kylenstevesmom

Rhonda, as you know my 2 boys have Asperger's... so I can relate.The swing sounds awesome, and Zach looks like he enjoys it and is making good use out of it.
I think Kyle would have gotten some use out of something like that... but when he was that age he was undiagnosised and seriously misunderstood.
One thing you can tell Zach is that he gets to swing on his swing even when it's snowing outside and everyone else has to wait until it gets nice out!!!

Theresa

Rhonda

Thanks Clem and Mad. He is a great kid. He does so well in the environment he is in. He is going into 4th grade and he does the same work as his classmates just not as much of it. He has an aide that goes with him through his day and keeps him on track and he does really well! We marval at how much he has progressed over the last year or two. He has just made great leaps and bounds in his understanding and comprehension.
He can do things on the internet I don't know how to do! He discovered he could pause a video and print off a picture of that video. Then he has me cut out a part of that picture - a tree or a picture frame or Sam Wiggles etc and then he tapes those to a paper and draws the story around that picture. He gets really detailed in his imaginary stories!! He is putting them in a spiral notebook and I wil keep those spirals.

He is so much fun to have around. He loves to roughhouse and tickle and loves the one on one. He is a cuddlebug which is unusual for most autistics. Most can't stand to be touched. But he clings to Sara's legs and tells her he is a koala bear and she is the tree! LOL

Rhonda

That swing was a life saver. He gets too antzy and bouncing off the walls when he doesn't get some kind of sensory outlet. As we only have a 3 room house we don't have alot of room for him to run. So the swing is a great alternative. He was obsessed with slides when he was little and the swing was another obsession. We could put him in a baby swing on the swing set outside and know where he was and not have to deal with him running away all the time. He has had that obsession since he was little. He would run into neighbor's yards across the street or even down the street to get to a swingset or slide. So the sling swing solves several issues for him.

Rhonda

How old are your boys now? I still have some issues of him throwing himself on the ground in a temper and I can't move him physically. Sara uses stern voice and telling him to get up but he doesn't always listen to me. One time he did this to me in the middle of the street and scared me because I couldn't get him to move. He is almost as tall as me now and I do worry abit if he is too big to handle and he won't listen to me.

I do use time out and he hates that as he has to sit on my bed with Papa in his wheelchair right beside him. Papa takes no guff so he doesn't get away with the temper tantrums for long.
I also use 123 as does Sara and it works most of the time.

We both -Sara and I- think about what his teen years will be like. He will be 10 in Jan and that sounds so grown up!! LOL

Joeysnana

These kids are incredibly sweet. Others could take a lesson from them. After an episode of disruptive behavior, my DGS is heartbroken and puts his arms around my neck and just keeps saying, "I'm sorry, Nana. I'm sorry, Nana." He is a sweetheart.

granniebj

What a cutie! I bet he loves the swing! A great idea!

Rhonda

They can bring you to tears! I have seen Zach jump to say sorry to get out of trouble but when it isn't anything that was his fault and he dissolves into I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!! and his face is so upset it just makes you want to cry for him. He is so sweet most of the time. And when the disruptive behavior happens I can usually redirect. He loves to be tickled so the tickle monster will make a visit and he can turn around with help.

One of his and my favorite redirects is a game I started with my daughter when she was little. It is the opposite game. I say yes he has to say no I may say it several times and he has to listen and change when I change. I may say yes then change to sometimes then maybe never and he has to say always etc. He is really good at it and has created his own versions.

I say too bad so sad when things don't go his way and he will come back with too good too happy!

Joeysnana

Yes, redirection is the key. My GS too says he is sorry so sorry when it is really his little brother who is doing the mischief!

ForestHobbit

Please tell Zachary the ForestHobbit says howdy. Your DGS is a handsome boy. And he sure seems to love the swing. I didn't realize it could be so multi-functional. He is a lucky boy to have such a wonderful grandmother to look out for him.

tweetee

My son has high functioning autism as well he is 8, and it sounds like him and your your young Zach are from the same groove.
You descibe him so well, and I see alot of my son there.

My boy is also incrediby sweet, and comes out with the funniest of things sometimes. He is a real cuddlebum with me, for some some reason cant stand it when anyone else tries to kiss him or cuddle him.

My son is a whizz on the computer, teaches me how to do alot of things on it, and then is sooo proud of himself becasue he can teach something, he goes around telling anyone who will listen what he did. He does have the occasional meltdown, but we always use distraction to try and head it off before it gets that bad. He is in a mainstream school but also has an aide to help him to understand. His writting and spelling is not that good, but he loves to read, and is already reading novels on his own. Typing on the computer he is amazing as well.

I love my boy to bits, and I wouldnt have him any other way. He is very special to me in so many ways, with his quirky behavior, which he amplifies when it makes me laugh. All he seems to want to do when I am around is please me and make me laugh which he strives to do. The best gift I can give him is to laugh at his jokes, or pranks (which he plays on my DH all the time)because it makes him soooo visibly happy. Material things mean nothing to him, but give him a smile and you have just given him the world.