Is Brad Happy?

               When my child has a meltdown, 

As a mother I wonder sometimes if Brad is happy.My son Brad with autism he cry for many reasons and I'm trying to figure out why crying can be tricky. Today’s blog is all about the reasons why kids might be crying and how i can help turn his behavior around. As a mother, I’ve seen in many situations with kids crying. How can I help my son.  It’s normal to ask, “why is my child with autism crying so much?”

When my son has a meltdown, I often want to stop the tears because it hurts my heart ♥️  that my child is struggling. Or I'm running low on patience and just want peace and quiet.

Many times, we’re coping with the fifth or sixth meltdown over simple things like the tag in his shirt being too itchy, are his sister talking too loudly, or a change in plans.

Autistic children aren’t crying, wailing, or flailing to get at us somehow. They’re crying because it’s what their bodies need to do in that moment to release tension and emotion from feeling overwhelmed with emotions or sensory stimulations.

Their brains are wired differently and so it’s how they interact with the world. That’s something I have to come to terms with as parents so I can support Brad in the best way.

So how can i effectively support my son  through these often loud and thrashing meltdowns?

Expressing his emotions in a healthy way — whether through tears, wailing, playing, even if these emotions feel overwhelming in their magnitude.

Many times, i try to talk to brad down from his panic, but it’s often a waste of breath when he is in the throes of a meltdown.

So what can i do is let him know that he is  safe and loved.i do this by staying as near to him too comfort Brad.

My son can’t control his meltdowns, so maybe I shouldn’t punished him.

Instead, i should allowed him space and freedom to cry loudly. as a parent am letting him know am his number one supported.

Meltdowns for any child can get noisy, but they tend to go to a whole other level of loud when it’s an autistic child.

These outbursts can feel embarrassing to parents when we’re in public and everyone is staring at us.We feel the judgment from some saying, “I’d never let my kid act like that.”

Or worse, we feel like our deepest fears are validated: People think we’re failing at this whole parenting thing.

My son responds really well to is it ok mom/ dad daily (his favorite word ) but we try not to use it's ok for every-time.

These coping strategies will help him calm down —is it ok mom/ dad   perhaps before a meltdown.

Empathy is at the heart of all of these steps to dealing with an autistic meltdown.

What your meltdown like ................ How do you perhaps respond to your child meltdown Subscribe to Www.Livebeyondautism.com subscribe=1  

Is There Medication for Autism

 Medication for Autism Spectrum Disorder

There are two FDA approved medications for autism which include Ariprozaol or Abilify and Risperidone or Risperdal. These medications have indications for treating severe mood, irritability, severe aggression, and self-injury. Medications should never be a standalone treatment for someone with autism. It should always be a package as part of the package of treatments that an individual is receiving which can include ABA therapy, changes in multivitamins, diet changes, as well as other interventions or medications. It is also important for parents and families to understand the time and data necessary to understand a medicine is working, it will normally take consistent administering and a correct dosage of a medication to see significant changes.For us we have try several different medication 💊 that should work for Brad but the end of all trying some of the medication cause him to feel bad, aggressive and staring at the wall. But because of his  ADHD we are done trying and just see what medication 💊 work for his ADHD because there’s no medication for autism but there’s medication to control his outburst. As I mentioned before, is an FDA approved drug typically used for symptoms including severe aggression. Let me know what your input on medication 💊 

Reality of severe Autism.

 I could tell you that I’ve lied awake countless night worrying about my son and his future. I could tell you I haven’t slept through the night in 9 years.  I’ve developed an anxiety. one thing for sure I’ve not lost weight. I gain weight instead.I am so scared of so many thing for the sake of my son not just him also my daughter at times I just breakdown. I worry about who will love him and care for him like me and my husband do. I worry about what is going to happen to him when I can no longer provide care for him when he get older. I’ve even beat myself up for not knowing what to do 

Brad has ability to do things. He is very much verbal and love to dance . He looks normal like any other kids. But the reality is he has never made a friend he think everyone is his friend the good and the bad. He has never been invited to a birthday party or a play date from other kids. His disability isn’t fatal. Hopefully live his life to the fullest. But he will most likely never move out or live on his own. Not sure about driving a car.This is my reality of severe Autism.

A morning routine for Brad with Autism

Form the moment Brad wake up and getting him out the door in the morning is a big challenge for me. For kids with authism mental health or learning difficulties, it can be even get harder. Brad is on the spectrum  with ADHD  behavior play a big part for me in the morning issues may with following instructions or focusing on what needs to get done.During the school year, i cry sometimes it's so hard for me as a parent. Getting Brad out the door Monday through Friday is a killer.

Just about everyone hates getting up in the morning. They  rather be snuggled up in your bed sleeping  raring to go with the responsibilities of the day? It’s pretty obvious which one sounds a bit more relaxing, but everyone has to get up at some point.

So tell me me 

What your morning routine might look like

What your kiddo with ASD’s morning routine might look like

My Mornings don’t have to be chaotic.

