RE: Kids w/ Classic Autism, PDD-NOS & Speech Delays

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I thought this was a funny cartoon in response to the Australian government introducing mandatory mental health testing for 3 year olds.

http://images.theage.com.au/2012/06/09/ ... -200x0.jpg

I don't think it's that, he just really likes to have everything flapping in the breeze.

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LOL!

My NT (?) 2-year-old has started refusing to wear pants...

I'm a broken record all day long every day, "Where's your pants! Put your pants on! Hey, get back here!" He says "Huuuuuh??" When I catch him as if he doesn't know what I'm talking about but he totally does so I say "You heard me!" Sometimes he throws that one back at me if I didn't understand some gibberish he said: DS: "bizza bizza piop?" Me: Huh? DS: "You heard me!"

My 5 yr old just runs along and if his pants fall down this reduces to a comical shuffle and he just keeps going, doesn't attempt to pull his pants up or take them off.
If we pour him a bath and don't keep a close watch on him and get his clothes off, he'll just get in fully dressed, shoes and all and lies in there as if its completely normal.

Speaking of baths ometimes he gets out of the bath and runs and gets a biscuit, gets back in the bath and eats it, but holds it under water not noticing its dissolving until he goes to put an invisible biscuit in his mouth.

LOL!

You know my son with autism is totally different. He seems to be self conscious about being pantsless etc in public...or maybe he just doesn't like drafts?

Could be, I always preferred being well covered as a kid (and now). I think I'm allergic to my own sweat, my Mom liked me to wear dresses and night gowns and I was always uncomfortable and breaking out in rashes when I wore them, she never put 2+2 together. (I think I was also allergic to a lot of soaps, bubble baths etc. and that compounded the issue.)

This may seem like a small think but my son threw a broken plastic fork in the trash the other day, without anyone asking him to.

I assume this is a good thing.

It's probably a good thing as long as he doesn't start throwing good stuff out! Mine has been throwing away garbage for a long time now, it's rare that he puts something important in the trash but I always look every time I throw away something and before I take the trash out to be sure there's nothing in there that shouldn't be. My son especially likes to peel and throw away his own banana peels. Last night however he seemed to of figured out how to how to peel a banana without my help and helped himself to several from off the counter I may have find a new banana spot.

Yeterday I had a friend's son (age 7) asked if he could have a play date with my son...(he has not met him yet.) I was not sure what to say...my son still does not interact with other kids at all. Any suggestions? I would probably have to work out something they can do together that my son likes, such as blowing bubbles or something like that...

Probably just tell him that your son hasn't learnt how to play with other kids yet, but that he could come over and play with your sons toys? Most kids will understand and be happy with that.

I'm terrible at that, I've had small children in stores ask me why my son "is on a leash" and I'm so blunt I just say he's autistic and that he can't help himself from running off and that he doesn't talk well yet and sometimes the parents of these kids look at me as though they think I've said something mortifying and hurtful. (I suspect they have no understanding of how many faces autism has and think I must surely be wrong.) Anyway, I'd still be to the point, upfront and honest about it.

Well so far I just told him my son is "not like other kids." But apparently this kid has a cousin who is severely autistic so I guess he will know what I mean if I just tell him bluntly...

I think that this is a really good idea. Your son is also younger, so you can explain that he doesn't know how to do certain things yet because he is younger. (I often give this explanation to my older son to explain my younger son's behaviors. Neither is really up to understanding how autism affects each other's behavior, except in a very superficial way.)

You can also try giving the autism explanation. However, it could backfire. A lot of parents don't want their kids playing with a child who is autistic, perhaps fearing that their own child would be labeled as "different." They also don't want to bother setting up a play date with a child who is not on their own child's level. Around here, most parents spend a lot of time at work. The kids already socialize at daycare or Boy Scouts, so these busy parents don't see the need to arrange additional play dates unless the kids are a really good match.

Of note, my own kids are generally doing well right now. However, my younger son has started peeing and pooping in the bed after a brief period where he appeared completely potty trained. He was being helped a lot with this issue by the ABA therapist. However, I cannot really afford her services very often right now. She was out sick a lot this spring due to pregnancy and another health issue, which didn't really help with nailing down the potty training situation, either. I think that between the therapists' hours being cut and my older son being out for the summer, the changes are causing some stress for my younger son, and he's reacting by peeing and pooping in the bed and chewing on everything in sight. On a positive note, though, the boys help each other a whole lot with speech, and they are not shy at all around each other like they are with other kids--lots of social opportunities.

I have not been checking in with WP lately because I might be tempted to respond to a bunch of messages, and with the therapist's hours cut way back and the kids out of school, I'm too busy. Of course, I know of a whole bunch of links to information and resources, and private messages are always okay with me if anyone wants to see if I know where to find this or that service or resource or wants to get my e-mail address. I keep up with my e-mail regularly and regularly write a lot of advice for my local Autism Society support group. I'm also having a whole lot of play dates this summer, now that school is out (mostly kids met through the local Autism Society or that have the same level of special ed support that my older son does at his school).

Anyway, I absolutely love chatting, but I've got to get back to the kids--make sure that my younger son is not dumping everything in sight on the floor or pulling the stuffing out of the couch and putting it in his mouth. Also need to bust my tail to try to get my older son halfway ready for third grade--he ended the year slightly below where he needed to be on reading and writing if he wants to be able to keep up with the regular class with only two hours of shared special ed services a day. I also need to try to prevent his behavior from sliding over the summer.

This section of WP is my favorite, and I love hearing how everybody is doing.