Autism Blogger

I tried it and was surprised at how much it taste like Starbucks =)

 Ingredients

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons chocolate syrup

1 tablespoon granulated sugar, plus

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

1/3 cup strong coffee

1 cup ice

Directions

1in a blender, combine everything but the ice, and blend until sugar has dissolved.

2add ice and blend until smooth (sometimes you will need a bit more ice).

*Top with whipped cream & enjoy! 

http://tackyraccoons.com/

  http://www.amyoops.com/2008/09/private-palin.html enjoy =)

I have some questions for you experienced autism parents about anger issues in my 3 year old.  His agression level has increased and become violent.  He is a very high functioning autistic child and is soooooo angry.  He has been throwing chairs, bitting himself, talking very ugly, hitting, yelling and screaming and other angry behaviors.  While I do know that some of these behaviors are consistent with autism,  I am concerned at thier increase and intensitiy.  I was told that I should have him screened for ODD by the autism school that he is currently attending.  He is very quick to get angry and will argue most of what you say or tell him.  Anyone is the same boat?????

I've never done this personally but uh might come in handy for some of y'all. 

http://www.cyberbeg.com/ 

This week I had the gas company out to inspect our oven, which has been smelling of gas lately. Actually, for months. They told me I had a bad igniter and that it could cause the oven door to blow off. Also, a part of the burner inside had an enlarged hole in it, which does something weird to the flame. It's $40 plus labor to replace the igniter but they don't make the other part anymore since the oven is almost 25 years old and from a manufacturer no one as ever heard of. So I guess we're going to have to buy a new oven/range. Or, I could just cook everything on the stove and microwave. Those are working fine.

To top off our week, we got a $1500 bill for a report portion of assessment that we had done for Wyatt in March of 2007. I had paid $2000 toward the assessment with the understanding that we would owe the remaining $1500 upon receipt of the report (a total of $3500). Back in 2007, we had asked for a reduction in the bill since we didn't need certain parts of the report. When we never received the report, we thought the Dr. was giving us a break on the bill by not giving us the report at all. We needed the report for a legal issue and the legal issue was resolved. After speaking to the Dr. today, it turned out that the Dr. had emailed the report to the wrong email address. And now, 18 months later, their office has asked for the rest of the money, promising to email the report to our correct email address. What a mess. And now that the report is 18 months old, it's not that useful to me. Although, their office says it is because we can use if for comparison to chart Wyatt's progress.

Aaargh!!! It's just that this bill comes at a really bad time. We just spent over $600 to replace that window that Wyatt broke. I thought it was only going to be $400 but it morphed into more. Of course!

My 8 year old son is mainstreamed in public school with an aid.  He has a serious problem when leaving the lunch room to go out to recess.  If his class is not the first group dismissed from lunch for recess he has a complete melt down.  Nothing I've done seem to help, I'm now going up to his school everyday just to try to get him to walk out with his class for recess.

I just wanted to let y'all know that Google has a free browser. I downloaded it yesterday. It's pretty good. If

you wanta try it just go to Google & put Google Chrome into search =)

Thirty-four-year-old Bradley Huie measures success with a different kind of yardstick than most. But then he's lived his life from a different kind of perspective than most.

"I'm like the Rain Man," says Huie, comparing himself to Dustin Hoffman's autistic character in the 1988 film by the same name. "I have a message and that's, 'Don't give up on your hopes and dreams and what God has given you because we each have a different piece of the puzzle.'"

Huie was in his teens before anyone could put a label on his "piece of the puzzle." That's when he was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a neurological disorder that makes communication and social interaction difficult. Some experts believe Asperger's could be a form of high-functioning autism.

Now, Huie and his mother, Cherylyn Grant, want to share their experience with Asperger's, from both the child's and parent's points of view. The two have co-authored a book, "What is it About Me You Do Not Understand? Living the Life of Autism and Asperger's."

"It's about me, about where I've been and what I do," Huie said. But it's also "a survivor's guide that talks about milestones, challenges and what to do in certain situations."

Click on the newslink to read the entire article. 

A physician who sees autism spectrum disorder as a biomedical illness that results in "brain malnutrition" will give a free public talk Sept. 26 and a clinician seminar Sept. 27, both in the Cameron Center auditorium.

Dr. Jaquelyn McCandless, who is the author of the best-selling "Children with Starving Brains," is appearing at events co-sponsored by the Autism Research Institute and the local Lokelani 'Ohana.

