Playing the A-card

When Husband and I find ourselves in social situations with our daughter, we often wonder if and when we should “play the a-card” as I put it.  That is, when is it better to tell people she has autism as a way of explaining strange behavior vs. not singling her out as different.  In the past I think I have been to quick to blurt out “she has autism” because I often get denials like “oh, she’s so young, how could you know that” or “she seems normal to me” (see my post on Breaking the Parenting Mold called “Stop Trying to Convince Me My Daughter Doesn’t have Autism”).  So now I try to hold my tongue, because I recognize that while her stimming behaviors or language delay or lack of social interaction may be obvious to me, it’s not always as obvious to others, and it’s usually better for everyone if people treat her like every other kid.  Most people write off her odd behaviors as just being a toddler.  It’s only after spending a lot of time with her that the differences become more obvious.

There’s also that look that I get when I say “she has autism.”  A look of pity and confusion, followed by other parents keeping their distance.  I’m willing to bet every parent of a kid with “special needs” knows that look.  Or, less commonly, “oh, my sibling/cousin/friend’s sibling has autism!”  followed usually by a description of how they function as an adult, ranging from “she lives in a group home, but seems to like it there” to “he made it through college and has a good job now.”

Sometimes though playing the A-card is necessary and can illicit help and understanding we might not otherwise get.  For example, we took our daughter to an event with bouncy houses.  She’s obsessed with her shoes and screams at taking them off, but wanted to get in a bouncy house.  The employee supervising said that kids had to take their shoes off, but when we tried she screamed and it was clear that removing her shoes was traumatic for her.  We explained that she is autistic and the employee kindly made an exception and allowed her in with shoes.

So readers (all 10ish of you?) when do you play the A-card for your kids/relatives, or for yourself if you are on the spectrum?  What results have you gotten?

Letting the diagnosis sink in

Even though my daughter was diagnosed with autism almost 8 months ago, I find that I am still processing the news.  Despite creating this blog, and despite the post I wrote for Break the Parenting Mold in which I complained about others trying to convince me my daughter doesn’t have autism, I sometimes doubt the diagnosis myself.  Sometimes I think maybe she really isn’t autistic, that she’s just a late bloomer, and it’s all a mistake.  Or that she’ll be one of those kids with “optimal outcomes” who lose the autism diagnosis.   After all, she has made huge strides since beginning intensive ABA, and her therapists say she is the fastest learner they have ever seen.  I’ve had doctors comment that she is “clearly very intelligent.”

But inevitably, just as I’m thinking that maybe my child doesn’t have autism but is really just a smart late bloomer, something reminds me that she is in fact autistic.  She might start rocking back and forth or flapping her hands in excitement, or refuse to respond to her name, or refuse to get out of the car in the driveway when we usually do that in the garage, or insist her milk is served correctly or there will be a major meltdown.  (It’s often unclear to me what’s incorrect about the milk being served, leading to a frustrated, super mad toddler screaming at me and throwing the milk, and a confused mommy knowing that she in fact really does want it, and trying different ways of serving it until one works.  Most recently, the thing that worked was putting the milk in the lowest part of the fridge door and leaving the fridge open so she could get it.)

So my daughter has autism, and probably always will.  Therapy has certainly been a huge help, but her stimming behaviors are still prominent, she still has problems with social interaction, she still melts down when routines are changed.

I think a lot of the difficulty in processing the diagnosis is confusion over what it really means to begin with.  I’ve read the DSM-V definition, and my daughter certainly fits.  But what really is autism, other than just some checklist?  Autism is different for everyone so generalized descriptions are hard.  Because of that it’s easy to wonder if there really even is a definition, if it’s even really a “thing.”  It’s difficult to wrap my mind around what this diagnosis actually means in terms of what my child experiences, how to best parent her, and what her long-term outlook looks like.  The parenting one is especially hard, because we are first time parents and there’s no book for autistic parenting.  Or rather, there are plenty of books, but as every case of autism is different, they aren’t necessarily applicable to us.  I wonder if my guesses about what the best parenting methods are might make the difference between a child prodigy and someone who needs round the clock care as an adult.  I am at once grateful to live in a time when autism is recognized and some effective treatments are available, but also disappointed that there isn’t more progress in explaining autism, wider variety of treatments available, and more knowledge about how to tailor treatments to specific children.

I suspect I’ll still be processing the diagnosis and figuring out what autism really means for my family for a while to come.

Stimming

Stimming is autism terminology for self-stimulatory behavior, or anything that autistic people do to stimulate the senses that they find soothing or enjoyable.

My daughter has a number of stimming behaviors that we see on a daily basis.  For example, she often spins in circles reciting the alphabet, or bounces up and down on her heels while counting.  When excited, she rocks back and forth rapidly.  When sitting down, it looks like she is energetically rowing an invisible boat.

My husband and I very much subscribe to the idea that stimming is not to be discouraged, but rather accepted as part of who our daughter is and even celebrated.  Stimming helps her calm down when she is bombarded with too much sensory input.  A common misconception about ABA therapy is that the therapists will punish or prevent stimming, but our experience has been that the therapists accept and wait out stimming behaviors.  Her therapy team is completely on board with our attitude.

The exception to the rule is when stimming becomes self-harming, which is unfortunately common.  In my daughter’s case, she used to bang her head against the wall when she was tired.  We did discourage that behavior and it has since naturally stopped.  In the past few weeks, a new behavior has emerged.  She now smacks herself in the face, usually in the forehead area.  She even leans into the hits.  I am torn about this, because she doesn’t seem to be causing any viable damage (skin looks normal) and I doubt she is hitting herself hard enough to cause any internal injury.  But if I allow this to continue, who knows what it might turn into, plus it’s just disturbing to see your child repeatedly hit themselves.  She also has a very high pain tolerance, seeming to not even notice falls and scrapes that would have other toddlers bawling, so I worry she may hurt herself and not notice.  I’m going to ask her doctor about this at her next appointment, but it’s a month away.

Kiddo also enjoys makes lines out her toys, like many autistic children.  I’m not sure if this counts as stimming but I’m including it here because she made some nice lines this weekend and I thought it was cute.  Notice how the boats have been given their own line, and all the airplanes are sorted out in a pile at the back.