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Children with autism

Hi ladies,

In my lecture today we looked at children with autism and were shown a video (very old school i know lol) on everyday interactions and life in general for children with autism and their carers ie. parents, teachers etc.

I always wondered what i would do and how i would cope if my child was autistic but after watching this video it totally changed my views. I would probably be inclined to give up work and study as oppose to taking mat leave as those with autism tend to favour a routine. Although there are obviously ways around this.

What do you think you would do if you had a child that was autistic? Is there anyone on here that has/ works with autistic children who could share their opinion?

Obviously i hope we all get healthy babies in every way when we finally get that BFP and i don't mean to offend anyone by this post, but thought it would make an interesting topic to discuss :\)

Replies

  • Hi hon

    My little brother has autism (Asperger's syndrome). He's my stepmum and my dad's child and was born when I was nearly 10 and dad was 40 (a big accident, hehe!)

    My mum has been a special needs teacher for 30 years as well, I used to go in to the schools she's worked in and help out. Most of the children's disabilities were autism, some had down's syndrome, others general learning difficulties & some have been genuinely 'difficult' kids who don't have disabilities but have had hard lives, been abused or in care.... image

    My brother's 12 now, he can be a complete pain as he loves rhythmic sayings and throughout his childhood he was always driving us nuts with them (there are 4 of us older ones). He makes up songs...He's got one about me called 'the worcestershire girl' (I'm not even from worcestershire!?) and he wants to be a comedian when he grows up...

    Routine is a big part of his life, he doesn't like change which is why his little habits keep him sane, he gets a lot of phases that last a long time. He likes to be different, at the moment his obsession has been being an old man for a while. Watching last of the summer wine, carrying a stick around and wearing a waistcoat...my stepmum gets v embarrassed ...!!!
    He went through a phase of writing the football scores down obsessively but grown out of that now. But he does like lists a lot.

    I think sometimes my dad and stepmum find him a bit difficult as they couldn't really go abroad even if they wanted to as the change would upset him. My stepmum has always worked as a teaching assistant since he was 1. He started showing signs of autism around then, as he REALLY hated nursery, unlike most children.

    I'm not denying I'd be upset if I had an autistic child as I think ultimately we all want our children to do all the 'normal' stuff and want them to sail through life with minimal difficulties - I think just as you would not want your child to be in a wheel chair and have difficulty getting around, you dont want them to have difficulties in social situations either.....

    I've already got a son and he's nearly 2, it's pretty clear to me he's not autistic which I'm thankful for ....But if I did have an autistic child I would just do what I do with my son, try my best for them to live a happy life and be independent, I think I'd also try and 'let them go' a bit, hard as that might be! As my mum teaches 17/18 y/o autistic kids, and gets them to be independent. They are really good at shopping and catching a bus on their own and stuff now x
  • Hi, G/C my youngest son (nearly 3) is being assessed for autistic spectrum disorder (amongst other things) I never in my life imagined that I would have a child that had more complex needs, my older 3 are all very bright and did everything by the book, so if I'm honest I knew there was something different about him from very early on. Having said that, for me, the most frustrating bit is not his behaviour or the fact that he has his very set ways and seems to struggle and go into complete meltdown with out them, it is the fact that he has been under review since he was 17 months old and we are still no closer to getting an answer, I know that having a name for his condition isnt going to change it, but it is a recognition that there is something, as there are times that he can seem 'normal' he has good days and bad days and on the good days you wouldnt think he had any problems on the bad days it is a struggle.

    Having said that, he is the most gorgeous little boy in the world (just my opinion :lol: ) and even if someone could come and wave a magic wand and make all his little ways disappear, I wouldnt let them, because then he wouldnt be him any more and I adore him just the way he is.

    As for wondering how you would cope, the answer to that is that you just do, if someone had said to me 3 years ago that we would be going through everything that we are right now, I would have run a mile and said no way could I cope, but you do and it is an amazing (if not a bit difficult at times) journey.

    Sorry for the ramble, but just wanted to share my experience.
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