Moms of Autistic Children

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  • JMPerlin
    JMPerlin Posts: 287 Member
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    Hi, Obviously I am not a mom but my son is 7.5 yrs old and is high functioning autistic. He is very stubborn and will not try many foods. Normally he eats junk. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience getting their child to: 1. Eat and 2. Eat something more than nutella.

    Thanks
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
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    Hi, Obviously I am not a mom but my son is 7.5 yrs old and is high functioning autistic. He is very stubborn and will not try many foods. Normally he eats junk. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience getting their child to: 1. Eat and 2. Eat something more than nutella.

    Thanks

    I was HORRIBLE with eating new foods. I ate hot dogs, fries, mac n cheese, and chicken nuggets. That was pretty much it. Oh and candy. I came around to eating healthier when I got older when I noticed I was getting super fat. Sometimes they have to realize it on their own. Or you have to present something new in a similar way to something he already likes. It's how they got me to eat sausages, "It's like a jumbo hot dog!" Then I ate it and liked it. :)
  • magj0y
    magj0y Posts: 1,911 Member
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    There is a reason very early intervention is important. Very important. My youngest daughter had speech delay, but it wasn't for this specific reason.

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Boy-Who-Loved-Windows/dp/0738206660

    15 months isn't too early and I encourage you to look at alternative ideas to help pull him out and keep him from withdrawing so much. I would also suggest to start spacing out his booster shots. Not desert the whole thing, just space them more. I don't believe it causes autism, (And I'm not saying it even could) but the chemical assault is hard on any body. There is so much about autism we don't know, and the environment can make things worse.

    The whole jag food thing is super normal for kids (IMO, it isn't normal for them to love all foods all the time) so don't freak on that. It'll be ok!
  • vivie72
    vivie72 Posts: 127 Member
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    Hi, Obviously I am not a mom but my son is 7.5 yrs old and is high functioning autistic. He is very stubborn and will not try many foods. Normally he eats junk. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience getting their child to: 1. Eat and 2. Eat something more than nutella.

    Thanks

    I was HORRIBLE with eating new foods. I ate hot dogs, fries, mac n cheese, and chicken nuggets. That was pretty much it. Oh and candy. I came around to eating healthier when I got older when I noticed I was getting super fat. Sometimes they have to realize it on their own. Or you have to present something new in a similar way to something he already likes. It's how they got me to eat sausages, "It's like a jumbo hot dog!" Then I ate it and liked it. :)

    Thank you for sharing your experiences. It gives me some insight into what Jackson is thinking. His diet is terrible...cereal, peanut butter, french fries, yogurt, sweetened apple sauce, hot dogs. I have been able to get him to take bites with a lot of prompting!! He says he likes it but won't really eat it. It is all similar foods too. He is 9...I have hope for a more balanced diet! :)
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
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    Hi, Obviously I am not a mom but my son is 7.5 yrs old and is high functioning autistic. He is very stubborn and will not try many foods. Normally he eats junk. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience getting their child to: 1. Eat and 2. Eat something more than nutella.

    Thanks

    I was HORRIBLE with eating new foods. I ate hot dogs, fries, mac n cheese, and chicken nuggets. That was pretty much it. Oh and candy. I came around to eating healthier when I got older when I noticed I was getting super fat. Sometimes they have to realize it on their own. Or you have to present something new in a similar way to something he already likes. It's how they got me to eat sausages, "It's like a jumbo hot dog!" Then I ate it and liked it. :)

    Thank you for sharing your experiences. It gives me some insight into what Jackson is thinking. His diet is terrible...cereal, peanut butter, french fries, yogurt, sweetened apple sauce, hot dogs. I have been able to get him to take bites with a lot of prompting!! He says he likes it but won't really eat it. It is all similar foods too. He is 9...I have hope for a more balanced diet! :)

    No problem. :D

    It could also be a texture thing. That's why I still can't eat certain foods with weird textures. I don't like tomatoes, at least not in their natural state and will only eat it finely diced or in a sauce, because of the texture. It took me forever to be able to eat mashed potatoes and now I love them, too bad they aren't diet friendly. :laugh:
  • JMPerlin
    JMPerlin Posts: 287 Member
    Options
    Hi, Obviously I am not a mom but my son is 7.5 yrs old and is high functioning autistic. He is very stubborn and will not try many foods. Normally he eats junk. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience getting their child to: 1. Eat and 2. Eat something more than nutella.

