Like most parents, I find myself repeating things to my son. I get frustrated, stressed, and sometimes I feel like he is doing this to me on purpose. And I know he's not.
Then I thought about the things I don't have to do compared to what I had to a few years ago, I realized that he has made a lot of progress. But I don't give him credit for all the things he does on his own.
There are things that I don't have to remind him anymore. He remembers to go to school, take his things, remembers to do his homework, walk the dog, get home on time, and text me if something comes up. He tries to keep eye contact and tries to be more aware of his surroundings. He even goes to his therapy on his own and make his own appointments and actually remembers to go.
I should give him credit for what he has accomplished and I should thank him, but I don't.
Maybe I will today. I just hope it doesn't go to his head.
About Me
- Asperger_Mom (Chi Yon)
- SAHM of 3 wonderful kids, one brilliant one Asperger Syndrome. This is not a living shrine to his disorder, but rather a place to share & discuss the different challenges that came with it and other things about parenting & life in general.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
1001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls by Tony Lyons BOOK GIVEAWAY
In celebration of Autism Awareness Month and as a part of SOS Best of Best Book Giveaways, I am giving away 1,001 Tips for the Parents of Autistic Girls by Tony Lyons (co-author of Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism).
This book was very organized and easy to read with a little cheat sheet in the front to jump from topic to topic. It was refreshing to see a book for girls, and as a mom of a Aspie boy, it was still educational to read. Here is how you can win a copy.
Leave a comment or share your story on this post. And/or you could follow me on twitter, that would be nice. I will pick one person from the comments and you will have the book in a week. Be sure to leave your email so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway ends April 30, 2011. Good luck!
P.S. I will ship to APO, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and Canada too.
Make sure you check out S-O-S Best of Best Book Reviews and Giveaways http://tinyurl.com/3pzn135!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012 Book Giveaway
In celebration of Autism Awareness Month, I'm giving away Cutting Edge Therapies for Autism 2011-2012.
It is a second edition from Ken Siri & Tony Lyons with updated and revised with latest developments. The research is done for you and you can look further into any particular therapy that may apply. I was amazed that there were so many different therapies out there. My advice is just get ready to take notes!
Leave a comment or share your story on this post. And/or you could follow me on twitter, that would be nice. I will pick one person from the comments and you will have the book in a week. Be sure to leave me an email in case you win. This giveaway ends April 30, 2011. Good luck!
P.S. I will ship to APO, Puerto Rico, American Samoa and Canada too.
Make sure you check out S-O-S Best of Best Book Reviews and Giveaways http://tinyurl.com/3pzn135!
Special thanks to Skyhorse Publishing for donating the book!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
What's Happening on Family Network TV
Family Network TV interviewed Dan Coulter, the creator of Coulter videos which are geared toward people with Asperger Syndrome. In this segment called "What's Happening," he introduces the audience to Asperger At Work DVD. It features adults with Asperger Syndrome in the job market and how they cope.
Delving into their relationship with their employers/supervisors showed us the unique perspective of grown Aspergan as well as the perspective of the others, besides their family members. It was fascinating to find these Aspergans incorporating their unique aspie traits to work in their favor in their particular jobs. As for the employers, it showed how each of them learned about the disorder and educated themselves in how to understand and work with Aspergans. They also talked about the benefits of hiring employees with Asperger Syndrome.
On a personal note, I found it quite refreshing to see another side to Asperger. There are great literature/program/DVD that educate us of Asperger/Autism, but this was different. I've always focused on how to raise on instead of thinking about how one would turn out. I've personally enjoyed seeing successful Aspergans shown in such a positive light. As a parent of a Asperger teen, I often worry about what the life would hold for my son after he leaves my nest. Yes, all parents worry about their children whether or not they have Aspergers. But I have a unique challenge as you might understand. Sometimes, I stay up at night and try to imagine about my son as a grown up. This program brought me hope and a little peace of mind.
There are so many possibility for my son as well as the others. I'm glad that I could look toward his future with some positivity. I'm really looking forward to getting my own copy of the entire DVD set, so that I can view it with my son. Thanks to Mary for the wonderful interview and Family Network TV!
http://www.familynetworktv.com
http://www.coultervideo.com/video/112/asperger-syndrome-work-dvd
Delving into their relationship with their employers/supervisors showed us the unique perspective of grown Aspergan as well as the perspective of the others, besides their family members. It was fascinating to find these Aspergans incorporating their unique aspie traits to work in their favor in their particular jobs. As for the employers, it showed how each of them learned about the disorder and educated themselves in how to understand and work with Aspergans. They also talked about the benefits of hiring employees with Asperger Syndrome.
