Autism Class Part 2

So last night I went to part 2 of 3 of the autism class. This time they had a ST and two OT's come to talk to us. One of the OT's was specifically addressing feeding issues. This week was really informative!

Starting with the ST they spoke about some ways to help your child communicate. One of the things I found interesting was they advised to speak in statements and not in questions. I actually have been doing this for some time now. I found that for Michael, direct questions would really upset him and I could see his anxiety rise when I did. So I started saying things to him in statements and he has greatly improved behavior wise. They also said this was the best way for kids who echo what you say. That way they are not repeating a question, but they are repeating a statement. Michael echos a LOT so I was glad to hear this was the way to go with this sort of thing.

They also stated that once he starts school, it might be best for him to quit private 1:1 therapy and just go with the social ST with the school. I've had a bit of anxiety about the thought I'll be dropping private therapy once he starts school so I was glad to hear that is normally what happens and really might be the best way to go.

Next up was the OT addressing feeding issues. She had a lot of really good ideas to help with trying foods. She did a fun little hands on experience for us to understand what it's like for our kiddos. She gave us a plate with a variety of different foods on it. A few of them were ethnic Asian foods which I was not familiar with. One of them I said looked like dried up worms! This really helped me put it into perspective what it is like for a kiddo seeing a new food for the first time.

Last up was another OT that addressed other general sensory issues. She talked about self help skills and teaching potty learning to ASD kids. That info was really helpful as well.

All in all, it was a really informative class. Next week will be some other ASD parents as well as some advocacy groups, some of which will educate me a little more on the laws of the school system. I can't wait to hear that!