McCandless will hold the free talk on biomedical approaches to autism, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 26.

The clinician session "Defeat Autism Now," which will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 27, is geared for those who provide primary medical care to children and to adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. The seminar will cover the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders that can be treated medically and strategies for development of treatment plans and review case histories.

Cost of the seminar is $295 with lunch and light refreshments provided. Checks may be made payable to Lokelani 'Ohana and mailed to 2315 Kahekili Highway, Wailuku 96793. The deadline to sign up for the seminar is Sept. 12.

Click on the newslink to read the entire article. 

Thereby she highlighted new findings on the role of gene mutations, their association with synapse abnormalities, and -- surprisingly -- a connection between circadian rhythms and autism risk. These insights will nurture applied projects on the development of new therapeutic strategies.

The autistic disorder was first described, more than sixty years ago, by Dr. Leo Kanner of the Johns Hopkins Hospital (USA), who created the new label ´early infantile autism´. At the same time an Austrian scientist, Dr. Hans Asperger, described a milder form of the disorder that became known as Asperger Syndrome, characterised by higher cognitive abilities and more normal language function. Today, both disorders are classified in the continuum of ´Pervasive Developmental Disorders´ (PDD), more often referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

Click on the newslink to read the full article. 

Michael never ceases to surprise us with things he can do or knows. Since he cannot really communicate it stands to reason our shock is even bigger when he shows us something suddenly.

My best friend is pregnant. Very pregnant. She is also Michael's god mother. We just call her Aunt Heather, and she deserves that title. Somehow Michael knows where the baby is going to come out. He does not ask how it got in her tummy, just accepts it is in her belly. But he knows where it is going to come out! And he likes to show us much to all our our embarrassments. He was a C-section so it is definately not memories of his own birth LOL

I have learned in the last several months it is time to stop underestimating my son.

Hello bloggers my purpose for being on the autism blog is to learn from parents, peers, educators and experts. I am a Graduate student working on a degree in Special Education. My current interactions with children and individuals with autism have been limited due to my job placement. It is my hope that I will learn how to be a better educator to all children and individuals but especially those who learn in a different way. I believe it's my job as a future educator so I can make students educational experience a delightful one. I would also like people to respond to questions I may have about autism, so I will receive a better understanding through the blog and in my class. I will also respond to others this will give me a chance to understand what others are doing and going through. 

My family and friends often comment about how lucky our children are to have us.  OK.  I certainly won't turn down the acclimation and the support.  God knows we need it.  And yeah, I know there are worse parents out there.

Yet, I can't help but wish I felt this public image was more of my daily reality. 

 Because the times when I feel like a competent parent doing everything I can - Those times feel like the minority. 

Most of the time, I am exhausted, emotionally and physically.  I look at my son, stimming, in his own world.  I know I should be doing what I can to provide structure, interaction - Help to pull him more into an interactive and learning world. 

But it seems too much, too hard, especially when those periodic negative surprises come up to hit you in the face.  I become paralyzed - In a funk.  I rely too much on the television.  Or I simply leave the kids to their own devices, at a loss of what to do or say to help, only intervening during behavioral problems, or to implement the usual scheduled routine. 

And then the guilt - From technically knowing somewhat what I should do - but not having the fortitude / strength to make it happen for my child, causes the paralysis to get worse.

Vicious circle.  Gotta take care of myself, so I can take better care of the kids.  Give them what they need.

Fortunately, the periodic positive surprises help.  And support helps too.  And I do a good job, sometimes.  Not as much as I'd like, as they'd like, or as I need to do.    

          I had a really good theory. The theory of why theres so maney people with developmental disabities, is to teach others about differences and unit the world in peace and haremony. To bring people closer togather, it doesn't matter either way of race,sexual orgins and disabilties but to live in peace. The people including myself are probably here with disabilties to love and give chances and hope, that we can over come obsiticles and respect others as we want for ourselvs. I mean theres always reasons why we have something and that to me is the positive way of looking at it. For me to have a autism spectrem, is for me to help other people who has other types disabilties. I think I am here to help but yet show others that we can be there for each other. I don't want a cure for autism this is just going to make other people stronger and closer if we understand the differences, to not be afraid of what is consider normal or not normal. Theres no such thing as normal anyhow. This is who I am and if there was a cure I wouldn't take that chance. Cause I am beginning to love myself for who I am and yet what I am beginning to understand myself. Thats my theory.