Repeated Words

Drove to a wedding the other day, about 5 hours or so. Along the way, our precious toddler revealed his latest fixations: choo choo trains and bridges. We must have heard those words shouted aloud from his lips 100 times each - or more.

Many parents of autistic kids know this propensity. "Perserveration" is what it is called, I am told. It can be a type of self-stimulation. Or, it may signal that very specific, image-oriented brain of his at work in its own unique way.

Choo choo train. Choo choo train. Choo choo train. Cute after the first dozen or so times. A bit frustrating after 50 or so times. And impossible to get him off that subject for the moment.

Ah, he is dialed into his world very well! And we hope to see a CHOO CHOO TRAIN on a BRIDGE soon. That'll be pretty special!

OT: Honor

To all the U.S. Veterans, young and old, who have served in the military: Thank you. We are proud of you! We thank God for you. We support and honor you.

We especially thank the families of those who died, that we might live in freedom. You have given much.

We shall not forget.

More on Media and the Very Young

Last post I referred to a Kaiser Family Foundation study which makes clear that TV and media are over-used in most American homes. More on that report today.

The research showed that an over-reliance on TV time is due in part to homes where TVs are on all the time, and homes that allow TVs in children's bedrooms.

But the report also said parents cite benefits of their young children watching programming. Parents told Kaiser that allowing TVs in the children's bedrooms lets kids watch their own programs; avoid fights with siblings; stay occupied so parents can do things around the house; and help fall asleep.

Parents also said they use TV to reward good behavior, and just more than half reported TV tends to calm their children down.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has urged no screen time at all for kids under 2, and no more than 2 hours a day for those 2 and older.

Dr. Stanley Greenspan, a psychiatrist who has written several books about children, warned that TV and media is wrong for youngsters and said...passive involvement with media is detrimental to children's development.

Now I don't know how kids with autistic spectrum disorders react to TV, nor am I aware of any studies about the benefits or detriments of TV time for autistic children. Perhaps you do?

Regardless, anecdotally it seems that our son's hyper-focus and love of routine is fed in a good way by select TV viewing. He finds some comfort and entertainment in repeatedly viewing appropriate kids videos. truth be told, the big benefit of that TV time is for Mom! When he is watching those videos or shows she has a bit of a break. He is so very intense in his needs, and she finds a breather in that hour. She tends to the other kids in the family, or to the bills, or makes phone calls.

As noted last time, we are relying on the TV more than we ever did for the older children, but at this stage in life, it seems appropriate. And very, very necessary.

Media and the Very Young

From an Advertising Age article about a recent KaiserFamily Foundation research project, some startling and disturbing stats about media use by the very young:

14% of children under 2 see two or more hours of screen media a day, 22% see one to two hours, and 25% less than an hour a day.

43% of children under 2 watch TV every day and 18% of children watch videos or DVDs every day.

All together, 14% of children under 2 see two or more hours of screen media a day, 22% see one to two hours, and 25% less than an hour a day.

19% of babies under a year old have a TV in their bedrooms and 29% of children 2 to 3 have one.

The study, one of the more extensive efforts yet to track how much time children under 6 spend with various screen media, also reports that 83% under age 6 spend time every day with TV or other screens, and those who watch do so for nearly two hours a day. Media use increases with age, with 90% of 4 to 6 year olds reporting watching or looking at screen media.

I'll admit that due to our son's autism, the corresponding learning style and his own very significant needs for "input," we've really bent the rules for him in regards to TV. Our other children (5 older siblings) rarely watched TV, especially at younger ages. He is almost 3, and watches Sesame Street or similar kiddie fare pretty much every day. Not as long in front of the tube as this study suggests is average. Still, more than we have allowed in the past. Is this ok? I'll try to explore that next post.

How about you? Do you allow your autistic child watch the TV or play on the computer this much?

(Thanks to "jwb's mom" for the pic)

Starting Points: A Good Book

Lynn Hamilton experienced difficulty and an encouraging degree of success with her autistic son, Ryan. Their family's story, along with practical suggestions and an element of faith, are in this book.

Get it here.

Dealing With Sleep Issues

Last month I was in Denver with my little guy for his sleep study at Children's Hospital. We had a fine time - really! Thanks to the prayers of many, he handled the 25-30 wires affixed all over his body pretty well. He fought the technician at first, then accepted the process of having goop put on, then wires attached, then bandaids and gauze wrapped all over.

Looked like a little mummy, as the picture shows! He slept...well, normally, which is to say he awoke numerous times. The tech said it was a successful study. Hooray!

Autism and sleep disorders seem closely related, or at least it is pretty common for kids on the spectrum to have sleep issues. We've learned to laugh a bit about the difficulties of getting up numerous times a night. We've learned how pleasant we all are when Little Man sleeps well (a rare thing, indeed). We've learned to juice our bodies with lots of caffeine to keep going day to day, hour to hour.

Our followup with the hospital is in a few weeks. We desire some answers. We are ready for him to sleep soundly through the night without medications. That would be nice.

From Dads, For Dads

Welcome to a new blog for Dads who have children with autistic disorders.

As parents, we want the best for our children. Our every effort is to guide them to maturity, to cultivate within them a good heart, to equip them with the best tools for success, to enable them to find their place in this world. Those who are Christian dads and moms also seek to fulfill the Scriptural admonition to raise up a child who will fear the Lord, and so shepherd that son or daughter toward having their own personal faith.

None of us, though, can look into the future and see what the end result of our parenting efforts will be. The couple who just got home from the hospital with their precious little newborn baby is just starting a long journey. There is simply no way possible for them to predict where that road called parenting will take them during the coming years, nor to know just what that cute little bundle will be like in another two decades.

That's what I've learned during the past 18 years or so, and during the past two years it has really come home to me that I cannot control the process at all! That's when our journey with autism began, although it wasn't until about this time last year that austism came up as a label for our boy's condition. The symptoms were hard to guage.

When the neurologist confirmed what we had suspected for some time, that autism is what we're going to be dealing with, we were both relived and concerned. Relieved because it gave us some parameters with which to work. Concerned because of the unknowns - so many things we did not understand, which we COULD not understand at the time.

With an intense devotion to learning all we can, my wife and I have become rather informed about autistic spectrum disorders - what they are, how they manifest in symptoms, how to manage and treat. And so we have days of great hope for the boy, and alternating days of great difficulty. If you have a child with autistic tendencies, you know what I am speaking about.

The journey of parenting is one of great joy, laughter, some tears, emotional anguish, fond memories and more personal growth than seems possible. Perhaps that is in spite of, or maybe because of, the uncertainties of the task. Regardless, it is one I wouldn't trade for any experience on earth.

If you have kids, I hope you feel the same.

And if you are a Dad with an autistic child, I trust you'll find this blog to be a source of encouragement in the days to come. Sometimes, just knowing someone else has dealt with the situation we are dealing with gives hope and helps us carry on with a bit more energy.