Teaching How to Answer What Questions

Children with autism are not skilled in answering questions because they do not really know how to socially interact. However, this can be explicitly taught through visual mediums and effective behavioral techniques. With Miggy, I used positive reinforcement along with the technique. Positive reinforcement can be in the form of praise ("Good job!", "Very Good"). Of course, facial exaggeration and vocal intensity are essential to attract his attention. Reinforcement can also be in the form of food, stickers, stamps, toys or it may be an event such as going to the park, eating out, or simply letting him play with his favorite toy.

Answering WHAT questions is the easiest. I used flash cards of common objects and watched educational videos with Miggy. Children with autism learn fast through visual aids.

Example 1: "What is this? This is a ball." (showing the child a picture of a ball and pointing to it). Do it over and over again. The child learns through constant repetition. If you are using a video, pause the video player every so often. It's okay if the video player gets broken, there are repair shops everywhere and dvd players are always on sale. I tell you, it's worth the education your child will be getting. Also, by modeling "pointing", you also teach your child how to point with his finger which is not inherent in children with autism.

Tip: Never mind if your child may seem inattentive. The truth is, he just doesn't know how to show you that he is interested in some way. He just has a different way of learning. Promise, this is from experience. He may not look interested but actually, he is absorbing everything he sees and hears. You will actually be surprised when he finally and miraculously blurts out what you have taught him minutes, hours, months, or even years ago with the precise words and intonation you used. Just be patient.

Start with simple objects, such as shapes, parts of the body and common foods. Later, when your child has mastered them, move on to animals, numbers, house things, vehicles, action words (with you acting out every action word).

Example 2: "What do you want?"
Teach your child to say "I want ______." (cookie, milk, ...). Then, "I want to_____." (to eat, to drink, to sleep, ....).

Example 3: "What is your name?", then progress on to other complex what questions.

Possibilities are endless. Patience...patience...patience. With autism, nothing is instant. Everything has to be mastered one step at a time.

Note: Every child is different. This may or may not be helpful. But it's worth trying. You know your child very well as much as I know mine. Discover ways to penetrate into his world. Break down those walls. As I have always said, "When the Lord closes the door, somehow, he opens the window."

***My sessions with Miggy are only supplemental to his occupational and speech therapies, academic tutorials and mainstreaming education.

Autism Self-Injurious Behavior

Two days ago, I noticed a bruise on Miggy's arm. I asked: How did you get this? He answered: "Miggy's teeth."

He bit his arm! He hurt himself!
For a few moments, I just stared.... all blank. What must I do?
Looking back, when he was 2 years old, he exhibited a self-injurious behavior in the form of head banging. He would hit his head on walls, never stopping until he reached a certain level of satisfaction. This behavior diminished after a few months of occupational therapy (sensory integration method). At age 3-4, he had another episode of self-injurious behavior: face-slapping and chest-hitting. These vanished completely and he never had any display of these behaviors since then.

Today, what never lessens is his scratching. (His eczema even aggravates this scratching.) He scratches old wounds, old vaccine scars, insect bites or just any slight bump on his skin until they bleed. He also rubs his eyes... so bad that he had an infection.

But now, this is new. Self-biting! Although I've seen him do this just once, I have to do something about this and make sure it does not develop into a serious consequence.

Note: Head-shaking was first exhibited by Miggy when he was only a month old. This behavior was at its peak (forceful head-shaking) at age 4-6 months. He would shake his head at full speed until he fell asleep.

Please read this:

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/autismsocialstories-autismselfinjuriousbehavior

Self-injury is probably one of the most distressing and difficult behaviors that any parent, and autistic person can be faced with.

Mostly the causes of this behavior are quite complex and the level of risk to the autistic person’s safety and well-being can at times be quite high.

Normal behavioral intervention is not always appropriate; but it is generally felt that professional help should be sought to help deal with this problem.

What is self-injurious behavior?

Sometimes referred to as self-harming behavior, self-injury takes many different forms, such as:

• head banging (on floors, walls or other surfaces)
• hand or arm biting
• hair pulling
• eye gouging
• face or head slapping
• skin picking, scratching or pinching
• Forceful head shaking.

