Does anyone have any ideas on calming a 7 year old with autism and adhd?
139978
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.
961559
3 year old boy- try getting him one of those "sit-n-spins!" Little kids love them, and it would calm him down a little!\n\n8 year old girl- try getting her a cook-book for little kids! She could help out in the kitchen and make easy things. \n\nGood luck! =)
115137
Take him to the doctor, have his hearing checked, if he is making grunting noises and such, there may be something that is blocking his hearing like water in the ear canal and or his vocal ability, Best to learn now and get him help, speaking and hearing adds so much to being able to comprehend the world around you.\n\nYou may want to consider the possibility of autism.  Children with autism often lose their words they previously had such as baba, mama, dada, and etc. around age 2 to 3. \nPut up phrases and words all around your house on flashcards, read them with him, see if he'll try to mimick what you are reading, or try to sound out the words with you.\n\nGood Luck
445948
be very patient and loving. my little sister has ADD, not quite the same thing but...love and understanding works well. try not to get upset when they just don't get it, be ready to repeat yourself.
650663
My son has ADHD, in the worst way. It is very very hard. Especially when he has a schedule to follow. Most tasks are very hard for him to complete because he is so easily distracted. He is 7 and is on medication, and even that isn't 100% effective. You take a deep breath, and tell yourself they are not doing IT to irritate YOU, they just can't help it. \n\nGood luck, let me know how it goes.
193343
I am having the same exact problem with my 5yr old son.  I can't get him to pay attention and he doesn't even try to focus sometimes at all.  It's EXTREMELY frustrating because I don't want him to get left back.  He's only in kindergarten, for goodness sakes.  \n\nAnyway - sorry about the venting - the only advice that I can give is that if you are really worried about it you can always ask the school board to have him evaluated for any problems.  I'm having my CSE meeting tomorrow and it looks like they are going to give my son services - speech therapy, occupational therapy - you get the idea.\n\nHope this helps.
899408
I have a 10 yr old autistic son.  Although I haven't had a lot of trouble getting him to sleep at night there have been some times.  If your niece(?) does not sleep at night does she sleep during the day?  Try to get her switched around.  Look at what maybe stimulating her and keeping her from calming down.  Try different calming activities.  Does she look at books, listen to music, like to have her back rubbed?  Turn the lights low.  \n\nYou may need to find an autism specialist in your area for more help.  \n\nHang in there.  \nDoes your nieces family get any help services, like respite care? They may want to go to their county human services and check on this. It would give them a break and they would know she is being well cared for.
501999
I would first suggest speaking with the special education teachers at your child's school or other knowledgeable professionals who know your child and his needs. \n\nBased on the information that you have shared, I think that the best intervention for him now would be speech therapy. \n\nAs for the finger biting, you might try teaching him an alternative behavior to use when frustrated. Each child will be unique in what helps him or her, but you could try giving him something to fiddle with his hands, such as a small stretchy toy or a "stress ball" to squeeze. I would try a variety of things until you find what works for him. \n\nJust because a child has a label of autism does not necassarily mean that he or she needs intense early intervention. Each child is unique and has different needs. Many persons with high-functioning autism go through school in regular classes with little extra support. \n\nHere are some extra resources that may help.\n\nBooks: \n\nJerry Newport, "Your Life is Not a Label: A Guide to Living Fully with Autism and Asperger's Syndrome"\n\nPaul Collins, "Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism"\n\nPaula Kluth, "You're Going to Love This Kid!: Teaching Students With Autism in the Inclusive Classroom"\n\nWebsites: \n\nTeaching Tips for Children and Adults with Autism by Temple Grandin, Ph.D - http://www.autism.org/temple/tips.html\n\nWebsite of Paula Kluth, Ph.D. - http://www.paulakluth.com/autism.html\n\nAutism Society of America - http://www.autism-society.org/ \n\n"Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew" by Ellen Notbohm" - http://www.southflorida.com/sfparenting/sfe-sfp-autism,0,6196233.story\n\n"Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me. I may not be good at eye contact or conversation, but have you noticed I don't lie, cheat at games, tattle on my classmates, or pass judgment on other people? ... I probably won't be the next Michael Jordan, but with my attention to fine detail and capacity for extraordinary focus, I might be the next Einstein. Or Mozart. Or Van Gogh. They had autism too." - Ellen Notbohm
1112062
