Re: Hi... I'm new here

[Guest guest]

- welcome to the list. There are several families on this list from

Canada. The first year after diagnosis seems to be the hardest, just learn

as much as you can. We all worry for our kids to some degree. I think that

whether or not her siblings accept her for who she is depends largely on

whether the adults in her life accept her for who she is. I always try to

keep in mind that a successful life is a relative thing, successful by who's

standards. I am shooting for, happy, well-adjusted and safe from harm! Glad

you found the list! Deanna, mom of Bridget, 6 and Spectrum

[Guest guest]

Hi Tracey,

I am . I usually just lurk, but your story triggered memories of my

own struggle to get my daughter, Marilla, diagnosed. I kept hearing

ridiculous ideas about Downs Syndrome (she doesn't even remotely resemble

Downs) and deafness. I also heard, " Gee, I don't know. We have never seen

anything like this before! " it wasn't until we moved from Florida to Utah

that anybody was able to declare, with no fear of being wrong, that my

children were autistic, and why didn't I already know that!?

These memories sparked a 7 page letter, which I have now saved to my

" journal-entries " folder :-) , about the lack of a good system to inform

parents of autism and not leaving them to have to run around doing their own

research in order to understand what is meant by " Your child has autism. "

There was lots of information about my husband and his family's wrong-headed

ideas that diagnosing autism is akin to simply pasting a label on a child

and thereby providing them with an " excuse " to act badly. (They have since

come to understand that, label or no label, the kids were not going to be

" behaving " anytime soon.)

Anyway. I want to welcome you, even though you may never hear from me again

because I am a lurker. I have four children, a 14 year old daughter who is

probably at least a mild Aspergers, though we will probably never get her

tested; a 9 year old daughter with moderate to high functioning Autism; a 7,

almost 8, year old boy with Autism (still pretty non-verbal and

non-compliant); and a 2 year old daughter who appears to be a remarkable

example of " normal development " .

As for prognosis for a child with autism? I believe that all we can do is

provide the kids with as many opportunities as possible while they are young

and pliable and hope for the best. With Marilla I focused mostly on

Language Therapy. Sherman is getting that too, but as soon as we can afford

it I want to get him some Occupational therapy as he really benefits from

the intense physical contact. I think that most of the kids have got a

really good chance of being able to live independent lives if we can get

them talking and faking social behaviors. Of course, I have to think that,

otherwise I am wasting a lot of money on language therapy and will be

wasting more on other therapies as soon as I can! :-)

I also want to believe that it isn't ever too late for a child who wants to

learn. I don't want to believe that a child who isn't talking by age 12, for

example, will never learn to talk. I would rather think that that child just

hadn't found anything interesting enough to leave the fantasy inner world

she likes so much.

But, I am perfectly aware that I only know autism as far as it affects my

children and the few children I have come in contact with at schools. I have

heard stories of other kids, but those are just stories, you know what I

mean? Until I have the joy of working with kids more severe than my own I

am just not going to know.

Anyway, good luck and all that. I cannot comment on the Risperidol because

I know nothing about it. But it sounds like you have a lot of advocates in

your corner! And as for siblings..... we have a lot of fun in my house.

Fun that we would probably never have discovered if Marilla and Sherman

hadn't taught us the joys of repeating things incessantly! They are funny

kids and they are social enough to laugh and make silly jokes even without a

full use of the language. I know that my youngest really enjoys her big

brother and sister and has learned how to interact with them and when to

leave them alone. My oldest took a while, but she is really good with them

now. and my husband even came around to understanding autism better. We

have a good time mostly. (We have a lot of bad times too, but mostly we

have fun)

Smiles!

wife to

mom to:

na, 14, NT; Marilla, 9, Autistic; Sherman, almost 8, Autistic; Greilyn,

2.5, NT

Hi... I'm new here

I have a daughter diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. She is

7 years old now. We never knew what autism was until it diagnosed. I

have been searching for mom's with daughters with autism. I feel very

alone. We live in Ontario, Canada. I have been only able to find

families with boys. I know that boys have this more than girls. I am

concerned about our child,as she grows up.Will she ever be able to

live independently. Able to have a job? Will her siblings ever accept

her for who she is? What can I do to help her? We have a respite

worker, a case worker with Community Living, and are working on a ABA

program. She is in a multiple exceptionalities Class in a public

school. Doing well there. She is on risperidal, twice an day , and

going on to three a day. It seems to help a bit then have to add an

extra one.

I hope someone will respond ..

Tracey

[Guest guest]

Welcome .........don;t worry, i ask the same questions too. We have a

daughter who will turn 8 in october, and even though she is doing

remarkably well with an aide teacher etc, all those thoughts come to mind,

and it is a real concern, as you want to be doing the right thing by her. We

live in Australia, and my husband is Canadian. Cheryl from Aussie.