    Thanks

    I was HORRIBLE with eating new foods. I ate hot dogs, fries, mac n cheese, and chicken nuggets. That was pretty much it. Oh and candy. I came around to eating healthier when I got older when I noticed I was getting super fat. Sometimes they have to realize it on their own. Or you have to present something new in a similar way to something he already likes. It's how they got me to eat sausages, "It's like a jumbo hot dog!" Then I ate it and liked it. :)

    Thank you for sharing your experiences. It gives me some insight into what Jackson is thinking. His diet is terrible...cereal, peanut butter, french fries, yogurt, sweetened apple sauce, hot dogs. I have been able to get him to take bites with a lot of prompting!! He says he likes it but won't really eat it. It is all similar foods too. He is 9...I have hope for a more balanced diet! :)

    No problem. :D

    It could also be a texture thing. That's why I still can't eat certain foods with weird textures. I don't like tomatoes, at least not in their natural state and will only eat it finely diced or in a sauce, because of the texture. It took me forever to be able to eat mashed potatoes and now I love them, too bad they aren't diet friendly. :laugh:

    My boy will not try anything new unless of course the stars are aligned properly :huh: But what we noticed is that on days that he does not really eat well his autistic tendencies increase.
  • Phoenix1401
    Phoenix1401 Posts: 711 Member
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    My best friend have Autisim and she's really awesome and I love her sense of humor! :)
  • BigCed77024
    BigCed77024 Posts: 1,115 Member
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    my son has autism. But he was fine up until 2.5 years old. He is a beautiful baby (now 8) and very active. i was DEVASTATING. Still is. But it made my appreciate PEOPLE. Man autism could be the cruelest thing ever. But before you start panicking just get it checked out. Either way it wont hurt.
  • HiKaren
    HiKaren Posts: 1,306 Member
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    Guys.. I wanted to tell you this tonight. I'm the mother of two Pomeranians. And although its really hard for me to understand what your going through. I wanted to tell you this....

    Sometimes I think my boss can be a little jerky.. He loves his classic cars, and hes in car clubs.. And tonight I found out that his car club just raised over $30,000.00 to donate to the Autism Foundation. Guess hes not as bad as I think he is sometimes. That really changes my opinion of him. Even thou he can be excessive with those cars, at least there is a heart in him, and he does the right thing. And I hope somehow this will help you, and your families. :flowerforyou:
  • kadoodle76
    kadoodle76 Posts: 234
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    I am a nurse of the intellectually disabled/brain injured. I often work with autistic individuals.

    I think 15 months is a little young to diagnosis autism. He could just be a late talker.

    is him being non-verbal the only symptom?

    Does he....
    make eye contact?
    smile when being smiled at?
    response to his name or familar voice?
    use communication gestures? (wave goodbye)
    makes noise to get your attention?
    play with other children?
    reach out to be picked up?
    enjoy being cuddled?

    But is it good she is investigating for early intervention. Early age is the best time for improvement.

    I would agree. I'm no expert, but I know quite a few Autistic people including my brother-in-law and all of them were diagnosed around three or four years old. I guess it varies, but unless he has other warning signs,not talking at that age is not always a reason for worry. All I know for sure is that he will always be your son and you will always love him no matter what. Don't worry about the diagnosis, just seek support where you can find it and enjoy your son as he is. :)
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    Hi, Obviously I am not a mom but my son is 7.5 yrs old and is high functioning autistic. He is very stubborn and will not try many foods. Normally he eats junk. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience getting their child to: 1. Eat and 2. Eat something more than nutella.

    Thanks

    I was HORRIBLE with eating new foods. I ate hot dogs, fries, mac n cheese, and chicken nuggets. That was pretty much it. Oh and candy. I came around to eating healthier when I got older when I noticed I was getting super fat. Sometimes they have to realize it on their own. Or you have to present something new in a similar way to something he already likes. It's how they got me to eat sausages, "It's like a jumbo hot dog!" Then I ate it and liked it. :)


    My kids were all the same way... We had to have divided plates it was so bad... (my youngest is the aspergers... My oldest has "adhd with autistic tendencies") they would have nearly full blown panic attacks when new/different foods were introduced...

    Years of patience... And they will ready anything put in front of them (albeit they have a hard time with mixtures... And sometimes I allow them to eat slowly or to eat soup with a fork or something)
  • JMPerlin
    JMPerlin Posts: 287 Member
    Options
    Hi, Obviously I am not a mom but my son is 7.5 yrs old and is high functioning autistic. He is very stubborn and will not try many foods. Normally he eats junk. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience getting their child to: 1. Eat and 2. Eat something more than nutella.

