I want my little "monring person" back | Autism PDD

We struggle with that too...Mason needs so much attention I always worry that I don't give enough to the other children...and I was never getting anything done around the house.

I started a thing with him that seems to be working well.  I made a picture board with about 10 different things for him to chose from.  Like listen to music, color, do puzzles, play with play-do etc.  He choses one of those to do by himself or with a sibling and I do things with the other kids or get some work done around the house.  I set the timer for 1/2 hour--we have gradually increased this time--and when the timer goes off then I do something 1 on 1 with him.  I do this a couple of times a day, sometimes more, when I notice he is having a hard time keeping himself occupied.  It has really helped the frustration and tantrums this summer.  There are of course days when it doesn't work, but for the most part it has been very successful!  I think a lot of his frustration was coming from not knowing how to keep himself occupied!

Good luck, hope you find something that helps soon!

Back when Justin was a baby all the way up to age 2 he was a joy to be with during the mornings. He'd sleep in a little bit but on average would be up by 8AM. He'd also go down for a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon (between 1-2PM) and still be tired enough to go to bed by 8PM at night.

Well, now that he's 3 that seems to have all changed. Now he fights bedtime, refuses to take any naps and sleeps until 9:30. This has made it difficult to get him ready for his early-intervention preschool because it starts at 8:30AM and he's just NOT a morning person anymore. In fact, he's not much of an afternoon person either. The little wheels on his wagon seem to fall off around 3PM and it's like he's throwing sparks.

By that, I mean that he throws LOTS of tantrums - and anything else he can get his hands on. He also won't budge from his little chosen spots of refuge unless I pick him up, which he demands repeatedly. I don't know if it's because his "condition" is getting worse or if it's just because he's 3 (which makes the "terrible two's" seem like a cakewalk) and no longer the "baby" of the family (he's now a big brother to 5 month old Joey) but I've gotten to the point where it's a constant battle to get anything accomplished at all.

In all honesty, I used to get angry but lately I've even given up on that. I don't know if I'm just too tired to deal or am sick of being the bad guy but nowadays I try not to even acknowledge such drastically disruptive behavior. Right now he's up in his room throwing a mega tantrum all because I tried to lead him by the hand out of his room and not pick him up. He knows that I wanted to take him to the bathroom and maybe put him on the potty - but truth be told I've just about given up on that too.

The good news is that wrap around finally starts up next week. I realize that the TSS won't be there to babysit for me, but I sure could use any help I can get just to cope.

In the meantime, what can I do to keep him pleasant in the morning short of appeasing his desire to be picked up? It seems that he doesn't have a meltdown if I give him my undivided attention and we can get through breakfast and a few hours of floortime. Bear in mind that we have an infant too though, and I need to give him some attention too.

It could...any child is going to get "cranky" when they don't sleep well, so for our little guys it's even harder, because they might not realize what it is or they can't communicate it to us.

I do know that there is a natural hormone called melatonin.  It's supposed to help you fall asleep.  It's not prescription so you can buy it at any vitamin/drug store.  We have used it in the past to counteract a seizure med Mason was taking and keeping him awake.

It helped him fall asleep a lot faster than normal...and although it didn't seem to last the full night, he would still wake up during the night, I know that he was getting at least a few good hours of sleep.

This might be something you would want to try...if you can get him to get a good night's sleep you can compare his behavior's from the other days.

I'm not too sure about sleep apnea and tonsil problems...but if you are worried I would at least call the doctor and get their opinion.  Might help you sleep at night too, if this is a big concern!

One last thing I want to mention and only because this is something I am just learning about...my son is verbal, I'm not sure if your son is...but Mason can get any of his needs met with words...although he has this ability he still thrives with the use of pictures.  I used to only use pictures for things I didn't think he was quite comprehending.  Now I have implemented pictures for everything...at first I thought I was wasting my time because Mason could talk and what was the point...but I am already seeing a big change in him.  Even for things that he can do, I have given him picture cues and he seems a lot less aprehensive about trying it and doesn't seem to be getting as frustrated as quickly when he isn't getting it exactly the way he wants.  It was a lot of work to get this going but it really seems to be helping him!

Good luck, I hope maybe some of this advice works.

That's a good idea; I may have to write that down somewhere. Lord knows I'm pretty disorganized and forgetful myself so any little routine/ritual is bound to help! Thanks! :)

Do you think it will help forestall the meltdowns, though? He had a pretty bad one yesterday morning before I even walked into his room. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with his sleep habits, like that other thread concerning sleep apnea and enlarged tonsils?
Thanks, again!

No, Justin's not very verbal. When he does use a word it's repetitively and not always context-appropriate. For example, he will come up to us while we're seated and tell us "sit down up!" which from experience actually means "stand up and pick me up." What's frustrating is that he's been getting speech therapy for well over a year now.

As for the sleeping thing, he doesn't usually wake up during the night. It just seems that when he does wake up he's in the same state of mind that he was in when he fell asleep - like someone had just turned him off and then back on the next morning.

Copyright Autism-PDD.net