question about children carrying over what they do at therapy - Autism Spectrum Message Board

tinymom05 · 01-11-2008, 05:42 PM

I have a question, because one of my children do different things at home then they do at therapy and they have autism but seems High functioning. My child has behavioral problems too so not sure this is what may contribute to it as well.

my child will gag at certain textures for the in-home therapist when my child goes to therapy at a place outside the home he doesnt gag at textures etc. He laces things and beads strings etc etc and eats with utensils. At home if we ask him to lace he dangles it in front of his face we try a different activity he always says "no" to us and wont. He would rather stim for some reason. Mealtime is a battle he wont try his food and if he does it's very little and WONT eat with utensils. If you try to help him he says "no" and will hold the food on utensil by his mouth but wont move the utensil to his mouth.

He rarely un-zips, zips his coat at home but finally is starting to thank goodness. He will see the therapist if i am taking my daughter to school he un-zips without prompt, but at home he needs to be reminded and sometimes if he's upset with us will hold onto the zipper walking around not un-zipping. We can't correct him cause if we do we end up on his "bad side" and he won't comply with us until possibly the next morning with anything.

My question is how many children don't carry over what they are capable of doing at therapy, and when behaviors get in the way how do you get through that. We have just about tried it all he likes time-outs actually acts them out and puts himself in time out like its a game. Or doesnt understand time-outs so we don't do that anymore, we try ignoring and we never win. Anyways his therapists think he is doing so great and i am happy for him but how do i get him to do some of this at home? Any in-home therapists come in and he gives them the same business and won't comply gags at textures won't eat much foods or if he does we just can't predict him.

cazajacks · 01-18-2008, 03:20 PM

Not sure if this helps, but i have a 14 yr old child with autistic spectrum disorder. At home she really plays up and always has done since a small age. but if we are out she does as she is told etc, things she cant do at home, lots of times she can do at the therapy session or hospital, and it makes me look like and idiot. The only thing i have worked out is that at the end of the day when there is something she really does not like doing or touching etc, she is so comfortable in her own her and surroundings, she will just refuse to do it. At the hospital/therapists she is in a different place/surroundings, with different people present and she is not comfortable so will do as she asked so as not to show herselp up, so she wont get told off and she can get home quicker. At home there are many things she cant do, many materials she cant touch and many smells she cant cope with, perfume etc, but if we are at someone elses house she will just put up with it!!!!
So i know my childs problems are because she is so comfortable in her home that she feels she can act up about anything, and she does.

Cazajacks

tinymom05 · 02-01-2008, 08:15 PM

yes it makes me feel better i am glad my child can be themselves at home and feel comfortable it should be that way and it is. My other child though on spectrum does the same at therapy mostly that she does at home. Some things she will do for the therapists that she wont for me but it's rare.

Only thing is therapists coming in the home see sensory issues and out of the home the therapists arent as concerned thinking there is little sensory issue and i have no idea what to say when they tell me this. i tell them how he is at home but it's like it goes in one ear and out of the other. Only reason i am concerned is if he loses services cause of it, but not saying he will.

rebecca197334 · 02-02-2008, 03:29 PM

Your thread is my life. Only on the flip side. My son is 4, high functioning, but very sensitive and picky. he gets hung up a lot, and sometimes even studers, though his language is not good.
He does everything for me at home. My biggest concern is how he acts out and tantrums. I can't get him to cooperate if he doesn't want to. But in therapy, he just wonders around, like he doesn't know a therapist is there. And I get so upset because i know he can do this stuff. He is the lowest functioning in his ese class. For Christmas they sang songs. Kyle was in his own place, with his own music. They can't stimuate him, or maybe he's just too uncomfortable.
But the worst part is i can't get help with his discipline, because he acts like an angel at school. bats his eye and smiles at the teachers and goes about his day as if he was just floating past. I never could convince any of them he needed help. Then we hired a nany to come into the house most of the day. Well she the one that finally got him tested for Autism. She knew something was wrong. But my husband and I, this is all we know. We never had a clue it could be autism. All because his behaviors very so much.

cazajacks · 02-18-2008, 05:14 PM

My child is now 14, but she did just like you boy and was so well behaved at school they could not see any problem what so ever. I had to fight tooth and nail to get help. almost got myself labled as an attention seeking mother, but i carried on. Both in infant and junior school they said she was fine, but i saw a specialist in Autism in London, and she said the trouble may start once she starts senior school, and boy it did. The thing is here inthe uk infant and junior schools everything is set out for the kids, all lessons in one classroom, assembly time the same each day, dinner time they all line up, have dinner then are taken out to the playground etc etc. Once they start senior school they practically have to think and do everything for themselves, they have a different classroom for each lesson, are left to get their own dinner, left to wander at lunch time, and this is where it all went wrong for my child.
We had a nightmare, i had to pull her out of school and really fight all over again to get a special needs statement, it took 18 months in the end. And now she is an older child her strange behaviours are more obvious to people.
But she is at a special school now, it was fine to start with but i am having some big problems at the moment!!
As the child gets older i feel the autistic traits become more obvious, so eventually these teachers will realise there is something wrong. But it does take a long time.