On a personal note, I found it quite refreshing to see another side to Asperger. There are great literature/program/DVD that educate us of Asperger/Autism, but this was different. I've always focused on how to raise on instead of thinking about how one would turn out. I've personally enjoyed seeing successful Aspergans shown in such a positive light. As a parent of a Asperger teen, I often worry about what the life would hold for my son after he leaves my nest. Yes, all parents worry about their children whether or not they have Aspergers. But I have a unique challenge as you might understand. Sometimes, I stay up at night and try to imagine about my son as a grown up. This program brought me hope and a little peace of mind.
There are so many possibility for my son as well as the others. I'm glad that I could look toward his future with some positivity. I'm really looking forward to getting my own copy of the entire DVD set, so that I can view it with my son. Thanks to Mary for the wonderful interview and Family Network TV!
http://www.familynetworktv.com
http://www.coultervideo.com/video/112/asperger-syndrome-work-dvd
Monday, March 28, 2011
Suspicious Mind
Is it me or is Will losing his skills he learned from therapy?
I was on my couch just dosing off, when Will's voice suddenly shocked me out of the daydream.
"Alec says he can go out today," he said with his face about 6 inches from mine. He came with no warning, no tapping on my shoulder, no clearing his throat. He just spoke directly into my ears. It was like we were in the middle of the conversation. Well, for him, we must have been.
"Will, you scared me," I snapped at him. He backed away and apologized. Then I repeated the same repetitive lecture that I've given him for days. I warned him that he should not encroach the personal space. To make it more vivid in his mind, I told him to keep everyone at an arm's length. I also told him to make a sound or look at someone in the eyes to clearly indicate that he was approaching that person. I don't know how to make it more clear, but I was met by his blank stare into thin air.
Yet again, he did not meet my eyes as I sat there giving him the one-sided speech. I gave in and gave him an okay for him to go out. But it prompted me to blog because I was overcome with the nagging suspicion that he was reverting back to his old habits. Everybody moved forward except for him.
Later that day, I dropped him off at the theater hoping he was really meeting his friends. I know that I sound paranoid and overly suspicious. But in my defense, I have my reasons. There were times when he was supposedly with his friends when he was reading his books at Borders. Books about disasters which was his obsession. Thankfully, he did meet his friends. I saw them with my own eyes.
I came home and took a good sweep of his room. I have given him a lot of room to be more independent and wasn't checking his room once a day. Boy, I was wrong. His closet was in disarray, his bags were just horrendous, and things were everywhere, to say the least. I would have left it alone too if I hadn't been too angry. His room only has a bed. There's nothing besides his bed and his closet. So there's no reason to be looking the way it did. I hate use the word regression, but that's the initial word that popped into my head.
He's doing great at school and has regular therapy. He's high-functioning, I tell others, but there's a reason. It's me. I'm behind calculating everything and every move. I count the times he takes a walk, I check his homework, I check his phone and email messages. I'm not paranoid; I'm suspicious. With or without his Asperger, he is a teenager. Every teenager lies and breaks rules. I should know; I was one of them. So, I'll go on lurking around his room, his school, or wherever he likes to hang out, with my spy glasses... because I'm a mom.
I was on my couch just dosing off, when Will's voice suddenly shocked me out of the daydream.
"Alec says he can go out today," he said with his face about 6 inches from mine. He came with no warning, no tapping on my shoulder, no clearing his throat. He just spoke directly into my ears. It was like we were in the middle of the conversation. Well, for him, we must have been.
"Will, you scared me," I snapped at him. He backed away and apologized. Then I repeated the same repetitive lecture that I've given him for days. I warned him that he should not encroach the personal space. To make it more vivid in his mind, I told him to keep everyone at an arm's length. I also told him to make a sound or look at someone in the eyes to clearly indicate that he was approaching that person. I don't know how to make it more clear, but I was met by his blank stare into thin air.
Yet again, he did not meet my eyes as I sat there giving him the one-sided speech. I gave in and gave him an okay for him to go out. But it prompted me to blog because I was overcome with the nagging suspicion that he was reverting back to his old habits. Everybody moved forward except for him.
Later that day, I dropped him off at the theater hoping he was really meeting his friends. I know that I sound paranoid and overly suspicious. But in my defense, I have my reasons. There were times when he was supposedly with his friends when he was reading his books at Borders. Books about disasters which was his obsession. Thankfully, he did meet his friends. I saw them with my own eyes.
