autism Helps

Archive for December 11th, 2009

How does Nick and Joe feel about fans with learning defects and may have Down's Syndrome?
I ask because I read (on Y!A) that this Yahoo user heard that this autistic fan at her school went to go get autographs from the brothers and only Kevin signed her poster while the other two ignored them.
I had wondered if they did that on PURPOSE or was it because of a lotta fans there that day...
?

For example, a special secret sign language that hearing community don't understand except deaf?
Or a derogatory sign language that isn't unheard of in the hearing community?
Or maybe a possible telepathic communication with super natural being, for example "God".

We have a 3.4 year old boy and twin 22 month old girls. We suspect one of our girls (cara) may be autistic and wanted to get some feedback from others.
As a stay at home dad, I have no doubt my communication skills, or lack thereof, has contributed in some way to our children being behind. That and them being a few weeks early and watching too much tv with their brother.
Our son is/was a bit behind, but is coming along since starting preschool. The girls have no real vocabulary (not even mama or dada). They do sign for more and make a m type sound when doing so. Sara, the other twin, does make other sounds for words like hat and so forth, and seems to be a bit father along then her sister cara. We have had them in weekly 1 hour therapy, but they (the people at the therapy place) seem to think it's more of a sensory issue.
Our daily routine is very loose. They wake up when they wake up, play, eat at some point, play, snack, nap around 2 or 3 or whenever, snack, play, eat, play, bedtime is sometime after 8:30.
Here's a list about cara -
Eye contact -- She does make eye contact, but it's limited. When we have close up face to face time, she does look at me, but seems more interested in my mouth then my eyes. Sometimes it seems hard for her to make eye contact, but she does do it.
Stacking -- She does NOT stack or line things up abnormally. Not an issue.
Language -- As stated above, she has none. Therapy is geared towards her lack of language being a sensory issue. She does babble a bit. More in the last few weeks.
Hearing and responding to her name -- If I scold her not to go up the stairs, she will listen. But she has very selective hearing. She sometimes will respond to her name, but normally she doesn't unless she wants to or I'm getting after her for something. Will not look up if we call her, but will jump up in a heartbeat if she think she hears the theme song to one of her TV shows.
Bouncing and spinning -- She LOVES to bounce on the couch and recliner. This is her thing. Will bounce and bounce with a big smile on her face. Will spin in front of the Tv from time to time. Not everyday and not for long stretches of time. This may be her just dancing.
Interactive games and smiling -- She does not do peek-a-boo herself, but loves it when when we do it or play cows in the meadow, or itsy bitsy spider. She will smile back at you.
Sensory and oral -- She will chew up ANYTHING. Most of our kid books have no spine because the chews them up, wooden ledge in the rec room is chewed up, and so on. We give them toothbrushes and they love them. Cara likes to turn hers over and chew off the plastic on the bottom.
Wanting things -- The biggest thing would be the sippy cup. Her sister will bring me the cup if it's empty, but cara won't. We just learn to know what they want.
Touching and cuddling - She doesn't have a problem that I can see. She is a wiggle worm though. May sit with you for a short while cuddling while watching tv. She sometimes will give you a kiss if you force her to by holding her head so she can't turn it. Her kiss is just a open mouth stick out the tongue kind of a thing.
tantrums -- She doesn't really have one unless she's super tired. There are two things she has seen on TV that she freaks out over (part of a weekly show and one kids show she's scared of), but other then that she doesn't have tantrums.
Sleeping and eating -- Diet is somewhat limited. Fruit, cheese, crackers, fries, chicken nuggets, toast, more carbs, more fruit, mac and cheese, and at least 16 oz of milk a day. Sleeping is not a problem.
Hand and arm flapping - will do so only if she's super excited at something on tv or if she's super tired and can't reach her milk or if we are not picking her up fast enough.
Books -- she loves flipping through books (when she's not eating them)
Spinning and light -- have not seen an issue in these areas.
Bathtime -- loves bathtime. Loves the shower. loves to lay down on her tummy during bathtime.
Playing alone -- Seems to play alone a bit more then her siblings. Her brother and sister seem to play together a bit more.
Pointing -- Doesn't point.
Imaginative play -- Her sister loves to play dress up. Cara does like to put on hats, but not as much as her sister. Other then that, she doesn't really play like tea time or mommy baby stuff.
Other people who visit -- warms up fast to visitors. In the past, her and her sister would freak out to new people 50% of the time. Even with people who came over a few times a month. But now, both seem to warm up to people much faster.
Waving bye-bye -- will sort of wave bye bye. limited.