HELP. Appointment tomorrow for my 7yr old son

Post Reply New Topic

Hello everybody,
First off I wanna say I LOVE this site. I have already learned soooo much.

Anyways, I have my 7yr old sons final diognosis tomorrow morning. My wife and I are are both upset, nervous and excited all at the same time. My wife is taking it the hardest. She is still in denial. I am more excited to give my amazing son the tools and training he needs to become the best he can be. My wife and I are sure he has Asperger's or HFA. I believe they are close to the same right? Is there any pointers that you guys could shoot our way about disapline and encouragement? It seems like this is the hardest part of him. He is super smart but lacks any and all social skills. But no matter what the outcome is, he is my oldest son and he is the greatest gift sent from above. I Love You Blake. Hang in there buddy!! !

His teacher is letting him "get away" with stuff
Like not sitting, talking, getting out of line ect. Will this effect his listening?

How do we properly discipline him for stuff like, being mean to his younger sister, or not listening to us? Time out? Take away stuff?

Is there any games, apps, websites that you reccomend? Either for us as parents or for him to gain skills?

He "sees" people that are not there. He has predicted scary stuff that had happened weeks later. A home invasion, tire blowout, him getting hurt and stuff like that. Is this normal? Should we be alarmed?

Loving him and accepting him for who he is, no matter if he has autism or not, are the most important things parents can give to a child. You don't know what the outcome of the diagnostic process is yet but if he has some form of autism it is not helpfull to be in denial.

A lot of people on this forum where diagnosed as adults and the fact that your son is going through the diagnostic process when he is still very young is actually quite positive in more ways than one. It may mean that many problems and misunderstandings can be avoided in time.

Lots of kids with autism need calmness and structure in their lives and that may be the case with your son as well. Give him plenty of opportunity to talk about the difficulties he may experience and encourage him when necessary. Just try your best to understand him which is no small thing for parents who have a child with autism. When your son has autism it is important to learn as much as you can about which will make life easier for you as well.

Last but not least, having autism does not necessarily mean that you can't have a pleasant and fullfilling life.

Thanks
Pokerface

I just love sitting back and watching him play. He has a fantastic mind!! We are gonna do anything we can for him. He is the best so deserves nothing less..

He makes sure we have "structure" at all times. He will let us know if we are behind schedule or anything outta the ordinary.

I say this not to imply that you or your wife's feelings aren't valid, but to give some perspective. It has been my observation that when children are diagnosed with autism, their parents are upset, sad, and wishing there was a "cure." However, when someone is diagnosed as an adult, that person often feels excited, relieved, and positive about it. Of course every situation will be different, but this seems to be the general trend. What that tells me is that, from the perspective of the person with AS, it is not the dire life sentence that parents make it out to be. In fact, it feels good to belong somewhere, to know that there are others out there like you. I of course understand a parent's desire to have a perfectly healthy child, but keep in mind that your child IS perfectly healthy - he just thinks differently, and experiences the world in a different way. To him, his way of existing is completely natural and doesn't feel "wrong," it's just ignorant people in the rest of society that tell him it is. Parents may be sad for themselves, that things did not turn out quite how they expected, but don't be sad for your son. He is not lesser than, he is not damaged, he is not needing to be "cured." He is just how he was meant to be - perfect.

Well said Treeshadow!! !

We do not feel down or anyway sad about him. My wife is upset of coarse as well as me. BUT, under no circumstance would I trade what he has for the world!! He is a gift from god and he will do great things in life. I feel it. He is perfect, just like you said. I just don't want people to think we are wishing for anything more. I just want to gain the knowledge from people who have experienced this to better him and help us understand more as parents..