Autistic people who have complex needs and who have concurrent learning disabilities are more likely to engage in severe self-injurious behaviors.

However, people across the spectrum and of all ages may engage in self-injurious behaviors at some point.

Individuals who engaged in self-injurious behaviors as children may return to these as adults during times of stress, illness or change.

Causes of self-injurious behavior

The reasons a person has for engaging in self-injurious behavior, is almost always found to be varied, and will involve numerous different factors.

For example an Autistic child may have begun head banging as a form of sensory stimulation (stimming, repetitive behavior) at first, and has now learnt that the head banging is a way to avoid certain situations.

Hitting the face or head may initially have been a response to earache or maybe toothache. Which may have led on to being a way to have wants or needs met.

Some possible causes that should be considered when thinking about self-injurious behavior:

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, you should consider when dealing with self-injurious behavior, is there a possible medical or dental problem that the Autistic individual may be having.

Autistic people may have some difficulty in telling others that something is wrong physically and some self-injurious behaviors (such as ear slapping or head banging) may be their way of dealing with pain or communicating discomfort.

Here are some examples of medical and dental problems which may be expressed through self-injurious behavior:

• Some illnesses such as: colds, flu, viruses or infections such as sinus, ear or urinary tract infections.
• Pain such as: earache, headache, toothache, pre-menstrual tension
• Seizures, some types of epilepsy
• General feelings of being un-well such as: rashes, constipation, indigestion, heartburn, flatulence.
• There is also research to suggest that there may be some connection between types of self-injury and tic disorders plus compulsive behaviors.

"Twenty Pesos"

April 10, 2010

Miggy woke up.
He asked: "Where are we going? Go to SM?"
Mom: Do you have money?
Miggy: "Twenty pesos."
Mom: That's too little.
Miggy: "No, that's very big."
Mom: What do you want to buy at SM?
Miggy: "Justice League crayons, sticker Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story Book, Pokemon squirters, Justice League basketball set and pizza."

April is Autism Month

Famous people with unspecified forms of autism:

The following people have been diagnosed as being somewhere on the autistic spectrum but the specific classification is unknown.

• Daryl Hannah, an American actress best known for her roles in Splash, Blade Runner and Kill Bill was diagnosed as a child as being 'borderline autistic'
• Christopher Knowles, American poet
• Matthew Laborteaux, actor on Little House on the Prairie
• Katherine McCarron, autistic child allegedly murdered at the age of three by her mother, Karen McCarron.
• Jason McElwain, high school basketball player
• Michael Moon, adopted son of author Elizabeth Moon
• Jasmine O'Neill, author of Through the Eyes of Aliens
• Sue Rubin, subject of documentary Autism Is a World. Sue Rubin has no oral speech but does communicate with facilitated communication.
• Birger Sellin, author from Germany
• Robert Gagno, actor from Vancouver

Famous people with Asperger syndrome:

• Dan Aykroyd, comedian and actor: Aykroyd stated he has Asperger's, but some feel he was joking.
• Richard Borcherds, mathematician specializing in group theory and Lie algebras
• William Cottrell, student who was sentenced to eight years in jail for fire-bombing SUV dealerships
• Craig Nicholls, frontman of the band The Vines
• Gary Numan, British singer and songwriter
• Dawn Prince-Hughes, PhD, primate anthropologist, ethologist, and author of Songs for the Gorilla Nation
• Judy Singer, Australian disability rights activist
• Vernon L. Smith, Nobel Laureate in Economics
• Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon
• Daniel Tammet, British autistic savant, believed to have Asperger Syndrome
• Liane Holliday Willey, author of Pretending to be Normal, Asperger Syndrome in the Family; Asperger syndrome advocate; education professor; and adult diagnosed with Asperger syndrome at age 35

People with high-functioning autism:

