doesn't mean you know Autism Spectrum disorder. It is a huge frustration of mine that with all the information you are given and strategies you try only some information is relevant and only some strategies work and they often don't work for long.

I hear you about the mutterings and tutting this coupled with the looks people and the fact that for some reason people sometimes feel it necessary to give you advice on how to deal with your situation drives me up the wall.

I read somewhere a person with Aspergers say that they don't suffer with Aspergers they suffer with peoples attitudes towards them.

Thanks for replying and good luck. I can highly reccomend the temple Grandin Movie if you haven't seen it already.

 

[BadFish]

On he Museum of Curiosity last week (I don't remember his name) one guest had Asperger's which allowed his brain to function in an extraordinary way - he learned to recite Pi to thousands of places; he knows ten languages and learned Icelandic in a week; he experiences numbers as colours and textures, and the list goes on.

A fascinating bloke; reminded me of the kid a few years ago who could sketch fantastically accurate drawings of the world around him. The 'spectrum' is obviously an enormous one and the extremes will always get noticed, but all of it is a little insight into how complex the brain is and how little do we know about it.

Wasn't there a kid who went up on the London Eye when it first opened and when he got down drew an incredibly detailed version of the 360 degree London skyscape.

 

[cloud]

My brother has aspergers. He has had all kinds of tests over the years, and although he is off the scale in some areas (eg maths), he struggles in others eg spatial awareness. He went to a school with a dyslexia unit so he was quite well looked after, but once you're out in the real world it's so much harder, and he hasn't found his niche yet. He dropped out of uni and is now unemployed and suffers from depression.

There's an expo soon in London which you might be interested in , June 15-16th at the Excel centre http://www.autismshow.co.uk/.

It is hard work at times, and partly because they are lacking in empathy so it can feel like you're giving all the time and never getting much back in return. My parents I know are drained after years of trying this and that, and years of trying to deal with an under-funded NHS system. We have also come up against doctors who say it "doesn't exist".

 

[rosscrudos]

I teach in the western surburbs of Melbourne, and have taught many students on the autism spectrum. What I have found is that the 'get tough' approach absolutley does not work, in fact it is the worse thing you can do.

This is a generalisation but most of the students are quiet, read alot and are happy doing their own thing, they are also nice kids.

What else is interesting is that often parents do not want their children to be tested, as they do not want them to be labelled. Trust me on this, it doesn't make a difference, teachers will label your kids anyway.

What I have found interesting recenty is the fact that some children hide behind their condition; I was told the other day that "I can't sit still because I'm autistic" which is, of course, bollocks!

I think my take on it is, treat all kids the same, and especially don't patronise, or expect any less of them if they have autism.

 

[BadFish]

My brother has aspergers. He has had all kinds of tests over the years, and although he is off the scale in some areas (eg maths), he struggles in others eg spatial awareness. He went to a school with a dyslexia unit so he was quite well looked after, but once you're out in the real world it's so much harder, and he hasn't found his niche yet. He dropped out of uni and is now unemployed and suffers from depression.

There's an expo soon in London which you might be interested in , June 15-16th at the Excel centre http://www.autismshow.co.uk/.

It is hard work at times, and partly because they are lacking in empathy so it can feel like you're giving all the time and never getting much back in return. My parents I know are drained after years of trying this and that, and years of trying to deal with an under-funded NHS system. We have also come up against doctors who say it "doesn't exist".

Thanks for the heads up (bit far to come from Australia but I will look carefully at the website).

Sorry to hear about your brother it seems that we are still in fairly unenlightened times at the moment but hopefully things are getting better. We have been frustrated over here by no-one really helping us out. We spoke to my son's kinder about our concerns and we were told it was just a social developmental delay. School told us a similar thing. Eventually we took him to the doctor off our own back and demanded some kind of assessment as his behaviour was getting worse. It has taken us along time and we still don't have an official diagnosis. Ironically the Australian government offer $12,000 dollar of funding if your child is assessed by the age of 6, he is 7 and we are still waiting.

The most effective thing we have found so far is to change his (and our diet) to avoid harmful additives and chemicals in his food. This has made a huge reduction in anger, meltdowns and uncontrollable flailing behaviour. It is a very hard thing to do (and the tutting and eye rolling increases) but makes a hughe difference to us here is a link to and Australian website with lots of information www.fedup.com.au/. We have cut out all food additives and cut right back on salisyilates.

