upside down and upside down
Raising an autistic child can be like learning to walk on your stomach and backwards. What does a parent do with a child who started reading at 2 but can’t seem to ask about his needs at 3? As he worked on simple phrases like “juice please,” “more please,” and “milk please” to help my son communicate his needs to us, he wowed us with his amazing reading skills and spelling of words. complex words like “astronaut” in magnetic letters on our fridge. These mixed signals of intelligence sometimes confused and perplexed me like his father. At first, he didn’t know if he was raising a genius or a stubborn jerk.
Perhaps you, too, have been stumped by your little one and wondered how to communicate with him or her, how to communicate with them well enough to be potty trained. Oh how hard it was for my son to be potty trained! It took me 2 years to try every method I could find, and then a week of what we call “Potty Boot Camp.” I literally spent 5 hours a day for 5 days straight “camping out” in the bathroom with my son just to get him to pee or poop in the toilet or potty properly. We used the laptop with us in the bathroom to play potty training songs and educational videos, and we rewarded him with time out of the bathroom when he peed or pooped on the potty or toilet. He is now completely dry during the day and can tell us when he needs to go potty! My best advice to you if you are trying to potty train your little one is to figure out what motivates your child best and how he learns best, and incorporate both into your approach. My son is a good reader, so we included a step-by-step instruction sheet on how to use the potty, and he loves videos, so we also use potty songs and instructional videos.
When my son was first diagnosed with PDD NOS with autistic traits at age 3, I didn’t know what to do to help him. Websites and advice from friends, opinions and facts, and mountains of information overwhelmed my husband and me. We decided to send him to a special education preschool through our local school district. He has attended that program for 6 months, has an IEP, and was integrated or placed in a regular preschool class last year. He is now showing remarkable improvements in his ability to speak words and sentences, and we owe that to the special education team throughout the public school system. He will now be 5 years old this summer and will attend kindergarten this fall.
If you suspect your child may have autism, call your local school district and have the child tested. Many resources are now available for free through local school districts for children with autism, and that’s a great place to start if you’re feeling overwhelmed. If you need help going through all the advice and information out there, I’m here to help. Each child is unique and may need different resources depending on how your autism affects them and you, and some advice is better than others. Don’t give up hope that your child won’t be able to live a “normal” life. In reality, your child is also extraordinary and special in many wonderful ways. Love them unconditionally, support them and enjoy the ride! Learn to walk upside down and backwards.