I came home and took a good sweep of his room. I have given him a lot of room to be more independent and wasn't checking his room once a day. Boy, I was wrong. His closet was in disarray, his bags were just horrendous, and things were everywhere, to say the least. I would have left it alone too if I hadn't been too angry. His room only has a bed. There's nothing besides his bed and his closet. So there's no reason to be looking the way it did. I hate use the word regression, but that's the initial word that popped into my head.
He's doing great at school and has regular therapy. He's high-functioning, I tell others, but there's a reason. It's me. I'm behind calculating everything and every move. I count the times he takes a walk, I check his homework, I check his phone and email messages. I'm not paranoid; I'm suspicious. With or without his Asperger, he is a teenager. Every teenager lies and breaks rules. I should know; I was one of them. So, I'll go on lurking around his room, his school, or wherever he likes to hang out, with my spy glasses... because I'm a mom.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Coming out with Aspergers: Telling his friends
Will came to me one day that he told a few of his friends about being an Aspergian. He's fifteen, and he's old enough to understand his own condition. But he hit the wall when his friends couldn't understand the full depth of Asperger. So, he wanted to know how he can put in a easy to understand way. I was speechless.
First, I didn't know how to explain it without going into too much detail. Second, I know what the word "Autism" at any spectrum comes with negative perception. And frankly, I never thought about telling his friends about his condition. I was just glad he had any. It never occurred to me that he would want to explain it to anyone.
"Will, tell them this. You have a very high IQ, and you do well academically than most kids your age. The only downside of your genius is that you lag behind socially," she added. "Basically, you're smart enough to go to college, but you think like a middle school kid, okay?"
Well, we all smiled and left it at that. With all the mishaps in school, I was pleasantly surprised by most of his friends' reaction and their acceptance. One of his friends actually keep a tab on Will for me which is quite funny. It's so nice that kids are able to be more accepting than grownups. Later that week, some of his friends went to the counselor's office to get more information on Will's condition, so they could have a better understanding and relationship with him. It turned out to be a good day. Only if I could have more of these days!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
"Siblinghood" from Family Network TV
"Siblinghood" was one of the many programs featured on the Family Network TV(FNTV) website. Family Network TV is a Web TV bringing the special needs community together with resources for their needs.
In this segment, we meet the hosts Alex, Maggie,Evan, and Nick, all who have siblings with different special needs. They do a wonderful job interviewing Kelly, who has a disabled sibling, about her feelings.Kelly answered many questions that lingered in the minds of all parents who have children with special needs. She is very frank about how her brother influenced her decision to work with kids with special needs. She also wants to finish her studies to become a Special Education Teacher in the future.
I found her honesty very endearing because we all have dealt with awkward moments that comes with having someone disabled in the family as she does. She also touched on the subject of being/feeling left out by the family because so much energy that was focused on her brother. In her case, it brought her family closer together as she learned about patience and acceptance.
As a mother of three with the oldest one being Aspergan, I do wonder about how the two young ones will handle their brother's condition. Will they be as accepting or will they feel resentment? Those are questions that lurks in my mind as I brace for the day they're old enough to understand. Over all, I really enjoyed watching this episode and will watch the show regularly. There's still so much to learn, and I'm grateful for everything that is offered online.
http://www.familynetworktv.com/channel/siblinghood/
http://twitter.com/#!/FamilyNetworkTV
In this segment, we meet the hosts Alex, Maggie,Evan, and Nick, all who have siblings with different special needs. They do a wonderful job interviewing Kelly, who has a disabled sibling, about her feelings.Kelly answered many questions that lingered in the minds of all parents who have children with special needs. She is very frank about how her brother influenced her decision to work with kids with special needs. She also wants to finish her studies to become a Special Education Teacher in the future.
I found her honesty very endearing because we all have dealt with awkward moments that comes with having someone disabled in the family as she does. She also touched on the subject of being/feeling left out by the family because so much energy that was focused on her brother. In her case, it brought her family closer together as she learned about patience and acceptance.
As a mother of three with the oldest one being Aspergan, I do wonder about how the two young ones will handle their brother's condition. Will they be as accepting or will they feel resentment? Those are questions that lurks in my mind as I brace for the day they're old enough to understand. Over all, I really enjoyed watching this episode and will watch the show regularly. There's still so much to learn, and I'm grateful for everything that is offered online.
http://www.familynetworktv.com/channel/siblinghood/
http://twitter.com/#!/FamilyNetworkTV
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)