Coping with Autism

Just in case you didn't notice it in my bio, my husband and I have an eight-year-old daughter. It often seems like siblings get left out when you are dealing with one autistic child but two--whew! We have to make an extra effort to notice her achievements and praise her for things she has accomplished. She is currently completing her requirements to get her red belt (decided) in Tae Kwon Do. After that, she'll test for her "pre" black and begin training with the black belts. She'll test for her black belt when her instructor feels she is ready but it's usually anywhere from six months to a year. Gabs began taking TKD when she was 4. We enrolled her because we were scared to death she would walk off in the mall (which she did do) or walk up to a complete stranger and begin a conversation like they were her best friend (which she also did). It was stressful to shop with her because I couldn't really look at the merchandise in my hand--I was too distracted tr...

Peter actually told me he had to go "potty" today. Again, this is a big deal-- so far I've had to ask him, he hasn't initiated anything. We're making progress but this is often how Peter does things. Once he achieves a level of confidence in something he doesn't look back. We are very fortunate that he doesn't regress or hasn't shown any tendency to do so. Our biggest struggle so far (and there have been many) seems to be with his allergies. He has the stereotypical autistic look (frail upper body, often dark circles under the eyes, etc.) and the wretched laundry list of allergies. So far, Peter is allergic to soy, beef, potatoes, birch, oak, walnut, grass, dustmites, cats, dogs and. . . I'm forgetting something. Nathan tried to say "fish" again yesterday and if you haven't already guessed, we have a fish and two cats -- and yeah, I know, with Peter's allergies, etc., but the cats are getting old so we won't be replacing them ...