Coping with Autism

Nathan is on the verge of talking. I say this because he is starting to use words or parts of words to express himself as opposed to just yelling or squealing. It's very limited speech-- "tha" for "that" or "no" or "tea" (to describe what I had in my hand) but I'm so excited, I can't wait to see what he will do next! Nathan is the baby and you can tell quite quickly that he knows it. I don't know how he knows but he does. Part of the reason I knew something was wrong originally was because he wasn't maturing as quickly as he should have (both developmentally and emotionally) and I was getting frustrated with how baby-like he was acting when he should have been acting more like a toddler. I find it strangely funny that the more I want him to act his age the more he acts like the spoiled one. So I can't force him to act his age, I can only encourage it in as many situations as possible. Don't get me wrong, Nathan is an a...

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 ...

I'm not sure where this is coming from but Peter is coming up to me, looking me in the eyes and trying to wink. It's terribly funny. He screws up one eye and then the other and then watches while I wink at him. Nathan doesn't feel well today but he was showing off on Friday. He used about five words he had never used before (of course this is the one who rarely, if ever, says anything verbally) and he surprised both me and his teacher. Now, if we could just get a repeat performance :)