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Name: lbuss
[ Original Post ]
My son is autistic and there are days when it seems like he screams the whole day. He is non-verbal. For the most part I can usually figure out what is causing it but there are sometimes when nothing works. I am always afraid he will hurt himself or break something.Ben is a wonderful 6 yr old and it breaks my heart not to know what to do. Any suggestions?
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Name: mar22 | Date: Dec 8th, 2006 3:25 PM
i dont have a child with autism but when i was younger i babysat a boy who was and his mum used facilitative communication meaning a book with pictures he could point at to let her know what he wanted. also i did a project many years ago and remember these special glasses i think they were red or orange to help block out stimuli. you should check that out maybe he is over sensitive to stimuli as these children have tendencies for. maybe have one room that has nothing in it at all and when gets like that put him in there and see if that works. just trying to help good luck many prayers. 

Name: MommyC | Date: Dec 8th, 2006 8:04 PM
Your son is trying very hard, in his own way, to communicate with you. And, yes, there is currently a very large communication barrier between the two of you. This can, however, be removed with a lot of love, patience, and time invested in your relationship with your son.

You may be spending your entire day with him or just the time you have togather after he gets out of school. The point is to make the most of whatever hours you have together.

My son was also non-verbal. First, you have to have him evaluated to see if he has any oral-muscular problems. If he does, an OT can work with him on these at school. If he likes milk shakes, go to Wendy's and get him a large one every day after school and have him suck it up through a straw. They are very thick and do a GREAT job at strengthening the mouth muscles!

If he has no motor skill issues, then, for him, it is all psychological. I work with a group of 16 autistic men, all now in their early 20's. They are verbal. Some are going to college. One is about to become an accountant, in fact. When I ask them what they recall most about being a child, they all respond, as a group, FEAR.

In psychological terms, your son is experiencing almost continuous panic attacks. Recent research has clearly shown that the Amygdalas of autistic children look exactly like those of people who have experienced Generalized Anxiety Disorder for years. The cells get smaller and more numerous and, as a result, there is a much lower neuron "firing" level. In other words. what you and I see as normal, they perceive as a threat. This is why they avoid all eye contact, evade social contact, rock, pace, bang their heads, grind their teeth, scream, etc... To them, eye contact is enough to send them screaming from a room.

How does one get over bionic anxiety disorder? Well, my own son, just turned 6 and autistic, is doing just that. Just know that your son DOES understand what you are saying. (He is, in fact, listening to everything that you have to say, so be extremely careful about what you say in front of him! His receptive language is perfect. He is having difficulties with his expressive language. That is a big difference. (You wouldn't speak slowly to a mute, would you?)) Use the fact that he DOES understand you to teach him. There are some great books out there on childhood anxiety with lots of exercises on how to get kids to confront their fear. I also highly recommend finding a therapist who specializes in childhood anxiety disorders. (be prepared to interview a few, though. You have to find one your son likes!) Right now, though, you need to just talk to him about fear, HIS fear, and how it makes him feel. "I'll bet that it makes you want to run and hide, doesn't it? Don't you hate that voice in your head that makes you feel scared all the time? Why don't you go ahead and tell it that this is YOUR life and that it needs to just be quiet and go away!" The more he hears you quantifying the fear that paralyzes him, the more he will realize that it is something that will not kill him and that it can, in fact, be controlled. My own son has overcome so many phobias in just the last few months that it has his teachers' heads spinning! They are absolutely stunned, to be sure.

How all of this relates to your son's screaming is this; his screaming will decrease as his anxiety decreases. Moreover, as his fear abates, he will be more open to the idea of verbal communication. You can ABA your son to death, but if he doesn't WANT to do something, he is not going to do it. Period.

Good Luck! 

Name: jacksmom | Date: Jan 28th, 2007 3:56 AM
Jack's story.....

After the 12 mos. vaccines my son gradually slipped into autism. He was head-banging, hand-flapping, twirling, lost speech, lost eye contact and he just withdrew.

Now two years later.... no head-banging, no twirling, no flapping, has eye contact and is starting to verbalize again. And... he has Down Syndrome to boot. :) Yes... even kids with DS get autism. Actually they get it at a higher rate.

What helped him? First I give God praise.... our son wouldn't be here without Him and we prayed and I believe He guided us. Second... supplements. Especially cod liver oil. I recommend Green Pastures CLO with the X factor. Check out Dr. Mary Megson's work on the web. http://www.diet-studies.com/megson.html Our Jack healed gradually... but he is healing. I actually had to make myself GET USED TO him not twirling everything any more!

Also check out Dr. Amy Yasko's work. www.holistichealth.com

We give Jack alot of supps - cod liver oil, probiotic, magnesium citrate, tart cherry and recently we added cilantro. He takes some other things too but each child is unique. It helps to find a good naturopathic MD or chiropractor.

Don't give up. There is hope! And... I will be frank here.... many mainstream doctors know squat about how to heal autism. Don't let that throw you. There are people who do know how to help. God bless you! Love, Jack's Mom :) 

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