OVERWHELMED me or him HELP! | Autism PDD

This "Jekyl and Hyde" phenomenon is pretty common -- they hold it together in school and fall apart at home.

What might work in the math situation is giving him a visual sign that he's done his work right (like drawing a star) instead of just words.  He might also feel that right and wrong seem arbitrary when he always does his best to solve a problem, and yet sometimes the teacher says he's right and sometimes the teacher says he's wrong.  Giving him a key or a calculator to check his work might give him more of a sense of control.

Finally, on the subject of OCD vs. autism.  I looked into this a few days ago and posted it under another subject, but I'll paste it here since it seems to be relevant.

If you look at the traditional clinical definition of OCD, obsessions and compulsions must take up a significant amount of time (more than an hour a day) and significantly interfere with a person’s daily life, occupation, academic pursuits, and/or relationships.  Here's the clinical definition:

http://www.ocfchicago.org/overview.php?section=Diagnosis%20D efinition

But recent research suggests that OCD and autism are very similar in terms of the brain (basal ganglia and frontal lobe) and how it reacts to SSRI medicines (for example, fluoxetine/Prozac, fluvoxamine/Luvox, paroxetine/Paxil, and sertraline/Zoloft).  More details here: 

http://psy3.ucsd.edu/~autism/WinterIMFAR2002.doc

Because of those neurological and pharmacological similarities, researchers are starting to lean towards seeing OCD as a spectrum disorder that includes neurological disorders that present with repetitive behaviors (like autism and Tourettes).  More details here:

http://www.neuropsychiatryreviews.com/oct00/npr_oct00_ocd.ht ml

So it looks like what you're describing is at least a variant of OCD, regardless of whether it meets the traditional clinical definition or not.  But what to do about it is the bigger question, and I hope that you'll get some good advice on that.

 

Wow that makes great sense. My son is also in a mainstream class with a
class aide and he does like things repeated over and over again at home.
How do you handle it when your son comes home upset? I was thinking of
calling the child study team to see if they have any suggestions. I was also
thinking OCD. Does your child have OCD?

[QUOTE=mom of 2]

My son has been coming home upset from school. He said, school is hard and that he had a hard time on his math paper. He cried for a hour but
when I talked to his teacher she said he ask over and over again if he is doing it right.......She also said he does do it right and that he is doing well in
school. [/QUOTE]

I have an 8 yr old autistic boy enrolled in a mainstream class in a mainstream school. There are times when I know my boy is upset from something that happens at school coz he'll take it out on us at home (me especially).

If you described it correctly above... then the "problem" would be actually with the teacher being asked over and over again... and probably your boy was NOT GETTING THE ANSWER he wants... OR THE RIGHT WORDS.... EVEN THOUGH he is doing the maths right.

You get what I mean ???? Autistics thrive on repetitive behaviour or even repetitive dialogue... it could be something that he was looking for that he was not getting from the teacher.... AND the worst part is, the teacher is totally NOT AT FAULT coz he/she would have no idea what he wants...

Maybe a request to sit in and observe the maths class when this happens... or request permission to observe from afar, maybe next door... so that he will not start to react when he sees you in school. Then maybe you'll have some idea of what transpired.

Hope this makes sense.

Wow that makes great sense. My son is also in a mainstream class with a
class aide and he does like things repeated over and over again at home.
How do you handle it when your son comes home upset? I was thinking of
calling the child study team to see if they have any suggestions. I was also
thinking OCD. Does your child have OCD?

[/QUOTE]

How do we handle it when our boy comes home upset ?

If he's teary eyed and about to cry

My boy's repetitive act would be to make replica miniature sign-boards to go with his miniature toy cars. That's where I come in to cut out the diamond shape. Then he'll cut it into "his proper size". Then I draw in the symbols and he'll take over and add the colours. He'll fix it to a makeshift stand, paste tape behind to make it look neat. Actually add miniature stickers like what we get here in Malaysia. ( You see, loan-sharks here advertise their services by pasting their contact numbers on these road sign-boards...Don't ask how they get away with it!!)

Anyway... all this absorbing activity eventually takes his thoughts away and he'll just forget about his earlier issues.

WHEW !!! Do you call it OCD ??? He does it every day... probably for the past 12 months at least of his life so far... or maybe more !! ?? I LOST COUNT !! My son has been coming home upset from school. He said, school is hard
and that he had a hard time on his math paper. He cried for a hour but
when I talked to his teacher she said he ask over and over again if he is
doing it right. She also said he does do it right and that he is doing well in
school. He also has been getting obsesed with his clothes,shoes,
EVERYTHING! I AM NOT SURE WHAT TO DO- if he is doing ok at school but
falling apart at home how do I help him. I just feel so bad seeing him get so
fusturated over things that he doesn't need to. Has anyone else gone
through this?Thanks for all your support- it is nice to have people to talk to that
understand what I am going through Lots of hugs and lots of help at home. Daniel thinks things must be perfect.My family is that way also.
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