Workout group for parents of Autistic children

Hi All,
Just wondering how old your kids are...My son is 20, and was diagnosed just before kindergarten. It definitely adds a lot of stress and worry, but he is one awesome kid! I learn so much from him.
Count me and THOR (my elliptical machine) in!
:flowerforyou:

Hi there,

I have 3 kids, My 6 yr old has aspergers / autism, My 4 yr old has a behavior disorder, any smallest is developmentally delayed. - he is going to be test at the end of oct. but he has indicators for aspergers/ autism.
I work 8 hrs a day and on therapy appt, i take off.
i currently do Zumba Videos, I can't go to a gym, not without any of my kids, they are stuck with me,
I don't like to go to public places because they are too wild, they control the activities.
I get a lot of attention, especially shopping, I hate it,. It takes me about 2-4 hrs to shop for groceries when i have all 3 kids.
and there a lot of arguing / tantrums with them.
There's too much negative people out there, who don't care to understand this disorder, they just blame the parents,
To me its been this way for me -people are always blaming the parents for how the kids behave.
I have done parenting classes and i am doing the therapy. but my kids always manage to get me in a conference with one of the teachers or at daycare. It happens about once a week or so. I have explained the diagnosis and taken the documentation and i still get talked to. I don't get it. Some people don't let it go.

We are all strong women, and have been dealt some of the hardest cards life has to offer, but we were dealt them for a reason, I think. My husband and I have taken a different road than a lot of parents we meet here in Ontario who have children with Autism, we have embraced every part of it, and we are not letting it define who we are as a family, or who Owen is as a person.

i need to move to Ontario, there's more support there than here.

Yes, in Ontario we do get some help from our government, but we are on a waitlist, which is standard for 2 years roughly. A lot of families can not scrap together money for private therapy while we are on the waitlist, we are lucky enough to be able to provide this for our son. When you do get funding from the gevernment, it is for minimum a year, and its 24 hours a week

My 12 year old son is PDD-NOS, ADHD, ODD, and Mood Disorder-NOS. So in other words, the behavioral health center, says he is delayed in language skills with autism tendancies, but not enough to be "true" autism, and his therapist says Aspergers no question. Since no one can decide on which, they just lump him with Autism spectrum or Pervasive Development Disorder. ODD is oppositional defiance disorder, I say black he says dark gray just for the sake of creating an agrument. Mood disorder-nos is another way of saying there is something there but we don't want to label a child with bi-polar.

I used to think I was so fortunate to have a son that played quitely in the corner by himself, or that he was so smart to line his toy cars up in a straight line from one side of the room to the other by type and color. When he was two, I didn't realize that this was an issue or not "normal". He was my first child. Until...he started school, then the cursing at the teachers, harming himself and other kids at school, making threats, and the running when angry or confronted. The most frustrating part is that the school tells you the medical terms are just a label and shouldn't be used as an excuse for "normal" behavior. They don't bother learning what the behavior tendancies are that go hand in hand with these "labels".

Thankfully in the past couple of years we have managed to get him on an IEP, into a special school for behavioral developement, and most importantly get to the top of the waiting list for a CMH waiver, (there are only 600 for the entire state of Iowa.). He now has all the services we could ask for. Remedial therapy at our home once a week for social skills therapy, in office therapy once a month to keep him on track, and respite care thursday -sunday each week so that my hubby and our two kiddos (3 & 1) can get a break. We have a wonderful support group with our extended family and friends. I couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law. She has worked at a developementally delayed school for almost 20 years, so my son is nothing for her to understand or handle.

I have gone through the whole series of emotions, denial that their is something wrong with him, anger that there is something wrong, heartbreak that he may not live my defination of a "normal" life, fear that he may not be able to remain at home until he is an adult or live independently when he is an adult, and now to acceptance that his future will be what it is and we have no regrets about what we have done to get him there. I know he is only 12, but if he doesn't learn the skills today he can't use them tomorrow. It has taken years to get to this point, a lot of frustration, and more than my share of tears.

Chin up everyone there are better days ahead. And believe it or not there are a ton of people in our boat, we just haven't met them yet. Don't be afraid to share your story. You will be surprised how many people are amazed with your strength as a parent of a special needs child.

Well, I'm not a mom, but my son Henry has cerebral palsy, seizures, severe disphasia(can't swallow well enough to eat or drink), CVI which is a vision disorder, and most likely autism although no one has addressed the autism. My wife is a teacher of 13 years and has a masters in early childhood education and has seen many kids through her classroom. She thinks that Henry likely falls somewhere in the spectrum. He doesn't communicate vocally and can't walk or use his hands to point or grab objects, although he is strong enough to sit up on his own. His core is strong, but lacks fine motor skills. He is around 40 lbs now and has to be carried through the house since we have a split level his wheelchair doesn't really come inside. Taking care of him is a full time operation, but he is in daycare in the mornings and goes to pre-K in the afternoons where he gets all his therapy sessions. Anyway, I started to get in shape partly to make taking care of him easier, then realized how much I was really out of shape.
My exercises include 60min classes of interval, boxing, kickboxing and weights. Occasionally I run on the treadmill. I'd love to join the group.
Best of luck to you all with your kiddos and yourselves.
Jeff

My son, Daryl, was diagnosed right before his 3rd birthday. When Daryl was about 18 months old I could start to tell he wasn't doing what his older brother did at that age. He didn't say his first word until he was five. Wasn't potty trained until he was five. He doesn't quite fit into a definite spot on the autistic spectrum so his label is PDD-NOS along with ADHD. He is now 16 years old. I have struggled to get him the help he needs. Despite the fact that he is very smart he has not been able to learn to read. I take him to a tutor and he is still reading at the first grade level. It breaks my heart as I know that will hold him back in life. He has just started to socialize more and have a couple friends who stop by occasionally. He wants to get his license and a job. With the difficulty of reading I am not sure how that will all pan out. If you were to just look at my son you would not be able to tell he has autism but once you start a conversation you catch on pretty quick. He loves to hug and touch others. I keep trying to explain personal space. If I don't see his 6 ft. 180 pound frame coming at me for a hug I can very easily get knocked off of my feet. I love him so much and pray God's will be done in his life. I walk alot and sometimes with Daryl as he loves to walk everywhere. He would walk all day if I would let him. I also do 30 day shred.
Wren