skills in "AS" and "HFA" | Autism PDD
Snoopywoman, I really like your suggestions for self help skills. Adam has very much difficulty with this, and especially showering and tolieting. We have a shower proof sign in the shower that shows exactly what he should do, that has helped and I don't think he needs to look at it now because he is in a routine. He can do things if they are the same everytime, i.e. shower, teeth, but he still has trouble with his shoes and clothes and cleaning up after himself.
He is going to a different school than his brothers this year and I now realize how much his youngest brother was doing for him in the morning to get to school he is almost lost without him. I am making him a picture schedule this weekend for next week to try and help him get ready. I happened to be home yesterday and he came into the family room with just jeans on. I asked where his shirt and socks and shoes were and he said he didn't know. There were in his room. I had to guide him to be dressed. But I am not home every morning and my dh is not as good with helping him.
I'm not sure it's just having to, when it comes to kids, but having to combined with a deep-seated parental instinct.I know a lot of autistic women who couldn't take care of themselves, but could take care of their kids once they had them (and then often themselves at least the bare minimum to be able to look after their kids).
Not that that kicks in for everyone, or always to the same extent, but it seems relatively common (skills rearranging for kids, that is). I've heard both autistic and non-autistic women talking about it. One thing I heard from one researcher about self-help skills is that there's one possible reason autistic people tend to do more poorly in that area than other skills: Because many self-help skills are done in private. So we don't get the chance to observe people doing them day-in and day-out. It'd be interesting to see whether that holds true by, for instance, seeing whether autistic children pick up any of them better or worse in cultures with different privacy standards than the ones the research happens in. I know my self help skills are appalling and ironically have improved a bit since having children.
Bullet - they've probably had to! I know my organizational skills have HAD to get better since having children. Although they have been sorely lacking since we moved. I'm hoping with the start of school I can do better. But I better get off the computer first!
Just also wanted to mention that the famous people who have AS are the exception, not the rule. And they have issues too. As far as anyone knows Bill Gates does NOT have AS - he is usually mentioned when citing famous people who have AS - but that is a RUMOR. Yes, he certainly shows some traits, but no one has ever known for sure that he has it (to my knowledge). I am pretty sure he does not have a diagnosis. Temple Grandin certainly has issues (she has classic autism). Dan Akroyd is self-diagnosed last I heard.
Anyway, it certainly does give me hope that there are people out there who are functioning okay, but it also gives me all that more motivation to teach these things young! I'm probably starting ds younger on tasks than I would an NT child, but it is paying off. And, it rubs off on my little dd as well - which is always a positive!
I've always thought this was acually part of his autism because it's very independent.
If you get your child into a good routine (some kids can do this, others can't as easily) - then if they are a "rules-oriented" type child - well, they are often better about doing tasks without being told. They have programmed it into their daily routine. hmmm... interesting, I wonder what 'CD' meant?Hmmm... so relativly few have telephone skills and can plan their own travel. I know I talk all of 30 seconds or less on the phone b4 ive had enough, making my GF a bit upset, id much rather prefer to type, rather then constantly feel on the spot as far as a response and not being able to ask to repeat as much as I feel nessissary to understand what the other person just said (i say 'what' almost constantly, i need to hear stuff 2x for whatever reason, not sure if its related). Im going on vacation and am traveling outa state (alone) first time ever, im very nervous, and I know im keeping it very simple, (hotel room, travel by car using maps) I have no intention to make it any more difficult then that.
