hi everyone,
my son aidan has a cat, he never leaves the cat alone. he is always picking him up and getting scratched. he always tries to put the cat in bed with him but when the cat gets away he gets very upset. (not that i blame the cat for trying to escape) Am i missing something here? Any advice? ↓
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| Name: LoveLea | Date: Mar 5th, 2007 9:46 AM |
I gave up having pets with my autistic son. Sadly having to give away my very expensive and much loved dogs. I can't speak for all autistic kids, only my own. As he doesn't understand the consequences for his actions, he didn't understand that he was in fact hurting the dog. He has a high pain threshold as well so it didn't matter how many times he got snapped at, the behaviour continued until I had to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Animals and Autistic kids don't go well together. ↑ |
| Name: mtene5 | Date: Mar 25th, 2007 5:07 PM |
| i have a cat and dog and my son is always trying to get attention from them and when they do not want to be around him he gets very upset. My cat was declawed so my son does not get scratched and my dog avoids my son because he tries to bite my dogs ears. I had bought a dog from a private breader and it did not work out with that dog but I got a new dog from the shelter and i got a two week trial period with the dog before i had to commit so i could find out if the dog would snap at my son for hurting him, and this dog did not. The same thing went for the cat, she was already an adult which made her calm and I got a two week trial to see if it would fight back against my son. They still prefer not to be around him because he is too rough with them but they do not hurt him. I think having to trial period with the animals and knowing i could get my money back made getting pets much less worrisome and since the pets are already adults they are much better behaved and in control. ↑ |
| Name: asdmom | Date: Sep 22nd, 2008 2:39 AM |
rubbish.....
giving up pets for asd kids. Let me tell you ladies I am a mom of a child with severe low functioning asd and we lived on a farm!!
Cows, calves, sheep, lambs, chickens, chicks, turkeys, pheasants,
4 dogs, 2 cats,
Animals are the best thing for children with asd, it teaches them affection.
Although cats are not a great choice but dogs as long as they have a kind nature. But you must spend time teaching the child to be gentle with the animal as you do with regular kids.
My son loved his dog. As it happens we gave up outr farming life and have emigrated abroad so now we have no animals, but as soon as I buy a home here and am not renting the first thing I will do is go and buy my son a little dog, whom he can be totally affectionate and have fun teaching, playing and being loving with his little soul mate.
All it needs is the patience of a saint
and thats not difficult just break it down into small steps at a time. Reward positive behaviour ignore negative.
These animals are great reinforcers for a child that finds it so difficult to communicate. ↑ |
| Name: mamakeene | Date: Sep 22nd, 2008 6:21 PM |
| I agree, atleast in my situation as well. We don't have animals thank god. Because by now I also would have had to get rid of them. My in laws come and stay and bring theirs and that in itself is a pain. They have a yellow lab that will let my son do anything to her, she often trys to hide from him. But they also have one older dog that just does not have the patience for my son and together the two of them are a dangerous combo. It makes for an uncomfortable situation for me and has been the cause of much distress and tension on my part because at times it seems I'm the only one that sees this as a real danger because there have been fortunately only one minor incidence before but enough to make me realize how dangerous it could be. My son too has a high tolerance for pain and does not know how to be gentle with animals. Just a bad situation and we choose not to have animals at this time for that reason. ↑ |
| Name: yolandawolf | Date: Nov 14th, 2008 2:54 PM |
When my nephew was born we had an adult black lab and a little gray kitten and an adult momma-cat . I think the dog knew before we did that my nephew was special, he let my nephew get away with basically anything but, if it became too painful the dog corrected him with soft barks and nudging. The kitten grew up accustomed to my nephew's roughness and is now a great "kids" cat. The momma-cat on the other hand, she taught him a lesson he never forgot when he was only 3 yrs old. Momma-cat is a typical female cat (no patience what so ever) and she almost took out my nephew's eye with one quick claw swipe. 10 yrs have passed, the dog passed away, the 'kitten' loves my nephew and my nephew knows that you do not hurt animals (or people) cuz they may hurt you back. Animals that have the right temperament can be beneficial to children with autism.
To LoveLea: I'm sorry but I find it rather disgusting that you would consider losing your PETS as "the ultimate sacrifice". You speak more fondly of the dogs than of your child. If raising a child with autism is such a curse perhaps you should consider adoption? I'm sure there is a family out there who would consider raising your child as their own a blessing. ↑ |
| Name: onlinedizzy | Date: Dec 2nd, 2008 3:43 AM |
To LoveLea: I'm sorry but I find it rather disgusting that you would consider losing your PETS as "the ultimate sacrifice". You speak more fondly of the dogs than of your child. If raising a child with autism is such a curse perhaps you should consider adoption? I'm sure there is a family out there who would consider raising your child as their own a blessing. ↑
Yoandwolf that last part of your post is quite a cruel remark to make to a parent . Raising a child with autism is very stressful. You mention anephew with autism in your post so you I take do not have this great responsibility. This person is clearly feeling depressed at giving up her much loved pets. To turn around and attack her like that is quite heartless. She was reaching out to people trying to share something that was very painful to her. Shame on you. ↑ |
| Name: onlinedizzy | Date: Dec 2nd, 2008 3:45 AM |
| I only hope that because her original post was in 2007 she has not read your comments. These forums should be for providing advice and support not personal attacks. ↑ |
| Name: rachtwins | Date: Dec 31st, 2008 9:40 AM |
| I have an autism assitance dog for my twins and he is fantastic maybe you should look into something like that ↑ |
| Name: There IS Hope | Date: Jul 14th, 2009 4:05 AM |
| Hi. I work in a school district, as a special-education paraprofessional. I have been blessed to care for and help many different children of various ages, with a variety of challenges. I recently listened to / watched a woman share her incredible story of raising a son with autism. It touched me deeply. Her son was healed, a few years back, and continues to improve in his schooling. I ordered her book and found so much hope in her experience. Hope that applies to everyone, including families with autism but not limited to only autism. My heart goes out to all. If anyone is interested in the details of the book and the radio / t.v. program, please e-mail me at [email protected]. (Since it is my understanding that some things cannot be posted.) With excitement, encouragement, and heart-felt appreciation and compassion to every family touched by especially autism...There IS Hope. ↑ |
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