Bowling & Battery

So sorry for no posts everyone I was vacationing in Arizona :)

So while in Arizona I faced my fears and explored the high altitude mountainous terrain. Which made me think... how do persons who have Autism perceive fear and danger. I always noticed that personally with my brother Jacob he never seemed to understand the concept of danger. He would run out in the road grab knifes etc. He also seemed to have no fear of heights, water, bugs, or anything. I guess not being able to make the connection of things being dangerous or that they can hurt you there is no reason for fear.

That being said my brother and a few other children that I have had the opportunity to work with always created a stressful situate. For example at home we had a regular door lock, a deadbolt, and  chain lock on all doors leading t the outside. Not only did we have those three locks but a security system which went off when any windows or doors were open, and it alerted as to which door had been opened. I sure did get tired of hearing " front door" lol.

I did not understand until recently how much this no fear / no concept of danger actually could be harmful to the persons with Autism until today... I have the great pleasure of working for the Autism Society of North Carolina. I recently moved to a new city and was able to get a client in my city, he is a high-functioning child with autism, with sever behaviors. Everyone had warned me be careful he can be extremely violent and how strong he was. From my first month of working with this child I saw the complete opposite. I saw a extremely intelligent , well mannered, very independent with most tasks, and overall even tempered.

Until today.....

I had taken this child out into the community several times since beginning work with him and he did great, i had almost forgotten that he too suffered from lack of understanding fear, danger, and even pain . Long story short he was triggered by many different stimulus in the bowling ally today and he had a sever behavior. It was like none other that I had seen, I knew I had to try my best to stay calm. Needless to say he harmed himself, me, and almost destroyed the bowling ally. I kept my calm until his family arrived and then it was all I could do to grab my things and leave without crying. It all happened so fast it was like I was watching from above , as I got into my car I just exploded with emotions. It was not pretty either, you know that ugly uncontrollable crying, that was me . Alone in my car, crying and trying to breathe.

Even through the pain of being beat up physically from this small child, all I could think was how does he feel? I wanted to help him today and I fear I only made it worse.

I just wonder how my mother, his mother, and many other children / adults families deal with this daily.  I was so confident and hopeful when I took on this case and after today I have no idea how to help him. How do you help a child who suffers from sever mood swings, who doesn't understand the concept of danger? I am lost...

Overall I have a new appreciation for my mother and all she had dealt with and successfully taught my brother. I hope and pray for my clients family that they can soon find some solution not only to help their child but the entire family as well..

Well I can say is I hope that my impact on this child's life has been and will continue to be a positive one, and that not only Can I continue to teach him skills but to keep learning from him.

Until All the Pieces Fit

-Chandra

New Book!

Hello from Arizona!

So on my flight to Arizona I brought a book that I had purchased awhile ago. I found it in the special needs area of Barnes and nobles! Any who I thought this plane ride would be the perfect time to crack open this book and see what it's all about. The name of the book is House Rules, it is a story of a single mother with two sons. One Son has been diagnosed with aspergers (which to some who may not know , is a form of autism on the begging of the spectrum which usually means the person is high functioning). This story goes through their life's being told from each persons perspective. I find it most rewarding to read this due to the fact that not only are you getting the mothers and younger brothers side , you are also hearing "Jacobs" side . Ironically enough my brother who was also diagnosed with autism , name is Jacob. So it really hit close to home  for me.

I think this would be a good book for families to read who are just in the beginning stages of diagnosis or even if you just have some concerns your child may be going though this .

This is the book you all should go buy it! It's not only Informative but a seriously good read A+++ from me :).

So I am a tad bit jet lagged and couldn't sleep but after this post I am super ready for bed! 

~Until All The Pieces Fit~

Chandra

Introduction

AUTISM?!?!

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. They include autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome. With the May 2013 publication of the new DSM-5 diagnostic manual, these autism subtypes will be merged into one u . mbrella diagnosis of ASD

Hello All! I am creating this blog in hopes to create a place where everyone who's life has been or will be affected by Autism to have a place to learn and share stories. 

BIO:

I am currently twenty one ( 22 in 6 days!) and have a ten year old brother who has Autism. Not only has my home life been affected but it has spilled over into my career and education. I found out when I was 14 years old that my brother was different. 

Meet Jacob:

Jacob Rhodes is my brother, he was diagnosed at age two with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). We only found out and became worried because his normal functions of 0-24 month growth had regressed. Initially he had the basic buildings of his speech, saying mama, dada, baba etc. He was walking and eating normally. At the age of two my brother was what we call "normal". After receiving his shots he became less like my brother and more like something I had never seen. He lost all basic instinctive skills. Meaning he seemed not to know how eat, he was scared of using the bathroom ( mainly defication) . He was no longer walking or crawling but scooting on his butt everywhere. He lost all eye contact, as well as any speech he had built. Now his "normal" day consisted of moaning ( making an EEEEEE noise), flapping his hands, and basically acting as if the world around him did not exist. It's almost like he became blind and deaf. He had no sense of reacting to all the sensory stimulus that the world around him was providing him. 

So that's just a little bit about me and my family. In this blog I will be discussing the techniques I learn through my education, through my job, and through my personal experiences with my brother.

That's all for now ladies & Gents. Have a wonderful night.