do you have a child with ASD?

amother

Navy

Tue, May 03 2016, 8:05 am

Yup. We just got the official diagnosis a few weeks ago, right around when he turned 5. But I've has a feeling this was coming since he was about 2.5.

amother

Puce

Tue, May 03 2016, 8:08 am

Was just informed yesterday that my child is probably on the spectrum. But very high functioning. He is 8.5 and we need to start looking into a treatment plan. Can anyone share some of their experience that can help us.

Thanks!

amother

Taupe

Tue, May 03 2016, 8:13 am

Ok see... Two minutes two people . This is op. My son was also just diagnosed and I'm sitting here feeling all sad... But it's way more common than you think, right?

amother

Taupe

Tue, May 03 2016, 8:32 am

Ok. 3 of us right now. I wanted to come on here and cry about how miserable I am at the moment and it's so hard and it's never gonna go away. But that won't be mchazek you. So I guess instead I will say- none of us knows what the future holds. Best to focus ob small achievements of here and now.

Some sources say people with disabilities are more holy. Does anyone know about this?

imasinger

Tue, May 03 2016, 8:49 am

There is a chabad story to that effect.

I have 2 with the diagnosis, both high functioning, but requiring significant resources.

Social skills work is a must. Speech therapy is a big piece of that -- focuses more on what to say in given situations than how to pronounce an "r". OT and PT help build muscle strength and aid in ability to do things other kids do. Parent training makes a huge difference in how we handle the hard times. ABA with a great team can help in all kinds of ways. Psychiatrists can help with meds. Psychologists can help teach self awareness, and offer support and growth.

It's a lot of time, effort, and angst.

The reward is seeing your child achieve milestones you never thought would be possible.

And there isn't much on this planet that is more important than that.

amother

Navy

Tue, May 03 2016, 8:56 am

I'm actually not too broken up about it. 2 years ago I would have been devastated, but I've had time to get used to our reality. Like I said, I knew deep down for awhile that this was probably coming. He is Bh on the milder end (that's why it took so long to get a formal diagnosis) so while I do worry about him and this comes with challenges for both him and us parents, I know that he will be able to attend college, get married, live a normal life iyh. He just needs some extra help and support to reach his full potential. And having the diagnosis is a relief in that it gives us a clear path and easy access to the services he needs. Bh he is in a yeshiva that is happy to work with him and give him what he needs.

amother

Orchid

Tue, May 03 2016, 9:16 am

Yes. My 12 year old son has ASD. Diagnosed when he was 5. He is bh my easiest child. Helpful, kind, intelligent, polite, focused.

He actually did not receive much speech therapy or anything else. He does receive extra help within school, where I think they mostly focus on social skills since he is academically well ahead. I'm very happy he is receiving this extra help and I think it has made a HUGE difference. At this point I would have a hard time pinpointing how is different from my other kids. Less socially inclined then my other children but he enjoys the company of other kids.

I'm not too worried about his future at this point.

rainbow dash

Tue, May 03 2016, 9:19 am

my 11 year old got diagnosed a few months ago. bh he already is in a special ed school. I gonna speak to the school about social skills and speech, even though hes been having therapy since he was 3 he still doesnt speak so clear. I have joined In Touch which helps.

amother

Bronze

Tue, May 03 2016, 9:28 am

Yes. He's turning 18 next week be"h.
Was diagnosed when he was about 3.
Similar story to Orchid amother though I'm not sure how much of his progress is actually due to therapy.

seeker

Tue, May 03 2016, 10:06 am

I wrote an article about ASD that appeared in the Pesach issue of Binah. It might give chizuk to those who are new to ASD. If you read it and would like to know more about things that didn't make it into the final cut you can PM me.

zigi

Tue, May 03 2016, 10:29 am

I have a 5 year old, he was diagnosed at 2.5 ados and super officially at 3 ish. working on medicaid waiver etc. therapy and special ed schools made a major difference.
6:1:1 with floor time and aba. speech etc. he was not really verbal 10 words or less, now he can say basic things like its not night time don't want to sleep, it took a lot of hard work from everyone. trained and untrained- lol siblings and parents. it was rough over yom tov. meltdowns weren't fun. bh things are more back to normal when school started again. finding the right school after preschool was hard too. but bh we found it!
he needs help with articulation. he does get speech.

amother

Dodgerblue

Tue, May 03 2016, 12:13 pm

Yup. My 14 year old. Very similar to what orchid amother wrote, though here and there I will still point out minor social cues that he may miss. I guess there's a very wide 'high functioning' spectrum as well.

We sent him to a private social skills group when he was 11 that helped. And I also think very highly of the Son Rise program (google it) that helped us tremendously. My dh and I spent a week there with their Start Up program and although we didn't implement everything, it has helped us tremendously in understanding and parenting all of our (undiagnosed) children.

amother

Mistyrose

Tue, May 03 2016, 12:19 pm

Another one here. My son is 7 high on the spectrum diagnosed at 2. Has a bunch of therapy and is loving and so unique!

amother

Blonde

Tue, May 03 2016, 12:45 pm

My nine year old son.

I'm looking for a good social skills group for him in Brooklyn. Any suggestions?
His OT reccomended one that employs a floor time approach vs. ABA.

amother

Forestgreen

Tue, May 03 2016, 12:54 pm

My son is 8 and was diagnosed last year. Very bright and high functioning but he has social and behavioral challenges. He's been receiving therapy since he was 3...