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Today's post is especially dedicated to my online friend, Doc Kae, a mother of two-year-old twins, a boy and a girl, both under the Autism Spectrum.
Even as a baby, I knew Miggy was a little “special” from other babies. He never cried even if he was hungry or wet. He didn't need cuddling and the usual rock-a-bye-baby bedtime routines. He seemed very contented in his crib, kicking, sucking his fingers, and always moving. He seemed to be deaf because he never turned his head toward sounds; he had no eye contact; no coos or babbles.
At age 2, Miggy st
arted manifesting the following behavioral concerns:
- walking on tiptoes
- running back and forth
- banging his head on walls
- not sensitive to pain; could not feel minor pains
Even as a baby, I knew Miggy was a little “special” from other babies. He never cried even if he was hungry or wet. He didn't need cuddling and the usual rock-a-bye-baby bedtime routines. He seemed very contented in his crib, kicking, sucking his fingers, and always moving. He seemed to be deaf because he never turned his head toward sounds; he had no eye contact; no coos or babbles.
At age 2, Miggy st
arted manifesting the following behavioral concerns:
- walking on tiptoes
- running back and forth
- banging his head on walls
- not sensitive to pain; could not feel minor pains
- no fear of danger
- excessive scratching (to the point of bleeding) of bumps on his skin, such as old vaccines, old wounds, insect bites, the skin in contact with clothing labels or folds
- flapping his hands when excited (e.g., upon hearing certain sounds)
- spinning and running in circles
- his very few words disappeared (e.g., mama, dada, ate-ate)
- always jumping; stomping his feet; tapping hands on walls
- moving his head in circles
- staring at objects from the far side of his eyes with neck angled
- lining up of objects (cars facing the same direction)(His lines could not be disturbed for it may trigger an outburst.)
- filling and emptying boxes, baskets or cabinets
- very fascinated with the sight of water and its pouring sound
- preoccupation with objects being placed in his chosen location
- strong liking for round and rolling objects
- trying to eat all edibles and inedibles (papers, toys, or anything that could fit into his mouth)
- destructive; breaking all breakables (particularly glasses with water) and forcefully trying to break the unbreakables
- covering both ears when the place was too crowded and noisy
- could not stay seated even for 2 seconds
- very, very good with puzzles (It was really bizarre. I witnessed him accurately complete the back of a puzzle. It was done on a glass table. When I viewed it from under the table, it was perfect. He was four years old then.)
- spinning and running in circles
- his very few words disappeared (e.g., mama, dada, ate-ate)
- always jumping; stomping his feet; tapping hands on walls
- moving his head in circles
- staring at objects from the far side of his eyes with neck angled
- lining up of objects (cars facing the same direction)(His lines could not be disturbed for it may trigger an outburst.)
- filling and emptying boxes, baskets or cabinets
- very fascinated with the sight of water and its pouring sound
- preoccupation with objects being placed in his chosen location
- strong liking for round and rolling objects
- trying to eat all edibles and inedibles (papers, toys, or anything that could fit into his mouth)
- destructive; breaking all breakables (particularly glasses with water) and forcefully trying to break the unbreakables
- covering both ears when the place was too crowded and noisy
- could not stay seated even for 2 seconds
- very, very good with puzzles (It was really bizarre. I witnessed him accurately complete the back of a puzzle. It was done on a glass table. When I viewed it from under the table, it was perfect. He was four years old then.)
Miggy’s hyperactivity, compulsions, obsessions, and repetitive behaviors were managed through occupational therapies. He was diagnosed at 2yrs/9months in May 2005, and exactly six days after, he started his therapies (one-hour sessions, 2 - 3 times per week). To shape his behavior and calm him down, sensory integration techniques were applied, such as ball rocking, pancake (being rolled and squeezed in a mattress), jumping on trampoline, and deep pressures massages (with the use of lotion).
Teacher Joan Ongat, his first occupational therapist, miraculously taught Miggy to stay seated for 5 minutes at first, then 10, then 20, and so on until Miggy was able to sit for a full hour and was able to complete the tasks (sorting shapes and colors, beading, shading, connecting dots). They began every session with sensory integration.