 

[RowleyBirkinQ.C(deceased)]

Wasn't there a kid who went up on the London Eye when it first opened and when he got down drew an incredibly detailed version of the 360 degree London skyscape.

Yes, this lad. Stephen Wiltshire. He's done city's from memory from all over.
Truly amazing


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8YXZTlwTAU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[BadFish]

I teach in the western surburbs of Melbourne, and have taught many students on the autism spectrum. What I have found is that the 'get tough' approach absolutley does not work, in fact it is the worse thing you can do.

This is a generalisation but most of the students are quiet, read alot and are happy doing their own thing, they are also nice kids.

What else is interesting is that often parents do not want their children to be tested, as they do not want them to be labelled. Trust me on this, it doesn't make a difference, teachers will label your kids anyway.

What I have found interesting recenty is the fact that some children hide behind their condition; I was told the other day that "I can't sit still because I'm autistic" which is, of course, bollocks!

I think my take on it is, treat all kids the same, and especially don't patronise, or expect any less of them if they have autism.

We decided we preferred the label Aspergers to the other labels out son was developing at school.

 

[Fungus]

I suspect there are soooooo many undiagnosed people out there! Especially adults.

There is also so much ignorance and intolerance. As mentioned above, the "spectrum" can mean anything. The (obviously over-simplistic) lesson is to treat everyone as an individual.

 

[BadFish]

I teach in the western surburbs of Melbourne, and have taught many students on the autism spectrum. What I have found is that the 'get tough' approach absolutley does not work, in fact it is the worse thing you can do.

This is a generalisation but most of the students are quiet, read alot and are happy doing their own thing, they are also nice kids.

What else is interesting is that often parents do not want their children to be tested, as they do not want them to be labelled. Trust me on this, it doesn't make a difference, teachers will label your kids anyway.

What I have found interesting recenty is the fact that some children hide behind their condition; I was told the other day that "I can't sit still because I'm autistic" which is, of course, bollocks!

I think my take on it is, treat all kids the same, and especially don't patronise, or expect any less of them if they have autism.

If you haven't already and get the chance go and see a Sue Larkey P.D. (P.L. whatever we are supposed to call it). it was so interesting, insightful and interesting.

 

[BIG GAY AL]

Have you read The Curious Case of the Dog That Died at Night Time, or something like that? Really good read written through the eyes of an autistic person.

 

[SeagullSongs]

Have you read The Curious Case of the Dog That Died at Night Time, or something like that? Really good read written through the eyes of an autistic person.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time.

Great book, but all of the little details made me wonder if I was on the autistic spectrum...

 

[Braders]

I'm Autistic (Aspergers - lower scale apparently) to be honest I plough through day to day

 

[5mins-from-amex]

My son is also on the autistic specturm. We have a diagnosis of Aspergers but this is as much a hindrance as a help as people make assumptions based on this label and my son just doesn't fit the textbook definition. He is a truly amazing,in some aspects his mind is brilliant, but emotionally he is still a toddler. I love him to bits but he's very hard work. Yet he also inspires great affection from most every adult he knows.

One problem we encounter is that because his disability has no outward signs when you are out if he is finding it hard to cope you can get muttering from other people. I find the tutters fall into two groups, the elderly and people who exhibit borderline asd symptoms themsleves, the suspected undiagnosed ASD.

omg this is exactly my son too a tee, hes only 2 almost 3 i personal think hes too young to be labelled with anything, but theres something about him that the professionals think might not be right, but to me hes amazing...

 

[Scampi]

I think the problem is that their is really no text book definition. One of the things that This Sue Larkey said was " to know someone with Autism Specturm Disorder doesn't mean you know Autism Spectrum disorder. It is a huge frustration of mine that with all the information you are given and strategies you try only some information is relevant and only some strategies work and they often don't work for long..

