Welcome to Autie town population ...YOU. What worked for us...

Trying new things with your little Autie can be really daunting, not only for the child but especially for us parents!
Every child is different so these things may not be everyone's cup of tea, however
This post is focused on new things we have tried with our 5 year old over the past few years in an attempt to get him talking and interacting, he was completely non-verbal until he was three and now he has a broad store of language to help him communicate, He is still not totally there conversationally but his understanding has come on so much in the last year especially. So here is a list of what worked for us so far....

Music - When Diddles was almost 3 he had no words other than "Mammy" and "Daddy" and very limited eye contact. I researched speech delay and I found some Nursery Rhyme tracks on itunes and every opportunity I got I would put on that music. The rhyme's were catchy silly songs with ABC's etc. I would especially play these in the car were he was confined to his car seat. His reaction to the music at first was hands over the ears and humming to block the sounds out and I was tempted to stop playing it for fear it was hurting him (this was pre-diagnosis of ASD). Then one day he was playing with his cars and I heard him humming and then singing some of the words, not very clear but this was amazing to us. He then started to sing when he wanted to hear the music again, I went with my gut and started dancing around to the music like some silly lunatic woman with him. He thought this was hilarious, it brought on eye contact and interaction like never before with him. It proved to me he could listen and pay attention to things that sparked an interest in him. And what child doesn't like acting ridiculous sometimes?


Animals - We discovered when he came into contact with animals he became calm and focused. They had a really soothing and calming affect on him. They still do to this day. We are on the waiting lists for an autism assistance dog although we still have a bit of a wait left before we get one.                                                                                                                                            For his fifth birthday we started him off horse riding. This has been a major breakthrough with him. Like everything at first he was terrified but that was because it was so new. I find persistence with Diddles is all he needs, that extra push and he becomes fearless and willing and more confident. Now it is one of his favourite things to do. He has the same pony every time so there are no surprises for him when he arrives. He stays on the pony for the full lesson and leads him back to the stables and brushes him down when finished. He is engrossed in this absolutely loves every minute of it.

Visually strong Diddles is very strong visually, he registers the tiniest of details and we discovered this when he would point out things to us that we would not usually notice, for example a bird in the far distance of a photograph or a car with different color reg plates etc. We had to figure out how to harness this. We began with flash cards bright, colorful and basic. In the beginning to get his interest we had to bring his finger over to point at the image on the card and he would begin to say the word. Now I can show him text for some words and he can read it. It has taken A LOT of repetition but it has worked.
                                                I can not possibly do this post without mentioning the fantabulous ipod touch! To begin with apps like ABA flash cards and ilearn2talk and itouch ilearn  , countless YouTube videos of the educational and of course entertaining kinds (Thomas the tank engine in Japanese or Maters tall tales en espanol!), Touch pet dogs is one of his favourites as well as Stick figure games and feed me app. The only thing I will say as a warning is it can become an obsession so I try to limit the time he has it. I try to use it as a reward mostly, but he has been known to sneak it past me!
Also to briefly mention some websites to help with starting out on making visual aids/ pecs etc. There are lots of websites out there I found these to be great when starting out!

• http://www.setbc.org/pictureset/
• http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/ireland/
• http://www.visualaidsforlearning.com/
• Google images - for anything you can not find in pictures sets google will have it!

Social stories a brilliant discovery I made is Story builder software its free to download and you can add your own images and it gives sample story to help start you off.

People games When I completed the Hanen programme More than words, we discovered people games! These were brilliant for drawing him out. A lot of acting the gobsheen on my part but worth it to hear the results.


#1 The blanket swing. Lots of repetition and the aim being he started the game and used more language and understanding and taking turns.

#2 Chasing - Aim was taking turns again and initiating the start and finish of the game. Keeping it interesting with tickles and funny faces really helps.

#3 Toy racing - wind up toys having a race, understanding the rules and being patient were the aims here!

#4 Balloon game - blowing up the balloon, letting it whizz around the room or screeching it (some sensitive ears might not allow and others find it hilarious). Getting the speech going and initiating the game.

eg. Big bubble, small bubble, wet bubble etc.

#6 Videos - We discovered one day that if Diddles was totally engrossed in the TV or video that if you intervene and pause it or rewind programme it in itself is enough motivation to get some new language out of him.
"I want to play it again" or "press play please".

#7 Making Jelly/ Rice crispy cakes

#8 Making a home- made obstacle course - using toys, chairs etc.

Sensory play

• Play Dough is a favorite. 
• Water - cups in the kitchen sink/ kids pool (if the sun ever comes back to Ireland) 
• Sand pit - He loves the texture, Salt in a lunch box does the same thing.
• Resistance straws - have race blowing pieces of cotton wool.
• Trampoline/bouncy castle/bouncing on a therapy ball/gym ball

Anyway my whole point in publishing this post is in the hope that it might help anyone starting out on the Autism voyage. Its not easy to get your head around everything in the beginning, it's overwhelming and sometimes we need a little inspiration! Especially when it drains so much of your energy waiting for services. This is all DIY ideas that worked for us.


(Images courtesy of google images, videos courtesy of YouTube)

You learn something new everyday!

Since I have finished up work I have been attempting the domestic goddess role. This gluten free dairy free food is bloody expensive so I have been looking up recipes in an attempt to save a little on the shopping list.

I have mastered pizza bases and bread which is seriously an accomplishment for someone who was not totally sure about boiling an egg a year ago. Honestly ask me about any gadget be it ipod, laptop or fixing an internet connection great but ask me how to cook a meal from scratch and you would get recipe for disaster. Instead of home economics in school I took Technology.

