Any parents of special needs kids??

I have2 Children on the spectrum. My son has autism and he's 12, my daughter has aspergers and she's 10. You can add me for support if you like

I wanted to offer my support. Autism is hard. I have a daughter that is on the spectrum on top of ADHD, Anxiety, depression, and learning disabilities. I'm at a different stage because my girl is a senior and we're trying to help her find a way to survive the real world. I also grew up with Autism, my 46 year old brother was diagnosed in the early 70's right when autism became an official diagnosis and before schools were required to offer education.

It makes taking care of yourself extra challenging. Good for you on making the effort.

I have to boys that have autism. Ages 6 and 4. My 4 year old is more serve then my oldest. He also has alot more health problems too

I have a 21 yr old son who has aspergers &ocd. as a 2yr old he was diagnosed. i busted tail to get him ready for school. we were told to put him in a home or medicate heavily, of course that was our LAST visit to that dtr. when started kindergarten he was only in speech therapy by then. he excelled all throughout school taking college course final 2 years of hs. he joined the navy & excelled, do in part im sure to the structured nature. because of his speech issues my daughter whom is 4years younger also had speech issues, which were corrected by 2 nd grade. this can be done!!! i am in medical field working with physical/mental challenged people everyday, have worked for our school district helping to structure ieps for other children. u ARE ur childs best & sometimes ONLY advocate!YOU need to stay healthy & make time for urself! otherwise these issues will overtake ur whole familys life, which is good for NOONE!!!keep your head above it& breath;) you can add me if ud like.

My youngest son has a speech delay and fine motor deficits. He just began Kindergarten and is 5. He has oral sensory issues which is challenging for our family. He has trouble with some social cues, especially with regulating the volume of his voice and understanding physical boundaries.

When he was born I gained a lot of weight. He had severe reflux and screamed for hours each day. On top of that, my older son was only 16 months when my younger guy was born. It was stressful and I began having a lot of problems with anxiety and depression. After the reflux he had severe constipation, speech delay, social/emotional delays, and fine motor deficits.

Right now is very stressful for me as he begins Kindergarten. So far, he seems to respond quite well to the social demands and the structure.

I should also add that I'm a school psychologist. I do a lot of testing for special education. If we had our own group I would love to join, both for personal support and to maybe be able to offer professional advice?

It's nice to meet you all.

Yep

I was a late bloomer. I saw the first signs of a later confirmed diagnosis of Schizophrenia when my son was twelve. After the confirmed diagnosis in his twenties, I grieved for a couple years. I've reconciled myself to the diagnosis, the most scary for me is the statistically shortened lifespan, usually by suicide.

He's in his thirties, in a sheltered group home, works sometimes, and is engaged to be married. He's a humble, gentle man who never fails to call his mother. He also sometimes manages to beat a Master at chess. I've forgotten his score. All I know is that he nearly always beats me!

I wish you much joy as you find the challenges and treasures of raising a challenging child.

I have two boys with special needs. The oldest is 16, and has severe autism and moderate intellectually disabled. We were told he has the mentality of a 4 year old. Our other son is 8, and was diagnosed initially with intellectually disabled, but was rediagnosed with autism and a learning disability. It's hard, and I turned to food as well because it was always there. Mindlessly eating and always on the go made for bad food habits. But I wouldn't change my boys for anything in the world.