With strategies almost every professional we encounter tells us to make a visual timetable as this will help. My son shows no interest in this, yet when you patiently explain this will be no help you still get told to try it again. We nod sympathertically and go home and do the things we know do work. Obviously this is related to the fact that each asd person is an individual, but sadly people who should know better still have a list of symptoms they expect every asd child to have, not everyone of course , but enough to have caused problems in the past.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

My step son now 21 was diagnosed many years ago. The one thing that I always remember from his early schooling was when he failed to complete his homework his teacher said "it's alright we know you have problems don't worry". From that day forwards he didn't worry and done bugger all, the perfect excuse. My wife and I couldn't get this stupid teacher to understand that given encouragement he could have progressed in his school work. At the time he was top of the class in maths but alas within months he had slipped.

After a holiday (Easter for example) when he returned to school it was like he had never been. Everything he had learnt prior to the holiday was lost, like his brain had done a data dump. This was frustrating considering from an early age (5) he could name just about any plane, car, bike and weirdly guns. Now he never had access to gun books etc but there it was in his memory, truly incredible.

He is incredible at drawing though.

Needless to say he left school without qualifications but wanted to go to college. We managed to get him on a painter and decorator course. He was fine and passed but on leaving he completely forgot everything he learnt.

He now works for a hotel, who understand his "ways" and has kept the job for 2 years, he lives in and is really enjoying life. However when he remembers we exist and comes over he is instantly frustrating, hard to explain but he appears to regress when with us.

I believe he will always be susceptible to being led and that's a worry as others have said it's the maturity that's the main issue. He has the maturity of, say a 11 year old.

 

[Taybha]

My lad is 19 now and was diagnosed at 5 , he managed to stay in the mainstream school system right up until the seniors where he found it a little to much , the teasing seems to worsen as the kids get older and for the last 2 years he attended a special needs school , whats heartbreaking about the condition is its not obvious physically in many cases and Autistic kids are simply labeled badly behaved or dimwits by others .

He left school and decided he wanted to go to college to learn how to care for animals with the goal of becoming a vet , he is in his last term at plumpton now and has overcome many obsticles put in his way and passed every test set him along the way , he has used exercise to vent his frustrations and become so good at some form of karate i cant even pronounce he now teaches it to other young kids .

I dont think i have treated him any different to my other kids and i could not be any prouder of him or love him more than i do , there will be times you want to bash your head against a wall , and there will be tears , but also plenty of laughs and spontaneous moments of pure genius along the way .

Obviously there are many levels of severity in the autistic spectrum but whatever the level your child is at you just have to be as supportive as you can and understanding of their needs as you would a so called normal child , it can be a bumpy journey but one you will be glad you took .

 

[The Mole]

I think the problem is that their is really no text book definition. One of the things that This Sue Larkey said was " to know someone with Autism Specturm Disorder doesn't mean you know Autism Spectrum disorder. It is a huge frustration of mine that with all the information you are given and strategies you try only some information is relevant and only some strategies work and they often don't work for long.

I hear you about the mutterings and tutting this coupled with the looks people and the fact that for some reason people sometimes feel it necessary to give you advice on how to deal with your situation drives me up the wall.

I read somewhere a person with Aspergers say that they don't suffer with Aspergers they suffer with peoples attitudes towards them.

Thanks for replying and good luck. I can highly reccomend the temple Grandin Movie if you haven't seen it already.

One of the big problems with the autism spectrum is that it embraces too large a range of disabilities and so requires many different approaches to the problem. These days there is a lot more research into it, but there is still a huge ignorance as to its cause and so how to treat it. Personally, I have taken part in a number of research pieces for the Maudsley Hospital as a sibling.

The points you raise about the tutting of "bad" behaviour is too true. I have been guilty of it myself, but then I realised that the child wasn't unruly but showed a lot of symptoms of autism. I asked my Dad what I should do/say in these circumstances when the parent is in a lot of distress. He said smile - it shows that you understand.

My sister is severely autistic in her forties. It does get a lot harder in adulthood because people will excuse a cute child's bad behaviour but are (naturally) more uneasy when they see an odd-looking middle-aged woman throwing a tantrum over nothing. Also, people are more likely to give to children's charities - but these kids will all become autistic adults with greater needs.

The way to try to understand the "bad" behaviour is to think how you would feel if you had some emotion/language you want to express but couldn't - the frustration that would build up would be huge.

For all those with autistic children and siblings - I reallydo wish you all the best - I think the awareness is improving and that more their opportunities will improve. But, only a very small number have the amazing abilities of Rain Man or Stephen Wiltshire and all have a great deal of need