A few days back, Kojiq did something that surprised us all.
There was a plate of fruits on the dining table. Kojiq picked up an apple, showed it to me and said "apple". Then he put the apple back on the plate, and pointed at an orange and said "oghen".
We felt like crying! He actually initiated a conversation with us! That was the first time he did that with us. Usually it is a case of a response towards our words, if and when he decides to respond la. Finally, finally, he decides to initiate. This is like a humongus step for him!
He probably learned all that at kindy. We have yet to chat with his teacher this week, for sure we will update her on this progress.
So happy! :-D
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
WORKSHOP @ NASOM
From my mailbox :-
Dear Sir/Madam,
CREATIVE INTERACTIVE SKILLS WITH CHILDREN AND ADULTS ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM, WEDNESDAY TO MONDAY, 12 TO 17 NOVEMBER 2008
BY DR. SUE JENNINGS
YASMIN COLLEGE: 12-1, WISMA MENJALARA, JALAN SS7A/62A, BANDAR MENJALARA, 52200 K.L.
We are pleased to advise that The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM) will be organizing a workshop, "Creative Interactive Skills With Children And Adults On The Autistic Spectrum" on 12 to 17 November 2008 by Dr Sue Jennings. The workshops will be held at Yasmin College, 12-1 Wisma Menjalara, Jalan SS 7A/62A, Bandar Menjalara, 52200 K.L.
Please find attached herewith the event brochure for your attention. As seats are limited, we would appreciate if the registration can reach us by 29 October 2008.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at Tel: 603-7710 4098, Fax: 603-7710 4149 or Email: secretariat@nasom.com.my if you need any further information or assistance. We will be happy to assist.
We look forward to seeing you.
Thank you,
Regards,
Esther Teh
Executive Officer
The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM)
35A Jalan SS 21/37
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel : +603 7710 4098
Fax : + 603 7710 4149
Website: www.nasom.com.my
Dear Sir/Madam,
CREATIVE INTERACTIVE SKILLS WITH CHILDREN AND ADULTS ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM, WEDNESDAY TO MONDAY, 12 TO 17 NOVEMBER 2008
BY DR. SUE JENNINGS
YASMIN COLLEGE: 12-1, WISMA MENJALARA, JALAN SS7A/62A, BANDAR MENJALARA, 52200 K.L.
We are pleased to advise that The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM) will be organizing a workshop, "Creative Interactive Skills With Children And Adults On The Autistic Spectrum" on 12 to 17 November 2008 by Dr Sue Jennings. The workshops will be held at Yasmin College, 12-1 Wisma Menjalara, Jalan SS 7A/62A, Bandar Menjalara, 52200 K.L.
Please find attached herewith the event brochure for your attention. As seats are limited, we would appreciate if the registration can reach us by 29 October 2008.
Please do not hesitate to contact us at Tel: 603-7710 4098, Fax: 603-7710 4149 or Email: secretariat@nasom.com.my if you need any further information or assistance. We will be happy to assist.
We look forward to seeing you.
Thank you,
Regards,
Esther Teh
Executive Officer
The National Autism Society of Malaysia (NASOM)
35A Jalan SS 21/37
Damansara Utama
47400 Petaling Jaya
Tel : +603 7710 4098
Fax : + 603 7710 4149
Website: www.nasom.com.my
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Signs : Stims
What is stimming? It is short for self-stimulation or repetitive behaviour. This is another easily recognizable trait of autism.
When a child stims, he does it all by himself without any interaction with another person. He concentrates on a certain repetitive behaviour and in this way, enters into his own world, and seems lost to his surroundings.
One of the most common stims is spinning. Kojiq used to turn his toy cars upside down or on its side, starts to spin a wheel and sit watching it, and would do this for hours on end. For the unsuspecting adults (like what Jenny McCarthy said on Oprah) our reaction upon seeing this would be "oh, he's interested in cars, maybe he'd grow up to be an engineer or a technician". Little do we know *sigh*
Another common stims is lining up objects on the floor. Kojiq used to line up as many as 10 or more matchbox toy cars in a straight line. If anyone removes one of the cars or disturbs the straight line, he would scream and toss up the toys , then start lining them up again.
Another stims he used to do alot was going up and down a slide. Difficult to control if there are other kids also playing on the slide. People thought he was rude and played rough, but the truth is that he didn't know how to take turns sliding with the other kids because he's not totally aware of his surroundings. He was also fascinated by escalators, and it used to be my job to accompany him up and down mall esclators countless times, so tiring! AlhamduliLlah these days he still asks to ride the mall escalators, but just once or twice is enough to satisfy him *phew!*
One stims which Kojiq is still obsessed with nowadays is water play. At any chance he could, he would spill water onto furniture or the floor, then run his hands all over it. Or if he finds any other container, he would pour water from one container into the other repetitively. The ending, when he decides to stop the stims episode, would always be pouring water over the front of his clothes *sigh* It's almost impossible to control this one, because water is available everywhere all the time - including his drinking water. So we resort to giving him only a small portion of drinks at a time, otherwise it's so messy!
