There are many emotions and thoughts spinning around in my head as the first day of school for my firstborn nears! It seems such a momentous step for Ethan, he is certainly growing up. I am not sure that he is ready, in many ways he is not. He is still not toilet trained despite my best efforts over the past few months. Eli picked up the skill in about a week, but for Ethan it is very difficult. I am a paediatric O.T., if anyone has skills to toilet train a child with autism it should be me.
His speech is somewhat unclear and difficult to understand for those unfamiliar with him and his oral idiosyncracies. Ethan has made remarkable gains in speech since he had grommets inserted in October 2009, but he is still so very far behind his peers. I fear the other children will not be able to understand him and that he will be too unresponsive, and that they will give up on trying to communicate with him.
He has motor delays and a lot of kinder skills are a great challenge for him.
BUT he is interested in other children, he is readily attempting to communicate verbally and nonverbally, and his attention is much more sustained thanks largely to Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) therapy he has had over the past 6 months. He enjoys structure and routine and I think he likes a challenge, and enjoys learning. He loves to sing and listen to stories in a group format. He might be ok!
I think he is ready for the structure and increased demand of a school environment. My hope is that increased exposure to his peers and their language and social skills will assist his development in these core areas. If he continues to have fine and gross motor difficulties life will be harder for him, but if he can develop good social skills and communication, his future will be so much brighter!
I have written a social story entitled "Ethan is going to big school" which he loves. He seems to be anticipating starting school - most mornings he has a tantrum when he asks "I go big school today?" and I say "no big school today". He is looking forward to it, whatever his concept of school is. We are as prepared as I know how, at least in terms of what I can control. Uniform, backpack, cushion for rest time, lunch box, drink bottle, social story... I guess in another week and a half we will see how prepared Ethan really is!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Inagural Post
I've decided to join the blogger fad. In part it will be a welcome creative outlet - prior to having children 5 years ago, journal writing was a solace for me. It seems to have slipped, along with other creative pursuits I would follow - surfing, painting, playing my harp...
The more important impetus to blog is about working through my feelings and experiences in having Ethan, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder about 2 years ago.
My blog is titled "An Insider's Perspective" because it harks back to my honours thesis, similarly titled, that I completed in 2000. My research was an exploration of attitudes surrounding disability - and my findings were basically that a person's position with regard to disability seemed to strongly determine their attitudes about disability. It probably sounds an obvious conclusion, but it was still interesting: that people who have a personal experience with disability or have a family member with a disability, have a more positive attitude about disability and people with disabilities.
Little did I know that 8 years later I would find myself with an insider's perspective on autism. I studied Occupational Therapy and have spent majority of my career since graduating in 2000 working in the area of paediatrics. My last position before I went on maternity leave to give birth to Ethan, was in a team providing diagnostic and intervention services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. At the time one of my deepest fears was having a child with Autism. It seemed to me to be the worst thing that could happen - to lose your child to a disorder that impacted so heavily on your relationship with your child.
Well, my insider's perspective of having Ethan has changed my attitude about Autism. I have realised that Autism is not limiting - the diagnosis helps me and others to understand Ethan and to know the best ways to assist him to learn and communicate, but it does not define him. He has such happiness, affection, joy and ability to communicate. Our pre-conceived idea of Autism is so very narrow, that we tend to overlook the many positives our children have.
The more important impetus to blog is about working through my feelings and experiences in having Ethan, who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder about 2 years ago.
My blog is titled "An Insider's Perspective" because it harks back to my honours thesis, similarly titled, that I completed in 2000. My research was an exploration of attitudes surrounding disability - and my findings were basically that a person's position with regard to disability seemed to strongly determine their attitudes about disability. It probably sounds an obvious conclusion, but it was still interesting: that people who have a personal experience with disability or have a family member with a disability, have a more positive attitude about disability and people with disabilities.
Little did I know that 8 years later I would find myself with an insider's perspective on autism. I studied Occupational Therapy and have spent majority of my career since graduating in 2000 working in the area of paediatrics. My last position before I went on maternity leave to give birth to Ethan, was in a team providing diagnostic and intervention services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. At the time one of my deepest fears was having a child with Autism. It seemed to me to be the worst thing that could happen - to lose your child to a disorder that impacted so heavily on your relationship with your child.
Well, my insider's perspective of having Ethan has changed my attitude about Autism. I have realised that Autism is not limiting - the diagnosis helps me and others to understand Ethan and to know the best ways to assist him to learn and communicate, but it does not define him. He has such happiness, affection, joy and ability to communicate. Our pre-conceived idea of Autism is so very narrow, that we tend to overlook the many positives our children have.
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