This is very challenging, indeed!   Time to bring on your "big guns" of creativity...\n\nAct, but do not REACT.\n\nThe first thing that really stands out to me, is that he is really frustrated and feels unable to communicate effectively...and this is where you can really be the hero for him: to show him by your example how far you will go to continue communicating lovingly when you are frustrated.  I know it's tough, and he really needs you to be "bigger" in heart & wisdom than he is.\n\nI imagine that trying to verbally communicate with your son when he is angry and frustrated is nearly impossible.  But I do think that when he is calm, you and he can sit down together to problem solve this together and make a simple plan.  You might be surpised how distressing this anger stuff is to him, as well as be ignited by his brilliance of the ideas that you he would come up with.  But you already know that...;-] Either way, these conversations, however brief the interaction, will lay the groundwork -- on their own -- for the very ideas that he needs to draw from when he's so irrate. \n\n  Remember that often boys' verbal skills develop much slower than girls, biologicaly speaking.  (Do you remember this when you were his age?) My son couldn't speak understandably until he was 5; now an adult, he's an excellent & sensitive communicator.  \n\nSecondly, be very careful about falling into the trap of diagnosis and labels...They're rather like "pin the tail on the donkey", with lots of misses in the dark! While your main intention is to be a responsible and wise, loving dad, who doesn't miss anything crucial, I sense this could easily backfire on you, especially when you are asking him about symptoms of psychosis.  (Beware of projections -- not helpful.) .  Too much information for a 4 year old child who's already stressed.   Toss out the spanking right along with that, because that's really stressing him.  He wonders why you get to hit, and he doesn't. \n\nI never met a child who didn't respond to love, especially from his Big Buddy!\n\nOn the other hand, it is not loving to allow him to hurt you or anyone else.  Thrashing his own room, however, might be another matter...it's his stuff.  The basic element of developing his agression (competition, motivation, hutszpah! but not meanness) is normal, and You can be a responsible loving parent by not repessing his natural (vital, life force) agression and guiding or directing him in how to express his frustrations, safely.  I would clear his room of anything dangerous or hard, limit him to that kind of upset in his own room -- not agression towards anyone -- but allowing him a safe place and manner to vent his feelings until he is ready to rejoin the family.  He's not in his room for punishment, just for safety, just like you guys talked about it.\n\nNonetheless, I can well imagine this does not happen only at home, so you'll need to come up with a similar plan at Grandma's and the grocery store, etc. Remember the key here is not to stop but to guide him.  How do I know he's not the "Child from Hell"?  Because as soon as he calms down (on his own) he WANTS to return to a connected, loving state. And just like anything else thus far, he is looking to you for an answer to something that as yet seems just too big for himself to deal with.  \n\nUltimately, you both will not need him to rip up his room, because together, you will teach each other how to breathe, calm down in the moment, and communicate. You will be mastering this yourself, and teaching him this at every stage of his development.\n\nRight now, this is a stage (tough as it may be), which he will grow out of with your patient and brave guidance...and of course, Love.\n\nLove and Light to you all!\n\nP.S.> IF a diagnosis alone must be considered, I would first look at Asperger's or some other form of Autism, which tends to be
406087
Oh, No, NO, NO!!! Do NOT take his string away!!!  Do NOT try to break his habits, until you have gotten training in how to do it without making him withdraw any further from the world!\n\nAutism is a very tricky problem. He is responding to the world the way he really does see it. How would you like it if, every time you did anything, you were not allowed to do it?  No, you can't scratch your itches, no matter how much they hurt... No, you can't look at anything pretty or interesting? No, you can't do anything you enjoy doing?\n\nYou may not understand what he sees in that string, or what he feels that cause him to have his other behaviors.\n\nThere are special programs designed, through research and through the comments and suggestions of those intelligent autistics, now adults, who are able to communicate effectively, to help your son learn new ways of seeing his world, and learn new behaviors.\n\nHow old is he? If he is under the age of 22, he (and you) should be receiving specialized Autism programming through the public schools, with home training services linked through the school social worker.  If he is under the age of 3, you are eligible for service support in your home (Individualized Family Service Program). If he is age 3 or 4, he should be in a specialized preschool program. If he is ages 5 through 21, he should be getting specialized programming through the nearest public school.\n\nSee these links:\n\nhttp://www.autismweb.com/\nhttp://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/autism.html\nhttp://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer\nhttp://wwww.spedusource.org/
1079924
I answered your other question, \ni would like to say to you that if your son is showing any symptoms of Aspergers Syndrome {however mild or severe} please persist with the fight to get this diagnosis {he is under a paediatrician?}\nAny level of an ASD can be extremely difficult to diagnose and entails a lot of assessments at home/ school and any other regular places he attends.\nTry and make a note of unusual / inappropriate things he might say and things he is sensitive to or that over stimulate him ie; my son can`t cope with people talking in a different voice than their own, bright walls make him hyper and he has no concept of another persons personal space.\nHe has no concept of fear or danger and does not feel pain like a person without ASD does.\nCertain things do become quite obsessive { the latest being climbing on shed roof tops} and he is only 4 and a half !\nI wish you all the best of luck as parenting a child with ADHD and ASD will probably be the most challenging and exhausting experience of your lives.