In August 2005 (age 3), exactly after 3 months of occupational therapy, Miggy talked in one-word only, such as names of common objects, shapes, colors, parts of the body which he learned from BumbleBee Educational Videos playing non-stop during the day for more than two months.
He became echolalic. (Echolalia is the delayed or immediate echoing of meaningless words heard from TV commercials, radio, movie scripts, parental reprimands, etc.) He would repeat lines from his favorite educational videos over and over and over again.
By December 2005 (age 3years/4months), he could spell names of animals, shapes, colors, numbers, common objects. And then again, three months after, he learned to read from rote memory and he learned to count objects from 1 – 20 before he was 4 years old.
At home, I gave him daily deep pressure massages. Swinging in a hammock proved very effective too. Magic! While swinging, I would always ask him the names of each flashcard I showed him and volia! He would always give me correct answers. It was probably the dizzying effect of the swinging motion that made him very focused. Or sometimes, I would just count aloud 1 – 50, over and over again while he seemed to be listening.
Miggy did hippotherapy with speech therapist, Justin Palou, for 2 months when he was 5yrs old. Hippotherapy is a therapeutic horseback riding. In children with autism, it helps in improving gross motor skills (sitting, standing and walking); strengthening speech and language skills; and improving behavioral and cognitive abilities.
Now, at age 7 years/11 months, Miggy outgrew almost all symptoms. What remained are: covering the ears and scratching.
Sometimes, he still stands and walks on tip toes. I always have to remind him: “Miggy, down on your heels.” And in rebellion because he probably didn’t like my tone of voice, he would stomp his feet hard on the floor.
He doesn’t like the sound of thunder and fireworks, and the sound of rain falling on the roof. He would cover his ears, hide under the pillow, or close the window and draw the curtains. He likes bangi
ng his knuckles or big toe on hard surfaces whenever he hears a particular music on Cartoon Network. He likes to stare at patterns (ex: stripes on a bedsheet). His present obsessive-compulsive behaviors are: (1) hoarding of his favorite snacks in a small transparent bag, perfectly arranged, he would know if I
to
uched them and would only eat them when a substitute is available; (2) watching the same video everyday for more than a month, memorizing all lines with the exact intonation; (3) obsession with cars, little furniture, stickers, crayons, markers, colored pencils, and empty boxes of cookies; (4) unable to sleep when a toy is missing or when he noticed that something is not placed in his preferred location. Last week, in the middle of the night, his older sister and I helped Miggy search for his little toy soap smaller than a rice crispy and a shampoo the size of a kernel corn. He said,
uched them and would only eat them when a substitute is available; (2) watching the same video everyday for more than a month, memorizing all lines with the exact intonation; (3) obsession with cars, little furniture, stickers, crayons, markers, colored pencils, and empty boxes of cookies; (4) unable to sleep when a toy is missing or when he noticed that something is not placed in his preferred location. Last week, in the middle of the night, his older sister and I helped Miggy search for his little toy soap smaller than a rice crispy and a shampoo the size of a kernel corn. He said,
“The soap is missing. Where is the shampoo? Mommy, you find it.”
It was only last year (September 2009) when he became aware of danger. We were going home from school, waiting for a cab, there was a big truck approaching us, he backed off a few steps, exclaiming “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” There was this time also, he was seated at the front of our car. At a sharp curve, again there was a truck and he probably thought it was going to hit us. He pressed his right shoe hard on the floor, as if he was in charge of the brakes, crying out, “Daddy, oh no!”
Children with autism experience sensory dysfunction in all five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. They have trouble processing information they receive from all these senses, all the more confusing their already confused minds. Autistic minds do not interpret sensations just like we do. A gentle pat may feel like a forceful blow; a certain color may hurt their eyes; soft music may come to them as too deafening; or sweet fragrances may be too intense. They may not feel the floor, causing them to stomp their feet. Stares from strangers may be too overpowering, causing them to avoid eye contact. Sensory integration helps autistic children balance all sensory input they receive so that eventually they will become skilled to react to the stimuli.
Note: The above mentioned interpretations were only based from my personal observations of my son. All children under the spectrum may naturally behave differently.
For more info on Miggy’s intervention, please click on the topics on Intervention at the left side bar.
