Autistic Connections

[juju_n_nolans_m]

Hello All,

My son who is 3 1/2 has recently been diagnosed with high functioning autism. Right now he's in Daycare and we're waiting to find where he'll be going to PreK. I'm looking for families who want to share advice and life experiences on how to raise an autistic child in the Waldorf/Southern Maryland area. Any advice about appropriate schools, daycare, or even where you go to get your child's hair cut would be great!

[kwillia]

Hi juju, I know there are others who frequent this board that have been thru what you have ahead of you, I hope you get the support you seek. You have your hands full, I'm sure. Good luck, stay sane and be strong.

[juju_n_nolans_m]

Thanks! BTW..My name is Lynda...My username was supposed to be juju_n_nolans_mom :-)

[virgovictoria (Premo)]

Originally Posted by juju_n_nolans_m

Hello All,

My son who is 3 1/2 has recently been diagnosed with high functioning autism. Right now he's in Daycare and we're waiting to find where he'll be going to PreK. I'm looking for families who want to share advice and life experiences on how to raise an autistic child in the Waldorf/Southern Maryland area. Any advice about appropriate schools, daycare, or even where you go to get your child's hair cut would be great!

Hi Lynda!

In the event you didn't already know, Children's Hospital has several Health Centers and Outpatient Locations in the Metro Area. The reason why I mention this is that with their Center for Neuroscience and Behavioral Medicine, you may be able to find a lot of valuable resources - so that as your son grows, he can better educate you about his complexities! and find the best fit schools, daycare, support and so on...

Hope it helps!

[Pegster710]

Good luck, Lynda!

Here's a for the little one!

Originally Posted by juju_n_nolans_m

Hello All,

My son who is 3 1/2 has recently been diagnosed with high functioning autism. Right now he's in Daycare and we're waiting to find where he'll be going to PreK. I'm looking for families who want to share advice and life experiences on how to raise an autistic child in the Waldorf/Southern Maryland area. Any advice about appropriate schools, daycare, or even where you go to get your child's hair cut would be great!

Hi - My son is 14, has autisim, and I wish I had known when he was 3 1/2 that that's what he had. They tell me it's so much easier when the diagnosis is made early. May I ask what signs you noticed at that age? I kept getting mildly mentally retarded with PDD but a counselor who actually spent more than an hour with him seems to think it's more than likely Aspergars. Things are still experimental for me on what to do and what not to do and sometimes it's still hard to grasp that he doesn't think or react the way an ordinary child would. Words of advice, develop the patience of a saint early, read everything you can get your hands on, get a routine and stick to it and keep a strong support system around you. By the way there's a special on CNN regarding autism on Sunday at 8pm I believe. Feel free to contact me here anytime or if you'd rather keep it private PM me and I'll give you my home email address. Best of luck and believe me it's not the end of the world.

[virgovictoria (Premo)]

Originally Posted by Dixie

Hi - My son is 14, has autisim, and I wish I had known when he was 3 1/2 that that's what he had. They tell me it's so much easier when the diagnosis is made early. May I ask what signs you noticed at that age? I kept getting mildly mentally retarded with PDD but a counselor who actually spent more than an hour with him seems to think it's more than likely Aspergars. Things are still experimental for me on what to do and what not to do and sometimes it's still hard to grasp that he doesn't think or react the way an ordinary child would. Words of advice, develop the patience of a saint early, read everything you can get your hands on, get a routine and stick to it and keep a strong support system around you. By the way there's a special on CNN regarding autism on Sunday at 8pm I believe. Feel free to contact me here anytime or if you'd rather keep it private PM me and I'll give you my home email address. Best of luck and believe me it's not the end of the world.

There are a lot of Aspies who will tell you that their world is just fine the way it is... as long as it stays just the way it is!

[Toxick]

I wish I could remember what channel I was watching. I think it was the discovery channel or Discovery Health or something like that over the weekend, and they had a special on about Autistic Savants, and high-functioning autism, and they did a thing on these autistic people who somehow broke through their autism, and were 'cured' so to speak.

There's only like 50 of these people in the world, and one of the ones they were interviewing was a savant. This guy learned the Icelandic language in 7 days (and if you've ever seen Icelandic, you'd know that's not a small task, especially since it's not related to any other language on earth), he calculated PI to something like 20,000 decimal places. And since he managed to overcome most of the communication difficulties associated with autism, he could sort of describe HOW he was able to do these things.

It was an absolutely incredible documentary.

I tuned in late, so I didn't catch the title, or if it's coming back on, but if I see anything about it I'll put it here. Sounds like there might be some interest in it.

Originally Posted by virgovictoria

There are a lot of Aspies who will tell you that their world is just fine the way it is... as long as it stays just the way it is!

So I've heard! It really is the people that care for them the most that have to adjust to their world rather than vice-versa. As a mother I can't tell you the how many times I've wanted to knock the living snot out of someone who is looking at my son like he's out of his cotton picking mind and hurting because he really doesn't understand. It's a constant game of running before him trying to straighten the road when he's perfectly happy straying off of it. I'm cringing and I swear I can hear theme music from Lady and the Tramp when Lady is just bopping along without a care in the world. He's so oblivious.

[CableChick]

Originally Posted by Toxick

I wish I could remember what channel I was watching. I think it was the discovery channel or Discovery Health or something like that over the weekend, and they had a special on about Autistic Savants, and high-functioning autism, and they did a thing on these autistic people who somehow broke through their autism, and were 'cured' so to speak.

There's only like 50 of these people in the world, and one of the ones they were interviewing was a savant. This guy learned the Icelandic language in 7 days (and if you've ever seen Icelandic, you'd know that's not a small task, especially since it's not related to any other language on earth), he calculated PI to something like 20,000 decimal places. And since he managed to overcome most of the communication difficulties associated with autism, he could sort of describe HOW he was able to do these things.

It was an absolutely incredible documentary.

I tuned in late, so I didn't catch the title, or if it's coming back on, but if I see anything about it I'll put it here. Sounds like there might be some interest in it.

His name is Daniel Tammet and the show is Brainman. The show is on the Science Channel and it premiered on February 23rd. Can't seem to find another showing of it yet but I'll let you know if I run across it.