679291
There are several excellent programs designed specifically to help autistic students (and their families) cope with thier differences. Here are some links:\n\nhttp://www.teacch.com/\nhttp://www.autism-resources.com/papers/TEACCHN.htm\nhttp://www.spedusource.org/AutisticSpectrumDisorders.html
141200
North Carolina has a good program called TEACCH\nwww.teacch.com\nYou could also check out these sites\nwww.autismwebsite.com/ari/index.htm\nwww.autism-society.org\nwhat works good for one kid may not work at all with the next. try different things till you find the one that  you see is doing the best for the child.
617359
my oldest daughter was diagnosed with a.d.d She was diagnosed in third grade and was on meds (ritalin) for many years. It took a few dr.s to diagnose her. she din't have the hyper activity. I hated putting her on drugs! We felt that we had not other options. And we still had some proplems with her. It's important that parents check very carefully with ther dr.to make sure that is what it is. I trusted my dr. that is what it was. But as the years when by I didn't help a lot. but make her tired. My daughter is 22yrs now and a few years ago we found out that it just could have been deppression. Parents now use a.d.h.d. alot more than it was years ago.  Don't put your kids on drugs unless it is a last resort. drugs aren't the answer to make your life easier raising kids. There are other methods now, try and use them first.
1155934
Definitely get him to a specialist!!  Usually autistic children obsess on certain things.  My son's obsessions include dust and anything with a Pillsbury label (cookie dough, biscuits, pie crust, etc).  Also, you will see traits that include wanting to be alone, not comfortable in a crowd (low social skills), and usually some communication/speech impediments.  But you will also see areas of strong interest.  My son has memorized books, videos, multiplication tables, and is especially strong in math.  My son was diagnosed at age 5, but only after seeing many, many doctors who "didn't know".
809199
I have an autistic child in my daycare and have found this website to be a great resource for items within the daycare for children with disabilities:\n\nBe sure to check out their products, you may be surprised at how many you arleady have around or can easily make yourself for much less.\n\nhttp://www.superduperinc.com/
485878
PLEASE I AM BEGGING U DO NOT GO STRAIGHT TO THE DOCTOR LIKE THAT LAST ANSWER SUGGESTED AND PUMP UR DAUGHTER FULL OF MEDS BECAUSE THAT MAY NOT BE THE ANSWER AND GIVING HER MEDS THAT SHE DOESN'T NEED CAN MAKE HER WORSE\nLETS FACE IT SHE IS 8 YEARS OLD. SHE WONT CONCENTRATE AS MUCH AS U WANT HER TO IN SCHOOL MOM, AFTER ALL SHE IS STILL A KID. I HAVE AN 8 YR OLD LIL BOY AND HIS TEACHER AND I HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER TO GET HIM TO PAY ATTENTION, HE LIKES TO TALK IN CLASS AND GOOF OFF SOMETIMES, THE TEACHER AND I FELT IT BEST TO MOVE HIS DESK AWAY FROM HIS DISTRACTIONS UNTIL HE EARNS THE RIGHT TO BE BACK IN HIS NORMAL SPOT PLUS AT HOME I TALK TO HIM EVERY DAY ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS FOR HIM TO PAY ATTENTION AND TO DO HIS BEST IN SCHOOL I ALWAYS TRY TO WORK OUT AN AWARD SYSTEM IF HE BRINGS HOME A GOOD NOTE FROM HIS TEACHER AND SAY 4 OUT OF 5 DAYS HE HAS GOOD NOTES THAN I GIVE HIM AN AWARD LIKE GOING TO THE PARK A SMALL TOY FROM WAL-MART. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO MONETARY BUT SOMETHING THAT SHE WILL APPRECIATE AND CHOOSES TO DO WITH IN REASON