• Michelle Dawson, autism researcher and autism rights activist who has made ethical challenges to Applied Behavior Analysis
• Temple Grandin, a designer of humane food animal handling systems
• Hikari Oe, Japanese composer
• Bhumi Jensen, Thai prince, grandson of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand; killed by drowning in the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
• Dylan Scott Pierce, wildlife illustrator
• Jim Sinclair, autism rights activist
• Donna Williams, Australian author of Nobody Nowhere and Somebody Somewhere; after testing for deafness in late childhood, and being labelled 'disturbed', Donna was formally diagnosed as autistic in her 20s
• Stephen Wiltshire, British architectural artist
• Axel Brauns, German author of the autobiographical bestseller Buntschatten und Fledermäuse and filmmaker

Famous autistic savants:

• Alonzo Clemons, American clay sculptor
• Tony DeBlois, blind American musician
• Leslie Lemke, blind American musician
• Jonathan Lerman, American artist
• Thristan Mendoza, Filipino marimba prodigy
• Jerry Newport is an author, savant, and has Asperger's. His wife, Mary Newport, is also a savant on the autistic spectrum
• Derek Paravicini, blind British musician
• James Henry Pullen, gifted British carpenter
• Matt Savage, U.S. autistic jazz prodigy
• Henriett Seth-F., Hungarian autistic savant, poet, writer and artist

People with severe autism:

• Tito Mukhopadhyay, author, poet and philosopher

Source:

http://www.child-autism-parent-cafe.com/famous-people-with-autism.html

Pre-School Graduation

March 18, 2010

Miggy graduated from Prep at Ridge View Academy. He was given an award for Exemplary Performance in Reading, plus 3 Smart Awards. He actually attended Kinder classes for only 3 times per week because the two days were allotted for his speech therapies at Play and Say Therapy Center and academic tutorials at Tots Tutorial Center. During periodical tests, he either perfected the exams or ranked second. Upon my suggestion, he was also given periodical tests in the Prep class which he never attended at all. However, he got very high marks also. His teachers, seeing that he was ready for higher learning, accelerated Miggy to Grade 1.

It was actually his 2nd time to graduate from preparatory education. Last year, he graduated from Easter College SPED Preparatory School with the Best in Spelling Award. Miggy was then ready for primary school.

Education for children with special-needs is never easy. Very few mainstream schools would welcome special children and only a few parents of regular kids would want to share their kids' classes with the not-so-perfect children. Rejection outweighs acceptance.... always the case. Parents are tearful every time a door closes on their children. For these children, everyday is Judgment Day... and for these parents, every night is a sleepless night.

Ridge View Academy accepted Miggy and his ever-present invisible friend named "Auti." However, they only offer preschool education then. The whole year experience with the academy was fruitful. Miggy made friends with everyone. "Auti" made a lot of friends too, not just with classmates but with the teachers and parents as well.

Creative Play

Pic 1: "It's a tea party," Miggy said.
"Miggy is pouring tea."

Pic 2: "Miggy is cooking in the kitchen."
"Hmmm. Delicious hotdog. Add some salt."

*Miggy still addresses himself as a third person. He has difficulty using "I".

*Miggy loves doing girl-stuff. It is actually included in his therapies: self-help skills. These skills teach him independence and coping with daily life.

Fun Day at Mc Donalds!

Ridge View Academy Pre-schoolers supposedly would go on a field trip to an eco-park here in Baguio City. However, during the teachers-parents meeting, it was unanimously agreed to just end the schoolyear with a kids' party at Mc Donalds where everyone would surely have fun.

March 12, 2010
Mc Donalds, SM Baguio

Joking

Jan 28, 2010
Miggy: "Mommy, say give-me-a-kiss."
Mom: Give me a kiss.
He hugged me and laughed hard. That's a hug, I said.
Miggy: "Mommy, say give-me-a-hug."
Mom: Give me a hug.
He kissed me and laughed even harder. That's a kiss, I said.

Miggy: "Miggy is joking."

* Autistics are literal. Every word to its literal meaning. They do not know how to make jokes. Luckily, Miggy now knows how to make jokes. With autistics, everything has to be taught, including facial expressions and emotions. They do not learn things naturally. They do not learn on their own. Everything has to be mechanically fed to their brains. No input, no output.