Hi... I'm new here

I have a daughter diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. She is

7 years old now. We never knew what autism was until it diagnosed. I

have been searching for mom's with daughters with autism. I feel very

alone. We live in Ontario, Canada. I have been only able to find

families with boys. I know that boys have this more than girls. I am

concerned about our child,as she grows up.Will she ever be able to

live independently. Able to have a job? Will her siblings ever accept

her for who she is? What can I do to help her? We have a respite

worker, a case worker with Community Living, and are working on a ABA

program. She is in a multiple exceptionalities Class in a public

school. Doing well there. She is on risperidal, twice an day , and

going on to three a day. It seems to help a bit then have to add an

extra one.

I hope someone will respond ..

Tracey

[Guest guest]

Hi Tracey

My name is Tracey and I too live in Ontario, Canada. I have a 9 1/.2

year old daughter who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. She is

integrated into a regular grade 4 classroom with a full time E.A.. I

know it can be scarey when you first hear the diagnosis. My daughter

and her older sister get along great! Skylar also has some good friends

she has made at school. She is invited to birthday parties, beach

parties etc. None of us know what the future holds for our very special

girls but I am always seeing major accomplishments and always think that

there is nothing she can't do if she tries. Don't know if any of this

helps you but those are my thoughts. Welcome to this group. You will

find it a great place to find ideas, support and just plain vent

somedays. Look forward to hearing more from you.

Tracey

keyboard_ca_2000 wrote:

> I have a daughter diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. She is

> 7 years old now. We never knew what autism was until it diagnosed. I

> have been searching for mom's with daughters with autism. I feel very

> alone. We live in Ontario, Canada. I have been only able to find

> families with boys. I know that boys have this more than girls. I am

> concerned about our child,as she grows up.Will she ever be able to

> live independently. Able to have a job? Will her siblings ever accept

> her for who she is? What can I do to help her? We have a respite

> worker, a case worker with Community Living, and are working on a ABA

> program. She is in a multiple exceptionalities Class in a public

> school. Doing well there. She is on risperidal, twice an day , and

> going on to three a day. It seems to help a bit then have to add an

> extra one.

> I hope someone will respond ..

> Tracey

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Tracey, Never fear we are here. My name is Leo and my wife (bari) and I have

a 6 year old daughter also diagnosed with autism. We were in the same boat when

we first found out about our daughter Deanna. It hasn't been easy, but it hasn't

been too hard physically. She is moving up next year to integrated kindergarten

.. She takes concerta once a day and guanfacine twice a day. Just remember the

little steps lead to the running. I hope we can be helpful. I have found this

community to be very good.

thanks Leo

Hi... I'm new here

I have a daughter diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. She is

7 years old now. We never knew what autism was until it diagnosed. I

have been searching for mom's with daughters with autism. I feel very

alone. We live in Ontario, Canada. I have been only able to find

families with boys. I know that boys have this more than girls. I am

concerned about our child,as she grows up.Will she ever be able to

live independently. Able to have a job? Will her siblings ever accept

her for who she is? What can I do to help her? We have a respite

worker, a case worker with Community Living, and are working on a ABA

program. She is in a multiple exceptionalities Class in a public

school. Doing well there. She is on risperidal, twice an day , and

going on to three a day. It seems to help a bit then have to add an

extra one.

I hope someone will respond ..

Tracey

[Guest guest]

All of what you described sounded so familiar to me when I read it. My daughter

is 3 1/2 years old and was diagnosed with ASD 2 months after her second

birthday. It's amazing just how isolated you can feel after your child is

diagnosed with autism. The thing that strikes me most is that with most other

disorders your child could have, the doctor would be able to tell you just what

to do. For example, if your child had cancer, they could recommend chemo,

radiation, etc. and would know what course of treatment to recommend. But with

autism, they give you the diagnosis, give you some paperwork with some general

information and pretty much tell you " Good luck. " From there, the parents are

left to research a million different therapies and decide for themselves, all

the while hoping and praying they are doing the right thing by their child.

Sorry, I didn't mean to write a book. I just wanted to tell you that you are

not alone in what you are feeling. We all understand and are here to listen

whenever you need to talk.

BTW, how is the ABA therapy going? We just started behavior therapy for our

daughter last week and I'm curious to know of others' experiences with it.

~Amy

mamaznutz@...