Therapy Dogs for Leahbear

“My friend Linda looking into getting a therapy dog for her daughter Leah who has autism

children with autism experience fewer meltdowns in the presence of a pet dog and their parents stress levels are significantly lowered, but we also see that dogs can make a difference to confidence levels, help reduce anxiety, improve communication and help families 

This is Leah visiting the center. Therapy dogs will arrive pre-trained and ready to work with this littler princess stay tuned for much more of Leah store with her new best friend.

Enjoy these beautiful pictures

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Spring break with Brad 2022

Spring break mean sun, warmth, and freedom, but for families of children with autism spectrum Disorder, it could mean unstructured time, regression of skills, and increase in undesirable behaviors.

If you're the parent of a child with autism, you know that the "break" in Spring break can be misleading; it's more like overtime for you.

Children with autism often thrive in structured environments and do best when engaged in their typical routines. Eliminating a highly structured and physically and mentally engaging school day could cause inappropriate behaviors to creep up. Leaving the comfort of home for

a vacation can also bring more stress to your child and to your family.

So for Us our  Spring break this year was not to bad. Brad was so excited to go to the water park resort. He was looking forward to go down the slides so I have him try it so he can tell us what his experience was like 👍 So I ask Brad after his first slide would you like to go down the water 💦 slide again well I guess it👎 will not be a second time  ☝️ because the water was hitting his face going in his nose 👃 we all know kids on the spectrum has sensory issues. So for brad he didn’t like 👍 that but he love the pool 🏊‍♀️ where he can control of what 😮 going in his nose and his face so hear are some of our fun 🤩 spring break 

Advocate for autism family

You can take your case to Disability Rights Florida. This is a statewide organization that is tasked with protecting the rights of individuals with disabilities; their services are free:https://disabilityrightsflorida.org/our_work/services

 

-You can connect with FDLRS in your area. FDLRS has a parent services program, with the goal of supporting communication between parents and schools:https://www.fdlrssuncoast.org/parent-services

 

-The IEP Advocate is a private advocacy group. They provide advocates (for a fee) to review IEPs and attend meetings with you: https://theiepadvocate.com/

 

-Special Education Law and Advocacy is another fee-based advocacy firm, with attorneys and educational advocates on staff: https://flspedlaw.com/

 

This is some great new that I have learn this weeks and I will be using some of this service. Please feel free to share livebeyondautism 

The stress of school

 

The stress of school closures also led to an increase in certain behaviors among children with autism, including:

• Stimming (66%)
• “Meltdowns” (62%)
• Aggression (46%)
• Toileting issues (26%)

In fact, more than three-quarters of parents of autistic children (79%) said that their child’s therapies had been disrupted during the pandemic, and more than half (63%) said their child was regressing behaviorally. Parents were also concerned that their child was less prepared to return to school, falling behind in school and being left out of virtual social situations.

However, while there were negative changes in behavior, parents of children with autism reported that their children have been happier during the pandemic than parents of non-autistic children. The decrease in social demands and opportunity to stay home with loved ones could be contributing to this difference.

In total, these findings suggest that virtual school and therapy services may not be appropriate for children with autism. While researchers still don’t understand the long-term impact of school closures on autistic children, the current study shows the changes in routine and lack of socialization may lead to learning loss that could create negative outcomes later in life. Educators will need to address these challenges by offering children with autism opportunities to “make up” what they lost during virtual learning once they return to school in-person. 

Please share your school information. How you are dealing with kids on the spectrum going to are staying home Www.Livebeyondautism.com

My Journey Through Autism

 

As the mother of a young boy  with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), other parents often ask me about my experience.  They want to know how I got through it and more importantly, how my son is doing now. We’ve been at it for  9 years and I’m glad to say he’s doing ok not the best as I expected. We’re proud of him, and ourselves, for the progress we’ve made in this journey together.

Our son is a elementary student a brother, uncle , cousin, and grandson. I’m happy to say he has our support. He’s a busy boy, everyone is his friend, sometimes sports fan. Love 💕 to dance 🕺 

Toward the end of Pre K elementary school, we got his diagnosis of ASD. Throughout, there were therapies and programs, and curricula, and evaluations and Individual Education Plans (IEPs) galore. We knew all the special educators back in Ohio, many of the doctors, and even some of the nurses, and we have a box  full of records documenting all of it.

Without our little families like ours – because no one talked about autism then – we did everything we could to help our son learn and grow and participate in activities, like other kids. First flag football did not work out. Even In with our high-fictional son the endless measuring of relative progress – his and ours – felt painful as we came up every year after year with autism ADHD anxiety medication struggles. Mostly we felt alone in our struggle, and scared about the future. There is no resources or research to help us know what to anticipate next, or even what to realistically hope for.

Our son’s timeline and milestones have been different from others’, but make no mistake, am going to do what ever it takes to help  moving forward in his life. We’re proud of him – especially proud of who he is.  Like many other.