* My strategy (Being very animated is a must and a plus!)
- I show exaggerated facial expressions, such as reactions when someone is happy, sad, excited, surprised and scared.
- I repeatedly play jokes on him and afterwards I tell him: That's a joke. Mommy is joking.
- When we watch cartoons (Tom and Gerry Show), I explain to him: Tom is playing jokes (tricks) on Gerry. Tom is joking. or Gerry is joking.

Friends at New Sinai Educational System

Warm greetings to Mrs. Lilia del Barrio and her students at New Sinai Educational System in Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines, particularly the graduating class of Practical Nursing 2 and students of Caregiver Course.

I have 65 posts here. If you can't find everything you need here, please feel free to ask. You can find my mobile number and email address at the left side bar.

Thank you very much.

Useful Books

Photo 1: Search books, such as Look and Find, Where Are They and Find Waldo, increase Miggy's attention span, at the same time, improve his "pointing".

Photo 2: Sticker books; Coloring books; Spelling, Math, Science, English, & Writing Books. These are just a few of the books that challenge Miggy's intellect. He can do most academic activities that any regular student can perform.

* One hallmark of some children with autism: They do not know how to point (with their fingers) and share their interests with others. (I am not even sure if Miggy had any interest in anything at all when he was just a baby because he never shared it with me and he never looked at me, or if he did, it was only accidental. I may have only gotten in the way of his passing glance.)

"Dear Jesus...."

Miggy's Prayer when he was 5 years old:

"Dear Jesus, bless Mommy, bless Daddy, bless Ate, bless Miggy, bless Lolo and Lola, bless Inay and Tatay,
bless animals, bless butterflies, bless flowers, bless cars, bless Sponge Bob, bless Winnie the Pooh, bless Superman, bless Spiderman, bless Simpsons The Movie, bless Barney, bless Smiley face, bless Dumbo, and bless Jesus. Amen. I love you, Jesus. Thank you."

* And I later found out, he was looking at his stickers on the cabinet doors.

"Out of Egypt"

Jan. 3, 2010
"This is a pyramid. This is 'Out Of Egypt'," he said.

* He learned it on the Discovery Channel documentary of Egypt, entitled 'Out of Egypt' (November 2009 Episode). He was able to associate a pyramid with Egypt.

I am Miggy's friend!

Tonight, Miggy watched the Garfield Show on Cartoon Network. After switching off the TV and while getting him ready for bed, I had this very brief yet most revealing conversation with him. It went like this:

Mom: Are Garfield and Odie friends?
Miggy: "Yes."
Mom: Who is the friend of Mickey?
Miggy: "Minnie."
Mom: Who is the friend of Donald?
Miggy: "Daisy."
Mom: How about you? Do you have a friend?
Miggy: "Yes."
Mom: Who is your friend?
Miggy: "MOMMY."

* Wow, I am Miggy's friend! See, I told you I can break down his walls.

Last week, Miggy and other special children were featured twice in Baguio newspapers, namely Sun Star and Midland Courier, to stir public awareness and acceptance of autism. "Many mentors marveled at the depth and perspective of the pictures taken by the participants, others commenting that the children took even better pictures at angles that even mentors didn't see."

What can I say? I'm a proud momma!

"That's a monkey..."

Dec. 23, 2009
While I was folding Miggy's t-shirt,
Miggy read the words on the shirt and said the names of animals printed on the shirt:
"San Diego Zoo. Children's Zoo."
"That's a monkey, a parrot, a elephant, a horse, a pig, a tiger, a turtle, a panda, a koala, a bird, a rat and a beaver."

SM Photo Exhibit

In time with Panagbenga Festival and Autism month, photography artworks of 19 children with autism are showcased at SM Baguio. Exhibit runs from February 5 - 25, 2010.

* Miggy with Baguio City Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr.





* Miggy with Speech Therapist/ Owner of Play and Say Therapy Center, Justine Palou

What animal?

