My son is 10 and has autism (not severe).
212529
Here are some books that might help:\nAutism Spectrum Disorders: The Complete Guide by \nChantal Sicile-Kira, Temple Grandin\n\nAlso, a look at applied behavioural analysis, one of the most commonly used and reliable treatments is seen in the book\n\nApplied Behaviour Analysis and Autism: Building a Future Together ~ by Mickey Keenan (Editor), et al\n \nthere are many good Yahoo groups for people with your questions:\nhttp://groups.yahoo.com/search?query=autism&submit=Search\n\nYes, your child can have a normal adult life, with a whole lot of support from his family and friends.  The specifics of a driver's license depends entirely on his individual ability.  My non-autistic friend didn't get one until she was 30 years old, out of fear.  My autistic brother got one when he was 21, which is how long it took him to learn the skills he needed.
42977
I have a group on Yahoo! called Aspies Are Us. You are more than willing to join. We are a bunch of Aspies/Auties-higher-functioning folks--as long as it doesn't offend you. ;-)\n\nGood luck!\n\nMichelle\n\nPs... My group has lots of resources--and you can ask us ANY questions about your son. Take care! God Bless you & your son!
255176
You shouldn't worry about him if he seems normal in every other way and it sounds like he is.  My son is the same way, very bright nonstop talker at home and around family but hardly says hello to others.  I figure that he is just comfortable around people he doesn't know as well.  I just give him time and allow him to see how I interact with others and his is beginning to catch on.
207143
Check with national autism parent support sites like\n\nhttp://www.autism-society.org\n\nor\n\nhttp://www.php.com/\n\nGood luck!
23277
From what you are describing I'm not so sure this is something that you can 'cure'.  What you may be able to do is find ways to help your son with gaining social skills and improving sensory tolerances.  Your son may benefit from behavioral or cognitive therapy targeting social skill development and understanding.  He may need help with learning ways of coping with an overload of sensory input.  He may not be able to provide his own structure but may need to have his environment and routines structured for him.  \n\nA good place to start is by writing down a list or description of symptoms/behaviors/concerns that you feel need to be addressed.  Take a copy of this list to the school ask his teacher if any of these apply to your son in the school environment.  If they do then you can seek a school evaluation to find out what supports may be beneficial to your son in school.  School is not just about academics.  It is also supposed to be about learning how to get along in the world and being able to go on to college, tech school and work.  If you can't socialize or provide self structure then this is a problem.  Your pediatrician is also a good resource for directing you to additional sources of evaluation of his current needs and performance levels.  Once those are fully discerned then you can more appropriately target means of addressing his difficulties.
355029
my nephew has autism I thank you for your efforts on his behalf.\nit took 5 years for him to verbally acknowledge me it was on Christmas morning when I walked in to my sisters house he saw me and ran up hugged me and called me uncle mark for the first time. best gift I ever got..\nin answer to your question contact your local foundation for the retarded or salvation army they should be able to best direct you
250068
First of all, ignore the post above. Chelation and oxygenation are for recent damage, usually caused by direct physical injury, and has only minor impact on recent biochemical injury... and note the word "recent." It has NOT been shown effective on Autism, and might do your son more harm than good. Even if it did help older injuries, the poster assumes your son's Autism was triggered by immunization. One cannot just assume that... While the incidence of Autism increased because those with the predisposition to have it were more frequently triggered by the mercury in the immunizations, Autism has been around since the beginning of time.\n\nIt is very difficult to ensure specialized care for any major disorder in rural areas. You may need to visit urban areas regularly in order to find the best care, especially medical, for your son.  I would like to suggest the following to help you get started. It is also important, once you get there, to find other parents dealing with Autism in their children, and learn from those already there.\n\nhttp://www.bbbautism.com/canada_contents.htm\nhttp://www.tvcc.on.ca/gateway.php?id=65&cid=4\nhttp://www.autismsociety.on.ca/\nhttp://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/15/autism_lawsuit041115.html\nhttp://www.children.gov.on.ca/CS/en/newsRoom/newsReleases/050404.htm
56480
First of all, I think it is a great thing that he is currently being evaluated. Sounds like Aspergers is a possibility...in my opinion...but could be several other disorders.\nTo address his needs now...try to give him something to do with his hands (holding something, etc). Explaing 'personal space' by describing a 'bubble' that is around people. He may not enter someone elses bubble without their permission...but explain what he can do...shake hands, wave, hi-five. Try to remain positive and give lots of good feedback when he soes something desired...rather than lots of negative when he does something wrong. But, in order to do that you need to explain the 'rules' of what is appropriate more than once. You can even try coming up with a behavior modification system, (for example, stickers for each 10 minute period with positive behavior). I wish I could help more, but with a limited knowledge of the situation, this is the best I can do.\nOnce he is evaluated you will have the benefit of a team to work directly with him and possibly you to help him integrate into the classroom.\nGood Luck
307175
My daughter has an autistic brother. The numbers of how many people are autistic has changed quite a bit since his diagnosis. It used to be estimated at 1 in every 500 then it went to 1 in 250 then 1 in 166. I think it will end up that actually the numbers are more like 1 in 10. You are not alone and it IS okay to be an advocate for your sibling. When your parents are gone, you may be the one entrusted with his/her care. I'm preparing my daughter for that and she is getting ready for the eventuality of it.