 I'm not bad now but I still have the odd (giant) hiccup aka Blonde moment.

 For example a few weeks ago I was attempting to make chocolate muffins for Lukes lunch for the week. I found the recipe on a gluten free dairy free website. Thought I was following it to a tee. Until I checked on them 10 minutes after putting the baking tray in the oven and I square to bob my oven was covered in this brown ooze. It was on the top, on the sides and the bottom and expanding by the nano second. I had no clue what I had done wrong. The other half came in to see what I was giving out about and started breaking his heart laughing at me. I read the recipe twice over again until I realised I had used BREAD SODA instead of Baking powder. If you ever want to make inedible chocolate ooze I'm your woman!!

Aside from the hysterics of my Kitchen, I have been spending the rest of my time trying to find new games to get Diddles talking. What I love about these games is Madman can join in. They are both learning to take turns and learning a multitude of new words. We have moved on from the Balloon game which I had mentioned in an earlier post, we do return to this about once a week to mix up the routine. However right now we are playing the blanket game. We took down one of the kids duvet covers and lay it out on the floor. Both of the boys jump on it and then we decide that Madman takes the first turn. (He seems to be the most impatient at the tender age of 17 months) He lies in the middle of the Duvet, I grab one end and Barry will grab the other end. We say "ready steady go!" or "on your marks get set go!" or "3,2,1 Blastoff" mix it up every time so we use as much language as possible. Then we swing the duvet from side to side (narrating the whole time everything we are doing). Next we ask "want to go fast or slow?" Now, for Madman he just says GO! but he is taking in everything and loving the game.  Diddles will obviously want to go fast and this is why we give him "fast" as the first option as a big percentage of the language you will hear from Diddles is immediate Echolalia i.e he echos the words you say directly back to you but does not necessarily understand what you have said.

To test his understanding you give him what he asks for and not what you know he wants. This is so he realises the actual meaning of words.It is a long process but he is beginning to get the gist. He watches the game with Madans turn once to be sure its safe and then he gets the confidence to try himself . In some way Madman is his guinea pig. Not sure if that's a good thing or bad thing yet but its all trial and error!

They remind me of coyote and roadrunner at the moment. Diddles being the roadrunner and Madman being Coyote. Diddles runs back and forth for his usual sensory stimulation and Madman thinks this is a game and follows him back and forth. Madman bless his cotton little socks is just never fast enough to catch Diddles. He thinks his big brother is the king of chasing. They seem to have simultaneus bruises lately, both running and one will fall and then the other. Brotherly love ay!

The games have brought out some spontaneous speech with Diddles. He wakes me up in the morning with "Good Morning", he says "I want some juice please" instead of "Juice please"and Madman is copying everything he's really trying his best. We're making progress slowly but surely! They never cease to amaze me!

If you want anything done around here DO IT YOURSELF!

Shock Shock Horror Horror !! We are still on a waiting list for services! I have gotten to the point that I really want to get qualified in speech therapy or occupational therapy and have the skills myself rather than wait around for the bloody health service team to get back to me. I think the child will be 8 before they get around to showing him his alphabet. So I have decided to put all the energy I have been using due to anger and frustration into getting a little more proactive. I have been spending my spare time watching OT videos on youtube trying to get myself offay with various games to play with Diddles in order to get him talking and playing and socialising. So far SO GOOD!!!

As part of the course the first task we have been given is to play people games (chasing,tickles, bubbles etc.) to provoke talking. Now since Diddles had his first speech therapy session back in 2009 we have been using bubbles, in fact this is how we opened that little window in his mind to get him labelling things and making eye contact and getting his attention. Diddles is now at the stage that he is bored out of his Barney by bubbles! I might as well be reading the dishwasher instruction manual for all he cares. Which means I have had to look for something a tad more fun and attention grabbing.

This in turn has led to the BALLOON GAME!
Its working great, god knows how long it will last but at this moment he thinks this is hilarious.
I have discovered that you really have to be comfortable with making a right eejit out of yourself in order for these games to be successful, anyone who knows me well enough will know that this really is not a problem!!
How it works is, you make sure there are absolutely no distractions. No radio or TV in the background, nobody on a phone and for everyones sanity no one is permitted to hoover! Then become as animated as a Tweenie!
I basically call Diddles by name once to get his attention. Say "oh look a balloon" Blow it up a small amount and say "Bigger?" Blow it up more and say "Bigger again?" and then say "ready, steady, GO!" and let it whizz around the room. When I first did this Diddles looked at me like I was a complete Lunatic and went about his business. The second time he watched me from a distance. The third time he had realised it was safe and fun so I blew up the balloon and paused. I took out all the language I had used so he had only one option to continue the game. He had to initiate the communication. I blew it up half way and paused, he pushed the balloon closer to my mouth signalling to blow, I held out a few seconds longer and he said "bigger mammy" and with that I almost fell off the chair with shock and the balloon went whizzing around the room. He picked the balloon up and handed it to me. I said what do I do? (Still in tweenie mode) .. put it on my.... NOSE?? with that he was in giggle mode but he managed to say "no nose mammy, BLOW".

He kept eye contact the whole time and was wanting to play with me. Without out a doubt one of THE best feelings in the world! Something so simple as a balloon. We paid a speech and language therapist the guts of 2/3 thousand euro and never got that much from him. Who needs a speech therapist when you can get that much done yourself! Feck the waiting lists! Life is too short, you create your own opportunity and run with it! This I think is the start of a newer bigger window!