Another variation of this stims is the one I mentioned in an earlier post, where he runs around the house playing with electrical switches. Dangerous, I know. We have to constantly watch him, and try to distract him with other activities whenever he starts to reach for the switches.
Other common stims (which Kojiq doesn't do) are flapping hands, rolling objects on the floor, looking or staring at the same book, picture or object, or just staring at a wall.
More about the 'why's and 'how to's of stimming in the next post. Meanwhile, thank you for taking time to read and trying to understand about autism!
:-)
When a child stims, he does it all by himself without any interaction with another person. He concentrates on a certain repetitive behaviour and in this way, enters into his own world, and seems lost to his surroundings.
One of the most common stims is spinning. Kojiq used to turn his toy cars upside down or on its side, starts to spin a wheel and sit watching it, and would do this for hours on end. For the unsuspecting adults (like what Jenny McCarthy said on Oprah) our reaction upon seeing this would be "oh, he's interested in cars, maybe he'd grow up to be an engineer or a technician". Little do we know *sigh*
Another common stims is lining up objects on the floor. Kojiq used to line up as many as 10 or more matchbox toy cars in a straight line. If anyone removes one of the cars or disturbs the straight line, he would scream and toss up the toys , then start lining them up again.
Another stims he used to do alot was going up and down a slide. Difficult to control if there are other kids also playing on the slide. People thought he was rude and played rough, but the truth is that he didn't know how to take turns sliding with the other kids because he's not totally aware of his surroundings. He was also fascinated by escalators, and it used to be my job to accompany him up and down mall esclators countless times, so tiring! AlhamduliLlah these days he still asks to ride the mall escalators, but just once or twice is enough to satisfy him *phew!*
One stims which Kojiq is still obsessed with nowadays is water play. At any chance he could, he would spill water onto furniture or the floor, then run his hands all over it. Or if he finds any other container, he would pour water from one container into the other repetitively. The ending, when he decides to stop the stims episode, would always be pouring water over the front of his clothes *sigh* It's almost impossible to control this one, because water is available everywhere all the time - including his drinking water. So we resort to giving him only a small portion of drinks at a time, otherwise it's so messy!
Another variation of this stims is the one I mentioned in an earlier post, where he runs around the house playing with electrical switches. Dangerous, I know. We have to constantly watch him, and try to distract him with other activities whenever he starts to reach for the switches.
Other common stims (which Kojiq doesn't do) are flapping hands, rolling objects on the floor, looking or staring at the same book, picture or object, or just staring at a wall.
More about the 'why's and 'how to's of stimming in the next post. Meanwhile, thank you for taking time to read and trying to understand about autism!
:-)
Monday, October 13, 2008
Kojiq Tells How He Feels
Something exciting happened last Sunday!
Actually it started with a reprimand. Kojiq was upset that he wasn't allowed more carbonated drink. So he threw his toys about to vent his anger, and in due process he pushed the toy rocking horse his little brother was riding on, and brother and horse went helter-skelter. In all the panic that ensued, Kojiq was reprimanded by a few slaps on his hands.
Later, when he had calmed down and was snuggling next to me watching tv, his mom sat next to him and pulled him towards her. He resisted a bit. She coaxed him to sit on her lap. He resisted, then he held up his hand and said "akek (sakit)". No big deal, huh?
Well, for a normal kid, that's nothing. But for Kojiq, that was the first time he actually indicated and verbalised what he was feeling! Up till then, Kojiq was able to make up to 3-words sentence, but only to ask for something that he wants - "Kojiq mak(nak) susu". So this incident where he indicated and verbalised how he felt and why he resisted his mom then, was a tremendous leap in his interactive skills. AlhamduliLlah!
Each day comes with little miracles. You just have to look out for it to see and appreciate it!
Actually it started with a reprimand. Kojiq was upset that he wasn't allowed more carbonated drink. So he threw his toys about to vent his anger, and in due process he pushed the toy rocking horse his little brother was riding on, and brother and horse went helter-skelter. In all the panic that ensued, Kojiq was reprimanded by a few slaps on his hands.
Later, when he had calmed down and was snuggling next to me watching tv, his mom sat next to him and pulled him towards her. He resisted a bit. She coaxed him to sit on her lap. He resisted, then he held up his hand and said "akek (sakit)". No big deal, huh?
