My name is Lisa. I'm a single mom of two boys and my oldest son has mild/moderate autism. I work full time so I have plenty on my plate managing both work and home and fulfilling the needs of both my boys. Juggling it all can be challenging, but never dull! To make things more interesting, my co-parent seems to be in denial at times because he does not seem to fully accept the limitation our son has.
Some days I'm on the verge of tears, but my boys keep me up beat and going.
I knew very early on he was autistic. Before he was even diagnosed. I saw many characteristic in him that were similar to my cousin's child that has sever autism
When he was 2 he was not yet talking and was having meltdowns over not being able to communicate. To the point that he was bang his head on the floor. We learned sign language and that help A LOT! Since then, with the help of Regional Center, he was getting Early Intervention, Speech therapy and OT. Right now he is in 2nd grade and in the Special Day program at an LAUSD school and is receiving Speech, OT and AEP. I'm also trying to get services for ABA (applied behavior analysis)
Why behavior? He yells, a lot. And not really out of anger. He is very excitable and it can be overwhelming at times. Also, discipline. It can be pretty difficult for an autistic child to comprehend cause and effect and consequences. When I am trying to discipline he laughs uncontrollably and it can be pretty frustrating. Then I find that I get frustrated with myself for not having more patience.
You are NOT alone