    Thanks

    I was HORRIBLE with eating new foods. I ate hot dogs, fries, mac n cheese, and chicken nuggets. That was pretty much it. Oh and candy. I came around to eating healthier when I got older when I noticed I was getting super fat. Sometimes they have to realize it on their own. Or you have to present something new in a similar way to something he already likes. It's how they got me to eat sausages, "It's like a jumbo hot dog!" Then I ate it and liked it. :)


    My kids were all the same way... We had to have divided plates it was so bad... (my youngest is the aspergers... My oldest has "adhd with autistic tendencies") they would have nearly full blown panic attacks when new/different foods were introduced...

    Years of patience... And they will ready anything put in front of them (albeit they have a hard time with mixtures... And sometimes I allow them to eat slowly or to eat soup with a fork or something)

    I hope so,.
  • terryjo623
    terryjo623 Posts: 101 Member
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    My 13 year old son has aspergers. He was not diagnosed till he was six. His speech and walking developed normal if not faster then some but he was very quirky. I had never heard of aspergers before until he was diagnosed but we always knew he was different, even as a baby he would never look anyone in the eye and let me tell you that was heartbreaking! Once we knew what we were dealing with there was lots of help to be found mainly with a childrens rehab centre. My son looks me in the eye constantly!
    I wish you luck and know that if your child has autism there is support for you and him.
  • terryjo623
    terryjo623 Posts: 101 Member
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    Oh yeah and the food thing , he only ate like five things for years and nothing could touch but eventually he branched out and eats a wide variety but nothing can touch still!!
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
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    First of all, get it out of your mind that there is something "wrong" with your son. You do not want to (unintentionally) start treating him differently than you would other children. Although early intervention is a good thing to do when you have suspicions, you cannot be certain that this woman is correct. Most children are not correctly diagnosed with autism until they are approximately 3 years of age.

    As the other posters said, does your child smile; does he make eye contact? Does he respond when you call/talk to him? If he is not speaking, have you been teaching him sign language? Just because he is not talking yet does NOT make him autistic. Has he had his hearing thoroughly tested?

    A friend of mine's daughter waited until she was almost 3 to really speak more than a word here and there, and she used complete sentences once she started. She is 6 now, and has met all developmental markers, if not surpassed them (and is damn smart too!). People tried to tell my mom there was something wrong with me because I did not walk until I was nearly 2 years old, and I am absolutely fine.

    You are the one who lives with your child day in and day out. You know his communication style, his personality, and his quirks. Continue the early intervention by all means, but get yourself educated on Autism Spectrum Disorders as well. Do not just rely on what one person tells you.

    I say this as a stepmother to a boy with both autism and cerebral palsy. We have worked our butts off with him, and our son has surpassed nearly everyone's expectations of him. Not only that, he is sweet, loving, and a joy to be around!
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
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    I don't know if this is "taboo" or whatever with autistic parents...

    Has anyone tried to GFCF diet? I have been reading everything and anything I can about autism and that particular diet seems to come up a lot.

    My son's early intervention therapist told me it's a bunch of crap basically and that it doesn't work. I've read testimonials from parents saying it does help their children.

    I'm interested to see everyone's opinions on this. Have you tried it? Did it make a difference? Or is it just a bunch of baloney?

    Your son's early intervention therapist has no clue what he/she's talking about.

    My stepson has both cerebral palsy and autism. Because the cognitive CP issues masked the autism, he was not diagnosed as autistic until nearly 7 years of age. We changed his diet, and literally within one month there was drastic improvement. A month into the diet changes, he slept through the night for the first time ever, and came into the living room the next morning and told me "Love Daddy". So I said to him, "You love Daddy?", and he nodded his head yes! Up until that point, he had not been speaking, and we were teaching him sign language to avoid temper tantrums.

    At this point, our son is gluten, casein, soy, and corn free. When he has one of the "offending" foods, I know which it is based on his reaction. I know corn is not typical to remove, but after the other stuff cleared out of his system, we found corn started giving him hives. There have also been studies showing that removal of corn can help reduce issues with aggression.

    I believe that diet changes do not work for everyone with autism, because I believe that there are probably several different root causes for autism. If there were only one cause, science would have found a cure by now. So try it, and if it works for you, great. If not, don't give up!
  • brneydgrlie
    brneydgrlie Posts: 464 Member
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    Hi, Obviously I am not a mom but my son is 7.5 yrs old and is high functioning autistic. He is very stubborn and will not try many foods. Normally he eats junk. I was wondering if anyone here has any experience getting their child to: 1. Eat and 2. Eat something more than nutella.