623153
it doesn't matter if you have autism or not.  sometimes i tell my husband that "nothing" is wrong when there really is something wrong. i will finally "spill the beans" when I get ready to.  until then, he just takes my word for it, that i am ok, until i get ready to talk.
55394
Here are some ideas from a parent of 2 children with autism and adhd. As for your child acting out in public,children with Adhd and Autism often have very, very short attention spans and prone to having sensory overload. When going out in public does he have something like a blanket that he can take along as a comfort measure? You might want to try  taking activities along for him to do (drawing, books,etc..) Avoid legos, they drive kids with autism and adhd up a wall!\nYour child may very well need medication. Ask you doctor about a cocktail of drugs. My son takes Luvox and Risperdal everyday. We can tell when he misses a dose! He get more aggressive, acts out, is hard to redirect.\nMay I suggest that the parents get on some sort of anti-depression medication. Having a special needs child can be VERY harrowing!!!\nIf you need any more help don't hesitate to ask. We can arrange a way to chat.
8237
At such a young age it is not the norm to isolate from all people, including family. It could be a form of attachment disorder, and it could be the blossoming of other disorders. A child that exibits such behaviors needs to be assessed for many things. A good child psychiatrist and therapist can test for autism spectrum disorders, but if the child has good verbal skills, that is unlikely. They can also be assessed for attachement disorders, and other types of disorders. Find a good children's center or hospital in your area.
593381
21 months is still a young age, what does ur family doc. say? There is a form of autism and its not as like full blown as autism...its called aspergers syndrome... my family doc told my friend she thinks her son has it and its difficult to diagnose and he's 5. He does some of the same things...plays by himself and he never looks any of us in the eye even the adults.\nGood luck i hope he's fine.
78477
What you are going through is normal I know its not easy there are several therapeutic residential schools that take teens on the autistic spectrum. They have classes therapy doctors the works some of them have financing and some have scholarships based on need. Also sometimes the school will pay for part of it if you can prove he needs to be in a different setting.\n\nIf this is not an option for you you might look into community based sevices thru your local mental health center they can provide you with in home one on one help with your son they may also have respite care that would allow you a much needed well deserved break.\n\nPlease dont feel hopeless! there are things out there that can help you both its just a matter of finding it for you.\n\nSince I dont know where you live or where on the spectrum your son is I can only suggest you use a search engine for "residential schools autism" "theraputic school autism and then select from there also yahoo education has a lot of good links\n\nGood Luck and feel free to contact me if I can help
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http://www.autismtoilettraining.com \nI have not looked at the site myself, but it came up on an ad for something else I was looking at, hopefully it will help! I had my autistic son completely out of diapers by the time he was 27 months old, but your situation is more normal with autism. It just happened that Tim was oversensitive to sensory input, so he HATED wearing wet underwear. I don't know how much of this will apply to you, but I'll tell you what I did anyway. Everyone on here that said to be really consistent with a reward system is right on target, that's about the only way to get through an autistic brain, and the sillier you are, the better! Find a treat that he really likes and by a bag, and only use it for potty training, no other time. Skittles was what we used. He got three skittles for sitting on the toilet and I spaced them out so that he was sitting for about five minutes. NO pullups or diapers during the day at home, only underwear, and I ran water in the sink while he was sitting. If he actually did something, he got another skittle, and we made a huge deal out of it! Then, he got one sticker put on a chart for sitting and one for going. If he doesn't go,then he still gets SOMETHING just for cooperating with you. I took him as soon as he woke up and every hour after that, and I asked him all through the day if he had to go. That's all you can really do, unless the link I sent you to has other ideas. Hope this helps! I do my own therapy with him, he's never seen a professional, and he is doing WONDERFULLY. I will be homeschooling him, and we're officially starting pre-school next month. We spent last year just working out behavior problems so that we could focus on academics this year. Contact me if you just need to vent!
572379
Each child is different and will have different needs, but I would recommend trying several things. \n\nFirst, you might consider looking into why he is engaging in the behaviors you mentioned. Make clear and objective descriptions of the behaviors that are concerning you. Then, make some notes whenever the behavior occurs. You could make a chart with three columns: (A) What happens before the behavior, (B) What the behavior was, and (C) What happened after or as a result of the behavior. \n\nYou may find that it gets him attention from adults, or that it gets him a time-out (maybe he is overwhelmed in the situation and wants to be removed). If you see a pattern from the information you collect, you could teach him other ways to get attention or whatever he is gaining from doing these behaviors. These could include, tapping someone on the shoulder, asking for attention, handing someone a card that says, "attention please" or "all done" (to get permission to leave an area), etc. Also, make sure that you are giving him praise or a reinforcer (something he likes) when he is engaging in positive behavior. \n\nTo find out more about this technique, I would suggest speaking to your school district's autism specialist, if they have one, or special education teachers (if your son is in school). It is called "functional analysis." This is an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) technique. You may want to seek the advice of an ABA professional that can get to know your son and his needs. However, I would give one word of caution about this. Make sure that your ABA person also has a background in special education and child development, because many don't. This is very important.\n\nBest of luck and I hope this helps you!
209669
Thanks for the information, I saved the link and will read thought it later. I have a 5 year old nephew who has been diagnosed as autistic, he also has vision problems. I have had my doubts about the diagnosis from the beginning, hope your paper helps bring some light to the situation. \nThanks.