25 things, Autism Style

1. WHERE DO YOU CURRENTLY LIVE?
   In Tennessee
   
   2. WHAT IS YOUR CHILD'S NAME, AGE AND DX?
   R, 4 yrs 3 months , Autism
   
   3. WAS YOUR CHILD PROPERLY DIAGNOSED?
   Yes ! I spend a lot of time in denial though R just did not fit the impression I had from the media of unattached, in his own world child. My parenting style is attachment parenting and R is SUPER affectionate . My MIL who was visiting at that time was really really worried though as she thought he ran around like a cousin of hers who had severe problems. When the psychologist heard us describe him he told us that he did not sound ASD at all. And he felt that today ASD was over diagnosed. It took him one hour of observing R to tell us that he was very clearly ASD. It was Friday Feb 26-2007
   

4. WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU FIRST LEARNED YOUR CHILD HAD AUTISM?

I was devastated .The diagnose was a butthead who was practically pushing out of the door so he could start his weekend . I am yet to met a more insensitive man . In fact his main worry was that R was touching his stupid blinds. He gave us a really stupid book full of outdated statistics like 75 of kids with Autism have MR etc etc. This book "the world of the autistic child" by Bryna Seigal is one of the most depressing and annoying books I have read

5. WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING ABOUT HAVING A CHILD WITH ASD?
Apraxia

6. WHAT IS THE BEST THING?
R's unique and intelligent mind. How much it has changed my life. How singlemindedly and fiercely he loves me and his dad.

7. HAVE YOU TRIED THE DIET AND DID IT WORK?

Yes. I really don't see positive effects but blood tests show that he has gluten intolerance
8. WHAT ABOUT OTHER BIOMED TREATMENTS- HBOT, CHELATION, ETC.?
R has very high levels of mercury which made us look for a good DAN doctor . We were just doing the Porphyrin test to rule things out and then suddenly found a VERY high level of mercury. We are doing some of the more gentler things – MB12 shots . Vitamins, Enzymes and Probiotics

9. WHAT METHOD OF ABA/Behaviour Therapy DO YOU LIKE BEST?
I like Floortime, I do Like VB. We have a great speech therapist who is using PROMPT. We are even open to HANEN ( to me exactly the same as Floortime except it only focuses on communication ). His school program is talking about offering it as a training

10. IF YOU COULD MAKE EVERY PARENT TRY ONE THING- WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Love your child unconditionally and work from their strengths. Help them have a strong sense of selfworth.

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE RATE OF AUTISM REALLY IS?
Its high
12. HOW MANY KIDS WITH AUTISM LIVE ON YOUR BLOCK?
One adolescent
13. HAVE YOU EVER MET A RECOVERED CHILD?
No. but I do know one in online life. Her mom used intensive ABA

14. WHAT KIND OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM DOES YOUR CHILD GET?
Per week

VB, Speech, Special school and Floortime Style Parenting

15. DO YOU GET SERVICES/TREATMENTS THROUGH YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE?
Minimal. Some speech. No OT

16. DO YOU THINK THE DIVORCE RATE IS REALLY 80% FOR ASD FAMILIES?
I don't know. My DH and I are just as close though

17. DO YOU HAVE A GOOD POOP STORY?


18. WHAT IS THE STUPIDEST THING ANYONE HAS EVER SAID ABOUT YOUR KID?
That he would want him to come to a casino with him ( R would make him win like Rainman did )

19. WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN SOMEONE ASKS "WHAT IS AUTISM?"
I ramble on and on
20. WHO IS YOUR "AUTISM COMMUNITY HERO"?
Caroline Hill, His teacher. Over all its Dr Greenspan.

It's unbelievable how much he has empowered parents. Given out so much stuff for free. You can pretty much parent in a Floortime way by borrowing "Engaging Autism" from the library and listening to his Podcasts ( free on Itunes ) I love Dr Weider too. I am a full time working mother who also travels for work. One of the primary ways I learned to Floortime was by burning his podcasts on CD's and listening to them on my commute.

I saw them at the ICDL conference recently and if there are angels on earth , Greenspan is one

21. WHAT GROUP/ORGANIZATION DO YOU THINK HAS DONE THE MOST FOR THE COMMUNITY?
Greenspan

22. DID YOU VACCINATE YOUR CHILD AND DO YOU CONTINUE TO DO SO?
Yes.Will continue ,Mercury free and slower schedule

23. DOES YOUR FAMILY ACCEPT YOUR CHILD HAVING AUTISM?
Yes they have accepted Autism but I think his grandma expects some kind of genius.

24. WHAT LESSON HAVE YOU LEARNED AFTER ALL OF THIS?

Still learning .The biggest so far is to celebrate what is and not mourn what isnot.

To seek less and to do more

To believe that I know my child better than anyone else

25. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WOULD YOU CHOSE FOR YOUR CHILD TO BE NEURO-TYPICAL?
No. He is a really lovely child and I am VERY grateful for him.But I would choose for him to have perfect speech with no apraxia . And not to have sensory challenges.