L
LaceButterfly
Guest
Again, thank you all for your replies and support. It means more to me than I could ever possibly express.
I have spoken with my husband about trying church as a way of socializing our children, which is something that has been suggested to us before. He agreed, so this week I will begin making calls to see which parishes have child care and if they are equipped to handle children with autism. I figure the best way to get the used to things is to have them around other children first, then as they mature, introduce them to mass.
I am actually afraid to try it, to be honest. Many autistics are unable to express themselves - my son is not one of them. He never stops talking unless he is asleep. He loves infomercials and a lot of his speech echoes what he hears in them. I expect him to have a difficult time adjusting to an environment in which he needs to be quiet but eventually I’m sure he can do it.
My daughter, on the other hand…
She is mostly non-verbal and has social anxiety. In addition to her autism she has PDDNOS and a mood disorder, which means her moods can change immediately and without warning. When she gets tired of being out and wants to go home she will ask first, then throw a fit if we don’t take immediate steps to get her here. She screams, she cries, she contorts (as in, turns her body backward until the bottoms of her feet touch the top of her head - I’ve never seen anything like it), she self injures (bites and scratches herself, hits herself, etc.). Recently she has also been regressing in her bathroom habits and will urinate on the floor if someone is in the bathroom and she doesn’t want to wait or she’s throwing a fit. She’s done this at school twice in the last two weeks because she wanted to come home. She also has the classic autistic sleep disorder. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times she has slept through the night since she was born. Even when she was a newborn she was up all night. Two weeks after she was born 9/11 happened, and I have often said I was probably the most well informed mom in the country because I was sitting up all night with her, watching CNN and trying in vain to get her to sleep.
This is why I am reluctant to take them to services. My son may be able to sit still and be quiet eventually, but I have doubts my daughter ever will. She is farther along on the spectrum than my son. To say that we are terrified about what will happen to them when we are no longer here to care for them is an extreme understatement.
They are sweet, beautiful children and we are blessed beyond measure to have them, and we are so afraid for their futures.
Mommyhood calling again. I still want to try to post a personal response to everyone who posts, but it may take a couple of days.
I have spoken with my husband about trying church as a way of socializing our children, which is something that has been suggested to us before. He agreed, so this week I will begin making calls to see which parishes have child care and if they are equipped to handle children with autism. I figure the best way to get the used to things is to have them around other children first, then as they mature, introduce them to mass.
I am actually afraid to try it, to be honest. Many autistics are unable to express themselves - my son is not one of them. He never stops talking unless he is asleep. He loves infomercials and a lot of his speech echoes what he hears in them. I expect him to have a difficult time adjusting to an environment in which he needs to be quiet but eventually I’m sure he can do it.
My daughter, on the other hand…
She is mostly non-verbal and has social anxiety. In addition to her autism she has PDDNOS and a mood disorder, which means her moods can change immediately and without warning. When she gets tired of being out and wants to go home she will ask first, then throw a fit if we don’t take immediate steps to get her here. She screams, she cries, she contorts (as in, turns her body backward until the bottoms of her feet touch the top of her head - I’ve never seen anything like it), she self injures (bites and scratches herself, hits herself, etc.). Recently she has also been regressing in her bathroom habits and will urinate on the floor if someone is in the bathroom and she doesn’t want to wait or she’s throwing a fit. She’s done this at school twice in the last two weeks because she wanted to come home. She also has the classic autistic sleep disorder. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many times she has slept through the night since she was born. Even when she was a newborn she was up all night. Two weeks after she was born 9/11 happened, and I have often said I was probably the most well informed mom in the country because I was sitting up all night with her, watching CNN and trying in vain to get her to sleep.
This is why I am reluctant to take them to services. My son may be able to sit still and be quiet eventually, but I have doubts my daughter ever will. She is farther along on the spectrum than my son. To say that we are terrified about what will happen to them when we are no longer here to care for them is an extreme understatement.
They are sweet, beautiful children and we are blessed beyond measure to have them, and we are so afraid for their futures.
Mommyhood calling again. I still want to try to post a personal response to everyone who posts, but it may take a couple of days.