Check out my family webpage! www.geocities.com/amyboz

" Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. " Lennon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi... I'm new here

I have a daughter diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. She is

7 years old now. We never knew what autism was until it diagnosed. I

have been searching for mom's with daughters with autism. I feel very

alone. We live in Ontario, Canada. I have been only able to find

families with boys. I know that boys have this more than girls. I am

concerned about our child,as she grows up.Will she ever be able to

live independently. Able to have a job? Will her siblings ever accept

her for who she is? What can I do to help her? We have a respite

worker, a case worker with Community Living, and are working on a ABA

program. She is in a multiple exceptionalities Class in a public

school. Doing well there. She is on risperidal, twice an day , and

going on to three a day. It seems to help a bit then have to add an

extra one.

I hope someone will respond ..

Tracey

[Guest guest]

Hi

Welcome.I also live in Ontario, Canada, My daughter is four years old with

Autism. We have a SSAH worker , my daughter Adonia goes to a daycare and I

have applied ABA in my home by myself with the guidance of people from the

Children's Center in my area. I am waiting for government funding for ABA,

as well. The wait is long. When Adonia was first diagnosed I joined the

Autism Society and I started attending meeting. This is were I first meet

parents with sons and daughters with Autism. Now I volunteer at social

gatherings for the society. I also asked to be in contact with other mothers

through the Community Living near me. I attended there functions and met

people there. I just went to there free carnival with my daughter, This is

the best way to meet other moms, release stress and not feel alone. I also

have had a behavioral therapist come to my home to help me with Adonia's

behaviours. I worry about the future too. We just have to do our best. Some

courses you may be interested in that would help you that you can ask about

through your Community Living is :

Pecs training (usually offered once a year in toronto) my daughter uses this

to communicate or you can buy the tape .

Crisis intervention (helps to know what to do when she has behaviours.)

Another support group is FEat . They are strong in BC. There web page is

http://www.asochapters.org

http://www.featbc.org

Hi... I'm new here

> I have a daughter diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. She is

> 7 years old now. We never knew what autism was until it diagnosed. I

> have been searching for mom's with daughters with autism. I feel very

> alone. We live in Ontario, Canada. I have been only able to find

> families with boys. I know that boys have this more than girls. I am

> concerned about our child,as she grows up.Will she ever be able to

> live independently. Able to have a job? Will her siblings ever accept

> her for who she is? What can I do to help her? We have a respite

> worker, a case worker with Community Living, and are working on a ABA

> program. She is in a multiple exceptionalities Class in a public

> school. Doing well there. She is on risperidal, twice an day , and

> going on to three a day. It seems to help a bit then have to add an

> extra one.

> I hope someone will respond ..

> Tracey

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Tracey,

My name is Dina and I have a 8 year old daughter with Pdd-nos. If you would like

to e-mail me privately and talk I would love to hear from you

gskdmk1@...

Dina

Hi... I'm new here

I have a daughter diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. She is

7 years old now. We never knew what autism was until it diagnosed. I

have been searching for mom's with daughters with autism. I feel very

alone. We live in Ontario, Canada. I have been only able to find

families with boys. I know that boys have this more than girls. I am

concerned about our child,as she grows up.Will she ever be able to

live independently. Able to have a job? Will her siblings ever accept

her for who she is? What can I do to help her? We have a respite

worker, a case worker with Community Living, and are working on a ABA

program. She is in a multiple exceptionalities Class in a public

school. Doing well there. She is on risperidal, twice an day , and

going on to three a day. It seems to help a bit then have to add an

extra one.

I hope someone will respond ..

Tracey

[Guest guest]

Hi tracie,.. welcome to this site, i`ve also joined recently and found the

other parents so kind and helpful. They have answered so many of my worries and

helped solve them too.Whoops my name is rosie and i have a daughter (4yrs ) who

has autism,nonverbal and severe learning disabilities i live in the united

kingdom .I`m sure any questions you have will be answered i too have other

children who have difficulties in understanding autism but are so kind to

josie.you can e-mail me at rosie_player@... if you would lie to chat

take care rosie

gregory king <gskdmk1@...> wrote: Hi Tracey,

My name is Dina and I have a 8 year old daughter with Pdd-nos. If you would like

to e-mail me privately and talk I would love to hear from you

gskdmk1@...

Dina

Hi... I'm new here

I have a daughter diagnosed with autism just over a year ago. She is

7 years old now. We never knew what autism was until it diagnosed. I

have been searching for mom's with daughters with autism. I feel very

alone. We live in Ontario, Canada. I have been only able to find

families with boys. I know that boys have this more than girls. I am

concerned about our child,as she grows up.Will she ever be able to

live independently. Able to have a job? Will her siblings ever accept

her for who she is? What can I do to help her? We have a respite

worker, a case worker with Community Living, and are working on a ABA

program. She is in a multiple exceptionalities Class in a public

school. Doing well there. She is on risperidal, twice an day , and

going on to three a day. It seems to help a bit then have to add an

extra one.

I hope someone will respond ..

Tracey