Oct. 2, 2009:
In one of my sessions with Miggy:
Mom: What animal has a shell on its back, green color and moves very slow?
Miggy: "It's a turtle."
Mom: What animal says arf-arf and loves to eat bones?
Miggy: "It's a dog."
Mom: What animal has brown spots and has a long neck?
Miggy: "It's a giraffe."
Mom: What animal is very big, has long ears and colored gray?
Miggy: "It's a elephant."
Mom: What animal is also gray but is very, very small? (I was referring to a mouse)
Miggy: "It's a very small elephant."
Mom: No, it's gray, it's very, very small and it says squeak.
Miggy: "It's a gray, small elephant .... that says squeak-squeak."

Alvin and the Chipmunks 2

Last Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, my family, together with all these families watched the sensory-friendly movie, "Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakquel." This was a joint project of ShoeMart, Play and Say Therapy Center, Autism Society of the Philippines (Baguio Chapter) and PMA Bantay Laya.

I posted this event to show everyone how big a family we are in our SPECIAL KINGDOM. All these families came out in the open, full of courage and pride, unmindful of shame and the insult of society.... altogether joining our little voices to shout to the world that we may not be perfect (well, no one is) but we are unique, maybe not in society's standards but in the eyes of the Maker.

*To everyone:
Please know that we too have feelings. Sometimes we get a little too sensitive and defensive. Why? Because we just couldn't stand it when other people look at our SPECIAL children with disgust. Their so-called disabilities are not at all disabling. They are not a burden to society. Like everyone else, they are also God's children, with equal rights to God's glory.

"Wow, it's spring"

Oct. 30, 2009: Miggy at 7 yrs/2mos:
Looking out the window, he said:
"Wow, it's spring."
"The birds are singing, the grass is green."

Note: We live in the Philippines and we don't have spring here. However, Miggy learned the four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn in one of his educational videos.

*Miggy has an American accent which he learned from educational videos. Anybody who hears him talk would think that he grew up in the U.S. Oftentimes, we are asked if he is a "balikbayan". The only Tagalog words he knows are pandesal, lumpia and butong-pakwan which he says in a funny way.

Reading

Miggy: "The yellow cat is playing the piano. The brown cat is playing the accordion. The gray cat is playing the trumpet and the blue cat is playing the big guitar."
Mommy: And what are you doing?
Miggy: "I am reading a book."

Bonding Moments

Photo 1: Inside Miggy's new tent (a Christmas gift from Ate)
Photo 2: Playing with Troll dolls
Photo 3: Miggy and Clarisse: studying and having fun. Hi-fives!
Photo 3: Miggy tickles his Ate. He loves it all the
more when he hears his Ate shout and laugh.



*These are moments that I thought would never ever happen.

Photography Workshop

Yesterday, Miggy and 16 other special children attended the Colors of Autism Spectrum Photography Workshop (a helping hand project of Autism Society of the Philippines, Play and Say Therapy Center and Baguio Photographers Club), held at the Botanical Garden, Baguio City.

My deepest and sincerest gratitude to Mr. Boopsie Erana who sponsored for Miggy, Mr. Martin Valeriano for being very kind and

patient in teaching Miggy the art of photography, Mr. Cess Garcia for the soulful prayer (he made us cry), Mr. Nelson Alavanza for generously lending his expensive and delicate camera to Miggy, Mr. Lino Tabangin for his support and warm acceptance, Mrs. Belette Viscocho,

Baguio City Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., ABS-CBN Baguio Newscaster Pia Guttierez, and all other photographers, "special parents" and their very, very special children.

Of course, this event could not have been possible without the endless help and unwavering support of

Play and Say Therapy Center and the Autism Society of the Philippines. You have all made us very proud of our SPECIAL CHILDREN.
Thank you very much.
May God continue to bless you always and in all ways.

A big thank you is not even enough for what you have made of my son... perhaps a future photographer? Why not?

Photos of Nature Taken by Miggy

These pictures were taken by Miggy with the guidance of Mr. Martin Valeriano.