It said that studies showed their were 'significant' difficulties in older HFA adults? I wonder what exactly that means, like older men? Or older kids (IE young adults?) I must say ya some things may be a little harder for me then others, but I dont have a real difficult time, I feel I generally know what im doin, and whats expected of me. I know ill drop everyone elses expectations next week cause ill be doin whatever I want, hehehe
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[QUOTE=NorwayMom]Interesting. The DSM-IV says "There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self help skills [...] in childhood." On the basis of the study quoted above, that is obviously not true in adolescence.Thanks for sharing this.[/QUOTE]
Actually, part of the point that's being made is that criterion is not observed during diagnosis because otherwise almost nobody would be diagnosed with AS, since people with otherwise-diagnosable AS do often have delays in self-help skills in early childhood. I think the author of the blog entry (who's a teen dxed with AS herself) is trying to say that criterion should be removed from the diagnostic criteria for AS.self-help skills. At this point, dd has dx of autism. But, psych feels she'll
fall more into AS later on. I was confused when she said this, as dd's
adaptive skills are very delayed along w/ language/communication. She
has seen many patients who early on have speech issues, but by school-
age, they are most certainly AS. She felt the adaptive skills don't
necessarily mean the difference between aspergers & autism. So, similar
to this story here. I've heard of a lot of people (adults & teens) w/ AS
having issues with getting and/or maintaining a job, as well as with daily
tasks & grooming.
It's interesting...my nephew is AS or HFA, & the family keeps insisting this
will mean he'll not have many problems, or isn't as "severe" as my dd.
Which, I am gently trying to let them know that his dx doesn't guarantee
an easier time in life than my dd may have. People hear "high
functioning" & automatically think "quirky." I swear, I think my nephew's
parents would have been devastated to hear "autism," yet "aspergers"
seems easier to them. Trouble is, they are not being compassionate w/
his issues, they're pushing him way too hard, & just not helping him the
way he needs help (routine, visuals, patience, etc.). They think he'll just
go on & be okay as he gets older (he is 5 now), because his dx is AS. A
lot of falsehoods & myths exist when it comes to AS (just like the rest of
the spectrum!!).
We have focused a LOT on ds' self-help skills as I know this can be an issue later on. So, he is expected to make his bed every morning (it is not done well, but it is done). If he has dry cereal, he can pour it himself. I get the milk out of the fridge (he can't reach it as it is on highest shelf in a side-by-side) but he can pour it in the bowl with some supervision and also milk in his cup. This was learned in Head Start as well as at home. He takes his dishes over to the sink and puts whatever garbage he has in the garbage can. He picks out his own clothes the night before (they usually match, but sometimes I have to tell him to pick out something else and explain why. He bathes himself - although we do have to remind him to wash certain places that he always forgets. He gets himself dressed and undressed with little or no prompting. Brushes teeth by himself. He is NOT good at brushing/combing his hair. For some reason, I can't get him to brush backward - he wants to brush everything forward and this does not look nice. That is one of my goals for the year - to get him to learn how to do that better.
Anyway, he is only 6, but I figure the more I do now, the better off he will be in the future. We are still working at tying shoes and buttoning pants. He does fine with snaps, but by age 8, we will be hard-pressed to find snap pants I've been told - so we're going to be working on that this year as well.
Organizational skills - well, I think all of our kids have a tough time with that. But ds is certainly capable of telling me when he needs to eat! However, I do often need to remind him to go potty as he tends to hold it way longer than he should. I do send him over to the twins' house and he is able to be there and play and then come home when either the mom tells him to or when I tell him it's time to come home (I get the usual amount of complaining, but usually am able to accomplish this without him having a near-meltdown). I guess I would put that under "leisure activities". He talks on the phone okay for a 6 year-old and can have a conversation with my parents on the phone. I've had conversations with my niece who is the same age and they are pretty similar to those my son has. We've put him on the phone with people since he was about 2 and that was always a game he enjoyed - pretending to call people.
Anyway, I didn't read the whole article but I am hopeful that since we got a head start on life skills that this prognosis won't hold true for everyone. It's never too late to start working on those skills! I was just noticing tonight at dinner that my ds got done with dinner and automatically took his stuff over to the counter. He's been doing this for years (my daughter does it now too - so he's setting a good example) and he does this at other people's houses too. They are usually amazed that he does this (not because of his ASD but because a LOT of kids his age don't do that!).
Interesting stuff, gtto. Thanks for posting!
