How many of us are Autism Moms?

I have a 9 year old who was diagnosed NLD two years ago and finally Aspergers a few weeks ago. Luckily we were already doing a lot of stuff for the NLD that helps with the Asperger stuff too - like schedules/routines/explaining what we are doing etc.

He is a lovely lovely boy, he has never been anything other than affectionate with me and his step-dad although he is closed to everyone else. He doesn't make eye contact, tends to go on and on, has an extremely rigid black-and-white view of things and can throw the most incredible temper tantrums (!), is very good at art & especially sculpting stuff and does not get on with other kids very well at all. Very much affected by visual/auditory stimuli.

I wouldn't change him though, as when he is in the room everything seems more interesting (can't describe why but it just does!).

We haven't had a lot of help yet, other than physio for poor motor coordination, but are on a waiting list for psycho-education (for us parents) and individual counselling for him - stuff like how to read body language etc.

He has also been skipped a grade at school and will finish primary school at 10 (usually here it is 12) and I am very concerned about high school and how he will deal with crowds/schedules etc.. but we'll see when we get there!

Feel free to add me.

Hello! I have a 5 year old son that has Autism. He was diagnosed at 33 months old, but could have seriously been diagnosed at 22 months old. We thought it was just a speech delay, but his SLP noticed a few "autistic traits" and motivated us (i initially did not take this well) to have our son looked at. Sure enough, Ethan was diagnosed with ASD and SLI (speech language impairment). He has definitely come a long way, but has so much more to go. This march we received a "go" for him to be mainstreamed into General Education Kindergarten. This has been huge goal we made for Ethan, and we are so glad he has been given a chance to have it come to fruition. He currently attends general ed preschool and receives 35 hours of Early Intensive Behavioral Treatment (EIBT) (intense ABA therapy, 1:1). His speech and language skills are still lacking compared to other kiddos his age, but Ethan is smart and very bright. He loves authority and being around other kids his age. We are also very fortunate that he does not have any violent behaviors and does not tantrum. He travels well and does better than most typical kids in restaurants/events.

One of the fun (i say this sarcastically) quirks to my son is that he memorizes tv shows, movies and books, and is a huge "scripter." It's odd because he speaks perfectly when he scripts, but the expressive language is difficult for him, gotta love autism.

He is also Gluten and Casein Free, all organic, on a high dose vitamin and mineral regiment and takes double probiotics a day.. This has helped tremendously on his concentration skills, gut issues, and immunity problems. His BioMed Doctor is Dr. Jerry Kartzinel, who's website is mendingautism.com. If anyone is interested in the huge benefits of BioMed treatments email me. My son suffered from a serious amounts of ear infections and random fevers (with no other symptoms, sign of a bad immune system, gut related), a lot of autistic kids have a weakened immune system, and most general doctors simply look over it, mine did.

I am also a huge advocate for parents creating their own vaccine schedule. I do not believe there is one bad shot, i believe that most of our kiddos bodies/immune system cannot handle the standard CDC vaccine schedule, so if more parents know they can stretch out their schedule, all would benefit.

my youngest is autistic, a year ago she was almost completely non verbal. now she talks up a storm. she's allllllllllllll full sentences now and can tell me exactly what is on her mind. i love it....most of the time lol

Hi! I'm not a mom but I'm a sister of a 10 year old boy with Asperger. I really understand what you all say even though I'm only the sister.

Has anyone tried the gluten-free lactose free diet? we will try it in a couple of weeks, it's supposed to help with the Asperger and de attention deficit

My daughter has been on the Gluten Dairy free diet for nearly 5 years now and we honestly believe she is much better because of it. It's hard sometimes to tell where her autism ends and the genetic condition begins but since being on it she has been calmer, picked up at school and no longer suffers with endless ENT infections.

Not quite an Autism mom, but living at home with my mother with Asperger's/anxiety, my adult older brother with mild Asperger's and my adult younger brother with high-functioning Autism. They all are at different places on the scale, but I have a lot of experience with the topic.

Not an Autism mom (or sister or anything really) but just wanted to pop on and say "I salute you." You all have your work cut out for you and I'm sure love your kids like crazy! Great work and good job taking some time for you

I just wanted to say that you guys are awesome! :flowerforyou:

It's not easy when your child is different and doing the best you can for them is all anyone can ask for!

Hey there! I have a daughter with Autism who will be 3 soon. She has a very small spoken vocabulary, a slightly larger signing vocabulary, and I am currently training her on an iPad AAC. We were using EI but after a few months it became stagnant so we let them go and took over... she has since made much more progress.

Her diet consists primarily of milk. Once every couple weeks I can get her to eat some apple or yam baby food but that's about it. We call her our veal baby

I wasn't really wanting new friends cause my list got crazy and I downsized, but I'd be willing to bring on a few ASD moms! Just say so if you decide to add.

P.S. I don't believe in so-called "recovery" or the DAN! movement so please no supporters or we will just get in a tizzy

My son is 16 and has Asperger's. He always struggled with handwriting (due to dysgraphia) as well as his pragmatic language and socialization...however, he is above average IQ and participates in a lot of pre-AP/AP classes in his school. Out of an 8 period school day, 2 classes are in Special Ed - one for positive behavioral supports and the other as a created "study hall" for him for work completion, he's in GT and mainstream classes the rest of his day with speech consult each six weeks... this week he will be finishing up 10th grade.

Sometimes there are struggles...but I am fortunate - I also work for a facility in autism research and treatment as an educational coordinator (I had a special education background before working there)...because of my boss and her experience, I have learned so much about autism, research, education, and post-high school options. Bottom line, there's not enough services for our kids....kids on the spectrum grow up to be adults on the spectrum.

autistic dad