    Thanks

    Our son used to only want to eat Cheerios, chicken nuggets, milk, and pasta (preferably mac and cheese). I found out later that seriously picky eating (called self-limiting) is very likely to indicate an allergy to those very foods they are limiting themselves to. In your case, depending on what his self-limiting foods are, he may benefit from a gluten free/casein free diet.

    By the way, now one of his favorite meals is actually salmon with broccoli and rice.

    Also, for anyone interested in exploring diet changes, there is an absolutely excellent book by Karen Seroussi, called Unraveling the Mystery of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: A Mother's Story of Research & Recovery.
  • dolly3186
    dolly3186 Posts: 81 Member
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    I don't know if this is "taboo" or whatever with autistic parents...

    Has anyone tried to GFCF diet? I have been reading everything and anything I can about autism and that particular diet seems to come up a lot.

    My son's early intervention therapist told me it's a bunch of crap basically and that it doesn't work. I've read testimonials from parents saying it does help their children.

    I'm interested to see everyone's opinions on this. Have you tried it? Did it make a difference? Or is it just a bunch of baloney?

    Your son's early intervention therapist has no clue what he/she's talking about.

    My stepson has both cerebral palsy and autism. Because the cognitive CP issues masked the autism, he was not diagnosed as autistic until nearly 7 years of age. We changed his diet, and literally within one month there was drastic improvement. A month into the diet changes, he slept through the night for the first time ever, and came into the living room the next morning and told me "Love Daddy". So I said to him, "You love Daddy?", and he nodded his head yes! Up until that point, he had not been speaking, and we were teaching him sign language to avoid temper tantrums.

    At this point, our son is gluten, casein, soy, and corn free. When he has one of the "offending" foods, I know which it is based on his reaction. I know corn is not typical to remove, but after the other stuff cleared out of his system, we found corn started giving him hives. There have also been studies showing that removal of corn can help reduce issues with aggression.

    I believe that diet changes do not work for everyone with autism, because I believe that there are probably several different root causes for autism. If there were only one cause, science would have found a cure by now. So try it, and if it works for you, great. If not, don't give up!

    Thanks for your post!! It's so nice to hear such great stories. Your son sounds lovely. I might try a gluten free, casein free, soy free diet for my son. I mean, it can't hurt right?

    He is seeing a behavioral pediatrician next month, and while I am very nervous I know knowing for sure is better than wiating around not knowing.

    I just ordered that book you mentioned by the way. I can't wait to read it.
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    First of all, get it out of your mind that there is something "wrong" with your son. You do not want to (unintentionally) start treating him differently than you would other children.

    THIS!!!!

    there is nothing WRONG with an autistic (or on the spectrum) person!! they simply think differently

    I REFUSE To allow my son to use autism as an excuse for misbehavior... he knows this and understands this... and if anything he is held to a higher level of accountability than my other children... I ask him "why" all the time... he knows to interpret his behaviors and his feelings and how to communicate them to us... he has actually been commended in school this year (new school) because he was asked to join in a group activity... he was feeling overwhelmed... so he told his teacher "I am feeling overwhelmed, may I have a few minute time out and then join the group?" ... he put his head on his desk for 3 minutes and then was able to join the group and participate... she said she had never had a child ask for a time out...

    (but anyways I digress)

    I have taught him that aspergers is just one of his qualities... like his blue eyes or his flexibility or his foot size... it is just a part of who he is... and if I wouldn't let him use his blue eyes as an excuse for misbehavior then I won't let him use aspergers as an excuse...

    it has taken us YEARS of intensive therapy (as individuals he and I and as a family with his siblings) to get to this point... I have had tons of training and so has he... we have done research into behavior... and I have spent countless hours in prayer.... but it is possible :)
  • diadojikohei
    diadojikohei Posts: 732 Member
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    I was only thinking this morning if there was a group for mums with children with Aspergers or ASD.
    How weird to read this thread!
    My third son is almost 13 and was diagnosed at age 2 and a half. I knew he was different because he was nothing like my older two boys. When he was 20 months I had my fourth child, a daughter and when she had started talking and he still hadn't. I was also struggling and I thought I was having some kind of breakdown. A friend of mine a local GP suggested I take Ben to a children's doctor, who gave me the diagnosis. I was in shock, I'd convinced myself I was at fault, and he was fine!
    He's a lovely boy, very kind and has a really mature sense of humour, he still gets very anxious but went to Namibia and Botswana for 4 weeks with my husband last year. I don't think he enjoyed it much but it gave him lots of new experiences!

    Lets start a ''group''!

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