I just ran across someone's blog thing that had to do with a similar subject that we were talking about on here earlier, which was adaptive skill levels in autistic people and the assumption that certain categories of autistic people tend to be really good at them.It read, in part:
[quote]I'm thinking of maybe getting together evidence regarding self-care problems in people diagnosed as Asperger Syndrome in order to argue that the 'lack of significant delay in self-care' criteria of AS is misleading. So far, I've found the following articles: one comparing AS and Conduct Disorder in teenage boys, finding that, according to their parents, 50% of the AS boys and 95% of the CD boys were independent in basic self-care (washing, toothbrushing), 5% of AS and 40% of CD boys had no problems with decisions about self-care (eg deciding when to eat), 15% of AS boys and 80% of CD boys had normal telephone skills, 5% of AS and 35% of CD boys could plan their own travel, 0% of AS boys and 25% of CD boys were independent in buying major items, 5% of AS boys and 70% of CD boys had no trouble planning their own routine and 0% of AS boys and 60% of CD boys were independent in leisure activities outside of home and one studying AS or HFA adults that found that out of 16 individuals, 1(AS) had a regular job, 1(AS) was a university student, 3(1 AS, 2 HFA) had a sheltered job, 5 (2 AS 3 HFA) attended a day center and 6 (5 AS, 1 HFA) had no occupation, the one with a regular job was the only one not living off of public assistance, which in 13 of them was some form of disability pension, 9 lived in their own apartment, 1 (the student) with their parents, 5 in a group home and 1 in the hospital. Not much available, but the few studies done show significant difficulties for older 'high functioning' autistics.[/quote]
The whole thing can be viewed here.
Interesting. The DSM-IV says "There is no clinically significant delay in cognitive development or in the development of age-appropriate self help skills [...] in childhood." On the basis of the study quoted above, that is obviously not true in adolescence.
Thanks for sharing this.
That really doesn't sound very accurate--when you look at the famous people with AS. My dh went his whole life without knowing he had AS until 37yo. The only self-help problem I see is---maybe a "male" thing--- he djust doesn't "clean" himself very well. He even pees on the floor/seat in the bathroom! He just doesn't pay enough attention to do it the right way. Hygiene could be better. He is sloppy and just lays things around. Unfortunately---he doesn't have OCD. I blame it on his upbringing. His parents are just like this.
So maybe it's just a normal male thing and not an AS thing.
My son is PDD-NOS, not AS, but oddly enough self-help skills are a strength (granted he is only 6). On his last vineland, while he showed to be 2 years behind in communication and social, he was ahead on daily living skills, particularly on the "domestic skills" domain. This is definitely an area where C is better than his NT twin. C was able to dress himself, do buttons and snaps, put shoes on, zip jackets, brush teeth and shampoo hair independently before R was. It's all so interesting to read this stuff...I had a teen in foster care that has AS,some of his problems were ,flooding the bathroom every time he took a shower,getting his hands full of peanut butter when he made a sandwich, spilling cereal ,milk ect...
At home he would be scolded for this ,I gave him visuals,ex..A posted note on the bathroom wall,"SHOWER CURTAIN INSIDE THE TUB"he could never remember this otherwise.
I put a piece of tape on the knife handle to show him how far to put it in the jar.
All of these things should have been taught at an earlier age,But his parents think these things were wilfull,and he should know them.
I took note ,of how my attitude helped him learn these self help skills (I am so great-full for this Insight) ,and will be working toward my sons Independence alot sooner than I would have otherwise.
Linda
One thing that helped with me was that I got as much support as I could. I got parenting magazines (steered clear of books though I'm not sure why), joined a mums and baby group (though I did end up saying almost nowt the whole time I was there) and later a toddler group. Also, my then next door neighbour was a co-ordinator for the National Childbirth Trust, so though I'm not a member I do go to the coffee mornings. I also joined an online parenting group where I get lots of support and advice. I went to the health visitor regularly as well when the lads were babies (I was lucky in that most I encountered were helpful and indeed two of them noticed that Tom was different than others his age).Copyright Autism-PDD.net