Autism & Other Disabilities Support Thread

[euanelaine]

Hello Mommies!
Share ko lang po, my 3 yo. son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder just recently lang. My reaction was shocked and until now, in denial. Gusto namin ng family ko na magconsult sa ibang Devped pa sana.. wala pang 1hour [textspeak!] naging evaluation sa son ko,. inobserve lang sya and may mga activities na pinagawa s knya then the doctor told me right away that my son has autism. recommended therapy is OT twice a week and Speech once a week. Gusto kong isipin na baka mali lang [textspeak!] diagnosis s anak ko since based on my research, hindi naman possesed ng anak ko lahat ng signs of autism. Actually, Speech delay lang tlaga [textspeak!] concern ko kaya ko sya pinacheck up sa devped. Didn't expect that Autism na pala [textspeak!] sakit nya.

Any advice mommies? should i believe the doctor or go with my guts? Thank you! I'm a newbie here..

[lonelymiss28]

Get a 2nd opinion. Yung friend ko ganyan din, yung pinatingnan nila sa US speech delay lang din pala.

[cutemama]

OA din naman kasi yung iba, porket may speech delay autism na agad..  pansin niyo mas madaming may autism sa mga mayayaman...yung mga mahihirap na bata na may speech delay kahit di nagpapacheck up okay na naman pag laki.. or yung iba lang talaga hindi nadadiagnosed.. dapat din sa devped observe nila mga 1 montj hindi yung 1 hr lang naobserve may diagnosis na agad.

[euanelaine]

Hi Mommies!

We decided to start his therapy instead of getting a 2nd opinion. kasi waiting time to get an appointment sa Devped will take us too long.. earliest appointment is mid next year pa so sayang yung  time. Fortunately, there is a Therapy Center near us which offers ABA ( Applied Behavior Analysis ) - its a 2hour program that addresses Speech, Behavior, Academics and Self help. Tho OT and ST ang recommended sa son ko ng Devped, we decided to try this kind of approach instead.

My son was evaluated yesterday and will start his ABA therapy session on Thursday, he will take it twice a week and its a guaranteed 2 months improvement daw.

Any feedback po mga mommies? anyone tried ABA for their kids with ASD? thank you mommies. im hopeful sa positive improvement ng son ko.

[izabelle]

^^^ euanelaine - get a second opinion or even until 3rd opinion para sure lang.

My daughter is speech delay lang and 3 dev ped ang nagcheck sa kanya para sigurado lang ako na tama ang treatment para sa kanya.

We started treatment when she was 2yrs and 5 months. We stopped for a while but tinuloy again mid this year. Worth it lahat ng therapy. Mas Madami na syang nasasabi ngayon kumpara sa ibang ka age nya na nauna pa magsalita sa kanya.

[TowBerryBlue]

Hi Mommies!

We decided to start his therapy instead of getting a 2nd opinion. kasi waiting time to get an appointment sa Devped will take us too long.. earliest appointment is mid next year pa so sayang yung  time. Fortunately, there is a Therapy Center near us which offers ABA ( Applied Behavior Analysis ) - its a 2hour program that addresses Speech, Behavior, Academics and Self help. Tho OT and ST ang recommended sa son ko ng Devped, we decided to try this kind of approach instead.

My son was evaluated yesterday and will start his ABA therapy session on Thursday, he will take it twice a week and its a guaranteed 2 months improvement daw.

Any feedback po mga mommies? anyone tried ABA for their kids with ASD? thank you mommies. im hopeful sa positive improvement ng son ko.

Hi Sis! My son was diagnosed with ASD when he was 1.7 years old. He started doing ABA after a week nya ma diagnosed, 2 hours a day and 5x a week. All I can say is, ABA worked for my son. From being non-verbal, sobrang talkative na sya ngayon although super hyper pa rin. He goes to a regular progressive school na and he is making friends na. Okay ang ABA although yung iba ayaw nyan pero sa akin kasi it worked with my son so naniniwala ako. Ngayon 2x a week ang home therapy nya and during Saturdays nasa center kami. May once a week OT din sya.

[Mai]

TowBerryBlue: May I know your child's school? I have an 11.yo son with ASD. We've been homeschooling for 3 years now. Previous schools nya were COLF, Take the Nation, and Philadelphia h.s for 1 year. Although I'm pretty contented with homeschooling him, as I can filter/concentrate on useful subjects, I'm still on the look out for schools which may be of use someday pag di ko na kaya homeschool.
Same in your case, my son was diagnosed very early too at 1.7yo, then nag ABA sya agad which worked for him. Thanks.