Well, for a normal kid, that's nothing. But for Kojiq, that was the first time he actually indicated and verbalised what he was feeling! Up till then, Kojiq was able to make up to 3-words sentence, but only to ask for something that he wants - "Kojiq mak(nak) susu". So this incident where he indicated and verbalised how he felt and why he resisted his mom then, was a tremendous leap in his interactive skills. AlhamduliLlah!
Each day comes with little miracles. You just have to look out for it to see and appreciate it!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Signs : No Eye Contact
The essence of autism is that it is a disorder that impairs interaction (John Levy, "What You Can Do Right Now To Help Your Child With Autism")There are several early signs through which you can detect whether a child might have autism. I will try to write about them in a series of posts, insyaAllah.
One of the most apparent signs is the child does not make eye contact with anyone else. He can be playing in a room full of people, maybe even with someone beside him trying to speak to him, but he would seem to ignore everyone else. He would be living in his own world. If you try to catch his eyes by turning his face towards you, the eye contact may happen, but flittingly. Why?
This is because eye contact is an intimate form of non-verbal communication and interaction. As autism affects interaction, by refusing eye contact, the child is avoiding interaction.
Kojiq has been going for speech therapy for a while now, and his eye contact has improved tremendously. Here's some tips from the therapist, which we find very helpful :-
(1) Speak to him from a short distance - his visual attention span is only in his immediate surroundings, so if you talk to him from across the room, he will ignore you.
(2) Position for eye contact - try to get down to his eye level so that it is easier for him to look into your eyes. Sit or squat in front of him, when you speak to him.
(3) Attract his attention with an object - find something he likes like a toy car, hold it a few inches in front of your eyes so that he would be forced to look at your eyes if he wants to look at the object.
(4) Make him look into your eyes and indicate what he wants, then only give it to him. He will learn that making eye contact is rewarding.
I hope you find this information helpful. May Allah bless you for the patience and love you give to child in need.
:-)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Hari Raya Jalan-Jalan
Hari Raya Jalan-Jalan is supposed to be fun fun fun for kids. What is there not to enjoy? You get to go to different houses, meet your cousins and new friends, eat and drink as much as you want, maybe even get to play with sparklers, and just before you leave, you get packets containing money from the host, yay!
Well, fun for most kids, anyway.
For Kojiq, Hari Raya is just another day. For Kojiq's mom, Hari Raya Jalan-Jalan is a test on her patience and perseverance.
Kojiq is at that time when his current game is playing with electrical switches - light, fan, air-cond etc. He's tall enough to reach the switches, light enough to be running around at a speed that is difficult for us to catch him, yet heavy enough that when he's showing defiance by sitting or lying down, it is difficult to carry him or pull him to his feet. Imagine the chaotic madness when we go Jalan-Jalan to our relatives' homes!
Sure, the easy way to counter the 'shame' of having your child misbehave at someone else's home is always to punish the child immediately. A slap on the butt, a pinch on the arm, even pulling his ears, will make the child stop his actions for a short while.
But does he understand that all this anger and pain inflicted on him is a result of his 'misbehaviour'? Should he be physically reprimanded in public just so you can 'save face'?
If the child fully understands the consequences of his actions, like a normal child, he would stop misbehaving on his own accord, kan?
Think about it, before you start thrashing your special needs child.
Oh, for the record, Kojiq's mom didn't slap him, but she was finding it hard to hold on to her patience.
Well, fun for most kids, anyway.
For Kojiq, Hari Raya is just another day. For Kojiq's mom, Hari Raya Jalan-Jalan is a test on her patience and perseverance.
Kojiq is at that time when his current game is playing with electrical switches - light, fan, air-cond etc. He's tall enough to reach the switches, light enough to be running around at a speed that is difficult for us to catch him, yet heavy enough that when he's showing defiance by sitting or lying down, it is difficult to carry him or pull him to his feet. Imagine the chaotic madness when we go Jalan-Jalan to our relatives' homes!
Sure, the easy way to counter the 'shame' of having your child misbehave at someone else's home is always to punish the child immediately. A slap on the butt, a pinch on the arm, even pulling his ears, will make the child stop his actions for a short while.
But does he understand that all this anger and pain inflicted on him is a result of his 'misbehaviour'? Should he be physically reprimanded in public just so you can 'save face'?
If the child fully understands the consequences of his actions, like a normal child, he would stop misbehaving on his own accord, kan?
Think about it, before you start thrashing your special needs child.
Oh, for the record, Kojiq's mom didn't slap him, but she was finding it hard to hold on to her patience.
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