Autism Blogger

guess i just needed to blog again. my son is 21 months now and still not talking. i went with my gut and had him evulated by early intervention. they tested different areas like play, communication, etc. and they scored him to see if he fell below 25 percent on them if he does he qualifies for help. well like i said he's almost 2 and scored a 9 month old level on communication. so basically he's at the level of a 9 month old. i felt like someone ripped out my heart at that moment. i felt lost and wondering what i could have done different, yes i know i had my woe is me moment. but i think we all have had that at one moment or another. so now im wondering where to go from here. They didn't diagnosis him as autistic, because they don't have the qualifications to do that, but they did say he had a lot of chararistics. So there going to give him speech lessons and work with him on other things as well. And i found a daycare to put him in to maybe help with social interaction. He loves other kids he just dosen't know how to interact with them. I've thought about taking him to get an offical evulation but in my heart i already know what it would be and also my insurance doesn't cover and i would have to pay out of pocket. so i've thought about bypassing and going on to the other things like speech therapy and  ABA and maybe go see a DAN doctor. I don't know, what do yall think?

It was the first camping trip for the kiddos, first time for us in 6 years. Thankfully we had everything in labeled tubs. Also we used our tax return to put a little "glamping" in ghetto camping. We rented a tent trailer and had them deliver it and set it up. Most people rent a Class C at least, or work hard to borrow a friends ford and camping trailer. Anyway, it was still nice to come to the camp site after 5 hours of driving (2 different rush hours) and see the tent trailer all done. The kiddos loved the trailer, little bro set out to find everything in the trailer to unzip. The boys went to bed around 9:45, then next morning we discovered that the trailer people had left the roof vent wide open. Of course, we did not discover this until Zare climbed into our sleeping bag at 5:30 am. But it was a good trip, checking out Mt. St. Helens, walking trails, hot dogs and smores. And Ayden used the trailer potty! Last day Zare cried, and decided the way to bring closure was to say goodbye to our neighboring campers who we never spoke to. DH and I hid in the trailer. It was cute, they spoke pleasantries to each other, I think zare would have kept going but I hollered at him from the trailer. I guess two introverted parents can create an extrovert. Capping off the trip was a stopover near Mcchord AFB with jets screaming overhead every 10 minutes, and the kids eating their dipped cones way. too. slowly.

I am a mother with a successful autistic child and began writing a blog due to the recommendations from others.  Here is an example of one of my entries:

 Beginning Stages of Socialization  read more »

so potty training went pretty well, although he is still having some accidents. But we did the three day potty training method, so there is no going back to diapers. I still have to stay home a lot, and when we go out I have to pack 6 pairs of shorts and underwear just to be safe! The main problem is that the car rides are very relaxing. Actually, this never was a problem before! I always knew I would get a mini break in the car, even if there was a mighty tantrum right before. But now, the car is quiet, the kids are zoning, and little bros car seat is wet, every time. I have two car seat protectors that cannot keep up. My sister suggested maybe stripping him down and having him sit on plastic in the car so he would be more aware. Well, sure that would work if I have a van with room to change him inside the vehicle and tinted windows. But I don't, I have a corrolla wagon that is low to ground and everyone can peer inside and see how much crap I have in the car.

Our organization - Autism Training Solutions - has created online videos to train parents in evidence-based autism interventions. All videos can be viewed for free on our site -www.autismtrainingsolutions.com. 

We

Topics include Behavior Management, Verbal Behavior and Discrete Trial and are designed to teach parents the academic concepts as well as in-home intervention techniques. 

As we produce more videos, we are eager to gather ideas from parents. Please feel free to contact us to share your needs. 

Thanks, 

Janet Martin
janet@autismtrainingsolutions.com

Explore Levi and his family's behavioral intervention story.

Reprinted from http://www.childsturn.com/blogs.asp with permission  read more »

A short video to teach families the basic principles of behavior planning.

A short video to help parents understand their child's positive and negative reinforcements. 

Learn how to properly use Differential Reinforcement techniques to reduce problem behavior.