[TowBerryBlue]

TowBerryBlue: May I know your child's school? I have an 11.yo son with ASD. We've been homeschooling for 3 years now. Previous schools nya were COLF, Take the Nation, and Philadelphia h.s for 1 year. Although I'm pretty contented with homeschooling him, as I can filter/concentrate on useful subjects, I'm still on the look out for schools which may be of use someday pag di ko na kaya homeschool.
Same in your case, my son was diagnosed very early too at 1.7yo, then nag ABA sya agad which worked for him. Thanks.

Naku sis! 4 years old pa lang son ko. Mukhang mas may maipapayo ka sa akin when it comes sa school. Bakit ka nag home school? He didn't like COLF? Let me know naman kasi in 2 years time, grade 1 na son ko. Thanks!

[Mai]

TowBerryBlue: My son was just in preschool during the time he attended COLF. Nagkakasakit sya lagi sa old location ni COLF at Valencia na old house malupa, dusty, no a/c kaya laging pawis na pawis.
After that we moved him to Take the Nations for 3 years. Tapos nag 1 YEAR sya at Philadelphia where he finished Grade 1. After nyan I pulled him out and nag homeschool kami. In my son's case kase, what happened was nauubos time nya sa academics and attending regular school, he was with a shadow aide then at Philadelphia, and by the time he gets home, mag rereview na sila ng tutor aide nya, and they will finish at 7pm. Tapos parang wala namang na learn dahil puro memorization lang.
I've decided that regular school is not beneficial for him. During all those time that he was in regular schools, he didn't socialize at all, didn't gain any friends, kahit me prompts, kaya talagang yun ang nature nya. Nakaka follow naman sya ng routine, very behave, no meltdowns, no tantrums, pero me deficit sya sa language, very limited na cocompose nyang sentences kaya di nakaka communicate/converse well.
I've decided to homeschool kase that way I get to focus on subjects that are practical, beneficial, relevant to him. Other subjects passing through na lang namin. This way I get to teach him functional skills, and focus on self-help skills, things needed to learn at home, how to work around the house. And he also has 3x a week home aba. More on informal teaching na gawa ko sa kanya. 
Each case is different, there are those CWA that can do well at school, kayang walang shadow aide. So all in all, it's just a matter of trying, trial and error what works on your child.

[Dacian]

kapag sinabing mild autism, ano yun?  hindi kasi naexplain ng devped.  anong cause nun?

[gentai_chan]

just went sa devped and my daughter was diagnosed with autism. actually I already knew that something's not right pero in denial ako. Until now nung tinanong ako nung dra kanina if may idea na ba daw ako at the back of my mind autism pero sinabi ko lang delay. When she finally said na yun ng my autism anak ko pigil na pigil ang luha ko at sobrng bigt sa dibdib. Pumunta na lang ako sa cr at humagulgol na parang bata. Ang sakit mga sis parang gumuho ang mundo ko. Hindi ko alam san magsisimula. Anyway alam kong makakarecover din ako and hoping to accept it one day. For now gusto ko muna macknowledge ang emotions ko and let it all out. Thanks for sharing all your stories.

[rhumbafrapp]

For me, as an OT, observation ko is that not all kids with ASD ay for ABA. Some benefit from it, some don't. Unlike OT and speech, which is talagang recommendation for kids with developmental disorders like ASD, ADHD,etc

I urge parents na if may napapansin na delay sa speech, atypical behaviors, poor awaress, etc.. Patingin agad sa devped. Wala naman mawawala, and you can get peace of mind pa as to the current level of your child and if may problems or wala. Maganda if early intervention. Dapaf by 3yo or earlier makapag start na ng intervention.

[cutemama]

Yung pamangkin ko, mag 2 y/o.na siya this feb.. sobrang iyakin grabe.. pag may nakikita siya ibang tao, sobrang iyak na titigil lang pag umalis na yung bisita or ibang tao or pagnakatulog na siya sa sobrang pagod kakaiyak,.

Everytime there's a family gathering sa house ng inlaws ko, super iyak siya, hindi siya nakikipagpalaro sa mga cousins niya.. unlike my son (2 y/o) and my nephew (1 y/o) naglalaro silang dalawa.. siya lang lagi ang outcast.. kaya pupunta na lang SIL ko sa kwarto kasi ayaw ng bata makakita ng ibang tao..  pag lumabas sika iiyak na naman.. and bawal siya tingnan sa mata, kasi pag tiningnan mo sa mata magwawala na naman..dapat wag mo lang siya papansinin.. bawal.din mag "Hi" kasi iiyak n naman.. 
Do you think there's a problem with him? Yung MIL and other SIL ko sabi dapat ipacheck up na, pero.nahihiya sila sabihin sa SIL ko.kasi baka mahurt.. pero as a mother instinct na yun diba, na hindi normal.yung ganun..dapat ask niya sa pedia ano dapat gawin..

[bylan]

yung daughter ko rin ganyan dati.... mag-one y/o sya nun time na yun.... wala kasi sya nakikita ibang tao... lagi lang  kaming nasa bahay... nun naglalabas na kami nagbago na...

