Michael is now able to vocalize most of what he wants, he may not articulate his words the way we would but as a parent you get to know what your child wants even other ways than verbal cues. We seem to have form of telepathy going at times. I can tell when Michael is about to get upset , that is generally when I step in and ask questions in case he is too overwhelmed to put his feeling into words.Through negative outcomes Michael is able to better decide if his actions will have consequences. Before age 7 Michael would cry and avoid words which in turn took longer to get what he wanted and on top of that he would be tired from being so emotional and getting sick... it was always a given that Michael would upchuck when he cried hard. Therefore now he seems to analyze the situation more and try and put it into words and I am always there to help him do just that. I am not saying he doesn't do it anymore but it is at least 80% less than he used to.
I find Bedtime is much easier than ever although he still has nights where it can take him up to four hours to finally nod off. Whereas before just getting Michael to understand that it was bedtime was a hassle alone trying to settle him once there, now through routine he will even say " It is soon bedtime, right mommy?" What I did was dim the lights an hour before bed, turn on the fire place and every 10 minutes I would say how much time is left. This worked very well.
Getting Michael ready for school , shopping, doing homework, taking a shower and picking up his toys have all become much easier than before so yes, it does get easier!!! Some of my friends that visit and see some of the routines still think I deal with a lot but trust me, it is nothing like before. I found the reward system to be my savior in all of this, the only problem it being expensive for I wanted to hit on something that Michael would definitely work for, so lets just say he has a lot of Webkinz. I did try the dinkies, sticker buildup to get a big toy, bubblegum and all sorts of other things but they did not motivate him, he had to really like his reward.
I am now a follower of this blog too. My oldest Step Son is autistic as well. He is 16, and in my opinion (being around him for the last 7 years) I think he has Aspergers, but no test have been done, he does not live with us full time so, we don't get the chance to have him retested. But I think you maybe right about it getting better with age.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Melissa D
mkds312@hotmail.com
sleeplesswonder.blogspot.com
Wow Melissa, we have more in common than we thought! Too bad he couldn't get tested, there is so much good that could come out of it , services and a lot of financial help... when Michael was 5 , and a friend of mine's son was 9 , we both got retro pay back to when the child was born so we are talking thousands here... this could be benefical towards housing, events , education etc....... Lately there is a new grant out in which a thousand dollars will be put in the bank each year...that can add up too.. I am now learning of yet another grant which the goverment will match by three... such as if I put in 50 for Michael I would have 150 dollars... maybe he will consider if he knew the benefits??
ReplyDeleteNaomi,
ReplyDeleteIn reading your comments I am curious. How do you find out about getting financial help. I have had to quit OT for my son which was helping him a lot because I was getting behind with paying for it. Everyone has told me that applying for disability is only an option if you are low enough income. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. I have went from working FT to PT so that I could be more available but now I am also bringing in less money.
Thanks,
Melissa Thomas