he has been observering my son and talking to us for about a month now, and he's been a great asset. In a world where almost everyone i know is in denile about my son it's nice in a way to have someone belive me! He said the behavior of my son is very typical for a kid with ASD, but he was wondering how long I think I can do by myself, I said forever if I have to but it put that fear in me again that he might end up in a placement someday. You see he just turned 10 and he is only a couple inches shorter than me and he weighs more than me. But I think he meant if I could mentally handle it. He is more like a three year old now than when he was 3. I really don't know what to think, I've been o.k. with his dx since before he got it so I thought. now reallity is smacking me in the face and I feel sad. I thought knowing what was wrong would get us moving in the right direction, but I'm realizing it might be too late, there are so many early interventions but not much for a 10 yr. old. He was also dx'd bipolar when he was 6 but I'm starting to think he's not anymore.It's not too late! Get all the help you can. Pretty soon he will become a teenager and the hormones will start setting in. Then things may get real tough for him and you.
The therapist is right on target.
Speak to the therapist about the effects of puberty. That is likely affecting your son. My 16yo is 6'2" and weighs 300 lbs. He is STRONG because he swims regularly and his favorite stroke is the butterfly, which means his upper body and arm strength is enormous. However, I never fear him. Why? Because he went through a horrible stage at around 12 or 13, when he was around my same size. He was very aggressive (the psychiatrist called it "cycles of rage" and blamed it on the surging testosterone). We were able to work with the psychiatrist to get our son on a cocktail of medication -- Risperdal, Buspar and Tenex -- that, over time, took care of his aggressive urges. These periods of aggression had no apparent trigger, so they were not really subject to control outside of medication. Of course, there were also things that WERE in my son's control. A year in a middle school especially for high functioning autistic MS kids helped IMMENSELY. The big thing was that there was a whole-school positive behavior plan and that plan gave my son the feeling of successfully controlling himself and being rewarded, consistently, for good behavior. After a year on successful medication and in a school that addressed his behavioral issues plus our putting in lots of positive behavioral supports at home, we had our happy, compliant son back. So now that he's a giant, we are not afraid of him. If your son has not yet been seen by a child psychiatrist who is an expert in autism, perhaps you therapist has a recommendation for someone good. The doctor, parents, school and outside providers ALL have to work in concert to get an ASD boy who is experiencing the negative effects of puberty on the right path. This is hard, but can be done. Good luck.
Get him everything you can. My son is 12 now and we didn't have early intervention either. He has made great progress though with the interventions we have now.
Good luck, I hope things get better for you.
Sounds like you had a wonderful therapist. Just because he did not get the early intervention does not mean it is too late. The sky is the limit for our children improving and no one should say age can stop them. A mama's love is a perfect thing, and you are getting him what he needs. So have faith in yourself but reach out for help when you need to. When we take care of ourselves we take the best care of our childrenSome form of intervention, whether early or not so early, is way better than no intervention at all...
I can sense a very loving mom in your post
Just wanted to remind you that therapies like RDI are supposed to be very helpful for older kids as well
Good luck