[izabelle]

^^ depende kasi sa kinalakihan na environment ng bata. Usually ang bata kapag walang ibang bata na nakikita sa bahay or walang kalaro, usually nagiging ganyan. (hindi naman sa lahat ng pagkakataon, depende talaga sa kid e.)

Ganyan ang anak ko dati hanggang mag 3yrs old siguro. Kapag maraming tao, naiirita, umiiyak, gusto laging karga. Pero walang problema sa kanya. Dev ped mismo may sabi na hindi lang sanay sa tao.

Ngayon, she's turning 4yrs old na, sobrang sociable and friendly na.

[cutemama]

Naku sana nga sis walang prob.. kasi nagwoworry na rin kami.. kasi minsan 3 hrs umiiyak..paputol putol nga lang..

Yung baby ko din naman walang batang nakikita sa house pati yung isang niece ko ganun din. Parents and yaya lang kasama, pero sabik sa bata.. pag nakakakita ng ibang bata tuwang tuwa siya.

Sabi ko nga sa SIL ko parang socialization ang kulang sa anak niya.. sabi ko try niya dalhin sa mga playhouse sa mall para masanay sa ibang bata.. buti pa nga anak niya maraming pinsan sa side ng asawa niya and isang compound lang sila.. kaso hindi nila nilalabas ng house.. lagi ipad lang nilalaro..
Tapos ang nangyayari pa, dahil lagi may tantrums anak niya,  bihira lang nila isama sa mall or gatherings kasi nga magwawala na naman.. so paano masasanay yung bata sa tao diba.

[izabelle]

^ It is really best sis na pacheck sya sa Dev Ped. Honestly, kung ako yung SIL mo, I will immediately set an appointment sa Dev Ped. Always paranoid kasi ako pagdating sa daughter ko. Hanggat hindi doctor nagsabi, hindi ako natatahimik.

Pero yun nga lang, iba iba kasi ang parents. Iba iba ng POV pagdating sa mga anak.

Perhaps, pwede nya dalin sa Gymboree or Kindermusik sis. Or tama ka,  sa  mga playhouse kung saan maraming kids.

Pero nagsasalita naman na yung bata?

[cutemama]

hindi namin sis naririnig magsalita eh, kasi nga puro iyak lang ginagawa pag nakikita kami, hindi man lang namin siya malaro.. pero marunong na siya magsalita ng mga letters based on fb post ng SIL ko.. dun lang namin narinig voice niya..

actually sis same tayo, always paranoid din ako sa son ko.. 1 1/2 years pa lang siya nun, hindi pa nagsasalita, unlike sa daughter ng friend ko mas bata ng 3 mos, nagsasalita na ng mommy.. yung anak ko hindi pa, kaya naparanoid ako,, kala ko may autism na.. tinanong ko agad sa pedia, sabi naman wala naman daw sila nakikitang mali sa son ko, some kids ay may delay of speech daw, ang iba nga daw yung anak nga daw ng isang pedia dun 3 y/o na nagsalita,,
maybe  Im just too excited and competitive haha ayaw ko kasi kinocompare.. when he turned 18 mos ayun dami ng alam na words,, ngayon 29 mos na siya sobrang daldal na kahit bulol.

[TowBerryBlue]

just went sa devped and my daughter was diagnosed with autism. actually I already knew that something's not right pero in denial ako. Until now nung tinanong ako nung dra kanina if may idea na ba daw ako at the back of my mind autism pero sinabi ko lang delay. When she finally said na yun ng my autism anak ko pigil na pigil ang luha ko at sobrng bigt sa dibdib. Pumunta na lang ako sa cr at humagulgol na parang bata. Ang sakit mga sis parang gumuho ang mundo ko. Hindi ko alam san magsisimula. Anyway alam kong makakarecover din ako and hoping to accept it one day. For now gusto ko muna macknowledge ang emotions ko and let it all out. Thanks for sharing all your stories.

That's what happened to me sis. I cried for 3 days and kahit sa office, bigla na lang ako iiyak. Sabi ng boss ko dati..."so what if ganun sya, you'll just give up then?" Ayun, naging wake-up ko yun. After 3 days, para akong naging warrior. I came up with a plan on how to help my son. Nagpa schedule na ako ng therapy as per his devped's recommendation. Sabi ko sa sarili ko...anak ko to! walang makakatulong sa kanya kundi ako. Together, we will prove them wrong!

Ayun, after 4 years of therapy...makulit na sya and ang daldal and he is very smart.

[nixmusic]

^Sobrang nakakatuwang basahin yang post mo sis. Sana ganyan din mangyari sa anak ko. Almost one year pa lang syang nago-OT and mga 4 months na speech therapy. Malaki na rin ang na-improve, very smart din kaya it keeps me motivated sa work.