Autism Blogger

I wrote this for another site, but thought the information would be good enough for a blog post:  read more »

I have a job that allows me to work from home.  The only problem is that I struggle to get any real WORK done.  It takes me three times as long to finsih my work than anyone else in my company.  Why?  Because something bad happens everytime I pick up the phone.  My first call of the day, which lasted all of two minutes, resulted in my son sneaking into my room and dumping out an entire can of baby powder.  My second call took twenty minutes to make because my son wouldn't stop yelling catch phrases from various cartoons and computer games.  The rest will go the same way since I just told him that he can't have any more junk food and the pantry is locked.

Everyone thinks that since I work from home I have it easy but it is far from it.  It takes me 12 hours to do what should be done in 8, plus the cooking, cleaning, and home making, PLUS taking care of the boy who is not always agreeable to my agenda.  It's really difficult and I'm constantly behind.  I feel like I'm being swallowed up on most days.

Sometimes when my son goes to bed on time I get a few minutes to work on my website or to do the dishes, but usually I'm stuck having to catch up on the work I should have been doing nine to five.   I tried having someone in home to help, but it's not really worth it past having them pick up because the boy demands my attention regardless.

 So while everyone else wishes they could work from home, I wish I could "WORK" from home.  If child care and transportation were available I'd work outside the house just so I could shorter working days and more time to myself and for my kid.

Why Men Don't Write Advice Columns

Dear Walter: I hope you can help me here. The other day, I set off for work leaving my husband in the house watching the TV as usual. I hadn't gone more than a mile down the road when my engine conked out and the car shuddered to a halt. I walked back home to get my husband's help. When I got home I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in our bedroom with the neighbor lady. I am 32, my husband is 34, and we have been married for twelve years.

When I confronted him, he broke down and admitted that they had been having an affair for the past six months. I told him to stop or I would leave him. He was let go from his job six months ago and he says he has been feeling increasingly depressed and worthless. I love him very much, but ever since I gave him the ultimatum he has become increasingly distant. He won't go to counseling and I'm afraid I can't get through to him anymore.

Can you please help?

Sincerely, Sheila

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Dear Sheila: A car stalling after being driven a short distance can be caused by a variety of faults with the engine. Start by checking that there is no debris in the fuel line. If it is clear, check the vacuum pipes and hoses on the intake manifold and also check all grounding wires. If none of these approaches solves the problem, it could be that the fuel pump itself is faulty, causing low delivery pressure to the carburetor float chamber.

I hope this helps.
-Walter

A new diagnostic tool to help detect autism in young children is the focus of new research at Flinders University in Adelaide.

The new assessment tool has been designed to identify developmental and behavioural issues associated with autism in children less than 12 months old.

At present, autism is rarely diagnosed before a child is 18 months old.

"If we are able to detect signs of autism within the first year of life, parents will be able to immediately implement an early intervention plan, which has already been shown to significantly improve the prognosis of children with autism," said psychology PhD student and researcher Danielle Robson.

Ms Robson said the assessment tool included a questionnaire for parents, along with a structured play session to score the children on their responses to a number of specific tasks.

"During each session I assess a range of behaviours, including those that previous retrospective research has suggested are impaired in infants who later develop autism, such as eye contact, social and joint attention, sensory motor behaviours and temperament," she said.

Click on the newslink to read the entire article.

My husband poked me and gave me a significant look when the word "autism" popped up in Bill Clinton's speech last night. Here's what Mr. Clinton had to say:

I will never forget the parents of children with autism and other severe conditions who told me on the campaign trail that they couldn’t afford health care and couldn’t qualify their kids for Medicaid unless they quit work or got a divorce. Are these the family values the Republicans are so proud of?

This was the second time autism had come up at the convention. Hillary had brought up the subject only the night before:

I will always remember the single mom who had adopted two kids with autism, didn’t have health insurance and discovered she had cancer. But she greeted me with her bald head painted with my name on it and asked me to fight for health care.

In both of these cases, the Clintons mentioned autism as if it were an illness that could be treated and cured through medical means - and that the medical tools needed to cure autism would be covered under publically available medical insurance. The idea was "if only these folks had a decent HMO, everything would be just fine."

Click on the newslink to read the entire article. 

Starting junior high can be a stressful time for any child, but especially if that child suffers from autism.

But for 12-year old Colton Ruder of Olathe, his new canine friend, Coop, helps him cope with the challenges of a new school year.

"At school he was very tense very nervous and he would get sometimes very aggressive," said Colton's mother, Shelley Ruder. "We tried different medications and nothing really worked."

Service dogs have been around for decades. but recently the interest in training dogs to help autistic children has grown.

The Ruders got Coop from Canine Specialty Training in Independence, a company that trains dogs for people with disabilities and veterans.

Click on the newslink to read the entire article. 

Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest autism advocacy organization, today announced that Susan Maxwell and Marcia Weinstein have been named Walk Co-Chairs for the Inaugural Treasure Coast Walk Now for Autism. Maxwell and Weinstein will be responsible for directing the Inaugural Treasure Coast Walk Now for Autism community event on Saturday, February 21, 2009 at Jensen Beach High School.

Susan Maxwell’s experience as Co-chair of the 2008 Palm Beach Walk Now for Autism and as a real estate agent with her partner Gabe Sanders of Premier Reality Group and Marcia Weinstein’s advocacy efforts for the autism community and leader of the local Autism Society make them the ideal people to lead the team of dedicated volunteers on the Treasure Coast.

Click on the newslink to read the full article. 

North Yorkshire Police have joined forces with the National Autistic Society (NAS) to promote a new card that alerts members of the emergency services and the criminal justice system to someone with the condition.

The cards are available to anyone in North Yorkshire who has a condition under the autism spectrum and are designed to improve communication with emergency services and criminal justice professionals.

Click on the newslink to read the entire article. 

Researchers have found all the signs of autism in a strain of noisy laboratory mice that are used to diagnose human beings, a finding that may help them study the complicated genetics of the disorder.

For the study, Maria Luisa Scattoni of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues, separated baby mice of different laboratory strains from their mothers.

They found that the pups, which had not yet opened their eyes, made noises aimed to bring their mother back.

These ultrasonic sounds, too low for the human ear to detect, come in 10 different types, from clicking to pure tones.

Click on the newslink to read the entire article. 

Ah man my naughty rubber ducky must have gotten hungry in the middle of the night. I got up

this morning.., all my medical marijuana brownies were GONE. He ate an entire bag of Cheetos,

& wouldnt ya know I found him sound asleep infront of the tv & it was on the cartoon channel

ugh =)~~~

I have been working on a couple interactive books to teach my son "wh" questions for a while.  I'm so happy they are finished.  Well, to be honest the ones that I put up on the website (http://www.freeprintablefun.org) aren't totally finished.  There are a few very minor mistakes and some images that could be clearer.  BUT, they are finished enough to be used.

We did a trial run with both books today and I was totally impressed with how well my son did!  His speech therapist said that "why" is the most difficult of the "wh" questions and that it is normally taught last, but he went through the book just GREAT.  I don't think he'll have a total grasp on it any time soon but I'm very encouraged by his ability to use picture cues to figure out the answer.   He still struggled with a few of the prepositions.  "Behind" seems to get him every time.  At speech therapy and at home he often confuses it with either "in" or "next to."    While "in" is never really correct "next to" is very realitive and I find it hard to correct him on it.  I can see where it gets difficult for him.

I will probably tackle "What" next, then "Who", then "When."  I think "When" will be the hardest to write since my own personal grasp on time is very weak.  read more »

My son has had a terrible time dealing with the summer vacation transition.  He has been literally begging for school every day for two solid months.  We did everything we could to get him into a summer program but he was either too young or we didn't have the financial resources to apply to various programs. He's been so miserable that he's reverted to headbanging and spitting and nothing I do calms him. 

Two weeks ago I received a call stating that school was starting again on the 25th.  We went school shopping, talked about school, and got all excited about it.  When the day came he got up early, dressed himself smartly, and even wanted to gel his hair into spikes (first time EVER!)  He was so excited.

We got to the school and guess what?  No school for preschoolers till Sept. 8th.  The message I got was not intended for him.

Both of us were CRUSHED.  It took all my strength not to cry. It meant so much to him and we had been talking about it for weeks.

He's not been in a good mood today, though I can hardly blame him.  The bus goes by and he can't ride and he doesn't understand why.

I just hope this two weeks goes by fast.

Hello Everyone,I am the dad of two great kids on the spectrum, Michael 6 and Jack 5. My wife and I deal with challenges every day, like many of you, and look for ways to help our kidos develop skills to minimize these challenges. This has lead us to create a new product: Playtime with Zeebu.Playtime with Zeebu is a learning aide designed for children on the spectrum that allows you to build social awereness with, and for, your child. It's a vehicle that will allow you to stay engaged with your child longer, and with purpose.  Playtime with Zeebu helps you develop the following:

      o Perspective taking - How do my actions affect those around me.
      o Whole body listening - What nonverbal signs are given by my friends that tell me how they feel.
      o Calming techniques - When we are having a "melt down", what can I do to become calm so I can think.

All of this is done in a "Blues Clues" type setting that is fun and engaging for children on the spectrum. To find out more about us and view a sample of the video, please visit: www.playtimewithzeebu.com.

Sincerely,Dave GalloFounder - Thought Bubble Productions

"Bondage duckie" lol ..., its from this site I check almost daily

http://bitsandpieces.us/ There ya go Holly =)