Help New to everything - Autism Spectrum Message Board

nanb · 05-23-2006, 09:48 AM

I just found this board because I needed info on Autism.We were just told my grandaughter has a new type of autisum its between autisum and aspergers. They dont know much about it yet so I cant even look it up. They will give her meds for Autism. but she is not on anything yet. She is 7 yrs old. Right now her biggest fear is the Wind and loud noises. When she started kindergarden I was afraid the bell would be a problem but it wasn"t she is now in 1 st grade and has an aid to help her she is a B student and the size of a 3rd or 4th grader. We thought for sure she would be held back this year but with the aid helping her to get her work done with out drawing pictures on the answers.
I really need to know how to know the right way to correct her for behavior.
Bath time is the worse her mom has to physically drag her to the tub then screaming her way through the hair washing. She had to call me last night and it hurt to here the screaming going on. My daughter said this goes on all most every night.
Now thinking back to when she was 2 she had done the same thing but we didnt think much about itbecause it did stop. Now is back. Is it ok to let this crying to go on or will it set her back in some other way. Because right now we dont know how to deal with it.
Really we dont know how to deal with anything. Time outs are not working for behavior.

elmhar · 05-23-2006, 11:31 AM

Hi Nan,

Quote:

We were just told my grandaughter has a new type of autisum its between autisum and aspergers. They dont know much about it yet so I cant even look it up.

It's hard to shoot in the dark & hit the mark.

If you want to help your DGD (dear grandaughter), you need more specific information. The parents have a legal right to printed copies of the reports of whatever testing/assessment was done. A diagnosis will be specified on the report.

Does your DGD have PDD-NOS? In PDD there are social & emotional issues similar to autism, but language development is OK, unlike classical autism.

Does your DGD have sensory issues? It sounds like her hearing may be acutely & painfully sensitive. It's possible that sensory issues may be triggering her problems w/bathing.

There are so many, many different ways to help kids who are "on the autism spectrum." BUT, it's best to have more info about what you are dealing with. Behavioral problems are dealt with much differently from sensory integration disorders and panic disorders. Much of the time, we are working to slowly teach the child, rather than to abruptly correct the behavior (which usually doesn't work anyway).

Quote:

They will give her meds for Autism.

Sorry, the FDA has not approved any such drugs, as far as I know. There are only drugs for symptoms: for anxiety, for attention problems, for violent/psychotic behavior. The majority of prescriptions written for autistic children are strictly "off-label." Meaning, the drugs were not developed for use in autism, are not recommended for use in autism, and were never tested on autistics. Many of these drugs are "off-label" on a second count, in that they were never developed or tested on children at all, they were designed for adults. Off-label prescribing is a very lucrative venture for psychiatrists.

When you get more specific information, you will be in a good position to invest time in further reading & research.

Best wishes.

Tina81980 · 05-23-2006, 11:38 AM

Hello..I wanted to write you and let you know that you are not alone! It can be heartbreaking to get this diagnosis. My 5 yr. old son got the Aspergers Diagnosis this past Nov. We immediatly started Behavioral Therapy. This basically is where we learned the behaviors that are Autistic, & the ones that are just Typical kid and how to deal with them. This also worked on behavior modification. He went from being a wild, bossy, Deifiant, always on the go little boy, to a calmer, content little boy. Now we still have our issues with him being impulsive, somewhat bossy, and aggressive but he has made alot of improvements. We also started Occupational Therapy for Sensory integration issues. This sounds like something that is a issue with your granddaughter. My son would have bad reactions to things like bright blinking lights, (Christmas Trees were a real issue here) loud sounds, textures like jeans, smells, and like your GD hair brushing and washing. He tells me each of these things hurt him. Occupational Therapy for Sensory Integration helps with these. So these are some things you may want to look into. With alot of work things can get better. I am still pretty new to this as well, but if you ever need something answered or just need to vent, I am here, as well as the others.
Tina

nanb · 05-24-2006, 06:33 AM

Thanks for the replies I think I better let my daughter see this board she can provide the right info. I have MS and tend to get things mixed up. I guess I just needed someone to talk about it.

sross24 · 05-24-2006, 08:20 AM

nanB,

I find it interesting that you have MS. We had a discussion last month about MS. There seems to be a high incidence of MS in family members of children with autism. Two of my children have autism, and my mother has MS. I will see if I can find the previous thread to bump up for you to look at.

My daughter is 6 and has PDD-NOS. It sounds like that is what your grandchild has. My daughter also has had many difficulties with bath time. With her, she needs lots of preperation (knowing what is going to happen), and (when it is going to happen). Also, we bought her goggles for the bath tub, so water will not get in her eyes. And we got a special sprayer that detaches from the shower so we could have more control when getting the soap out of her hair. Hopefully some of these suggestions might help. Good luck, and keep us posted.

-Steph