Autism Vocabulary

Today I learn a new word - 'stimming'

Lately Faaeq mmg susah nak tidur.. susah maksud saya, dia akan susah nak diam and lelapkan diri... lampu dah lama tutup pun dia still nak lompat dan jerit2 sambil tergelak-gelak... mmg ni typical autistic behavior.. 'laughing excessively'... dulu masa mula2 dia gelak2 camni kitorg mmg jadi takut.. ingatkan dia kena 'kacau' ke ape kan... so adelah kitorg usahan pergi mintak air doa dengan Darul Syifa' (Bangi) dan alhamdulillah sebenarnya berkesan jugak untuk menjadikan dia tenang sikit.. saya percaya, bacaan ayat2 al-quran dan doa mmg berkesan untuk anak2.. itu pasti..sedangkan untuk kita yg 'tua' ni pun kalau kita amalkan, terbukti berkesan kan..   

Ade a few yg email sy ttg autism nie.. sebenarnya sy pun tak banyak pengetahuan ttg autism.. masih banyak mencari jawapan dan banyak persoalan.. yg saya boleh share, mcm mana sy 'detect' faaeq ni autistic, dan apa yg saya buat untuk mendapatkan bantuan dr hospital.. selain terapi2 'formal' yg saya bawa faaeq di hospital, ada juga kaedah2 'alternatif' yg kami cuba utk faaeq.. semua yang saya dan suami mampu, kitorg akan cuba.. terima kasih kpd semua yg berikan saya cadangan dan nasihat.. tak terbalas rasanya...

Mmg susah nak diagnose betul ke tak budak tu autism ataupun tu mmg 'perangai' dia.. sebenarnya sekarang ni ramai ibubapa yg cepat nak labelkan anak dia autism kalau dia hyper, ataupun lambat bercakap.. what i can say is trust yr insticts and read a lot... skrg ni mudah, ade internet semua info di hujung jari je.. cuma kena pandai pilih info yg sesuai.. kdg2 kita bw anak ke doktor untuk dapatkan jawapan, tp doktor pun tak dapat memberikan jawapan yg pasti kpd kita.. sebab saya rase doktor pun susah nak memberikan 'label' kpd anak kita sebenarnya... silap label, naye dia.. kan? hehe..

Utk yg masih tercari2 jawapan, ni ade a few symptoms yg boleh dijadikan guideline.. taken here.

ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder)  varies widely in severity and symptoms and may go unrecognized, especially in mildly affected children.

Very early indicators that require evaluation by an expert include: (i note faaeq's development)
1. no babbling or pointing by age 1 (faaeq was babbling but no pointing)
2. no single words by 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2 (he used to say 'bu' for ibu, can wave goodbye, said 'akit' when he fell but it all sort of 'lost' when he grows older)
3. no response to name (yes)
4. loss of language or social skills (yup, he 'lost' his social skill)
5. poor eye contact (yes)
6. excessive lining up of toys or objects (faaeq shows this at a later stage, when he was about 2YO but just for a short period of time)
7. no smiling or social responsiveness. (faaeq is always smiling!)

Later indicators include:
1. impaired ability to make friends with peers
2. impaired ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others
3. absence or impairment of imaginative and social play
4. stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language
5. restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus
6. preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
7. inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals.
*faaeq has almost all of the above symptoms.. erkkk!

At earlier stage , mmg faaeq mcm budak2 lain.. sama je.. but since dia ada abang, we sort of compare him (his development) with imran.. itu yg mula syak something wrong.. we have been to several doctors who dissmiss anything wrong with him, saying he might be 'just' a lil bit late.. well..

Wookeh, about that stimming... told you he has difficulities sleeping kan.. one thing he'll do before he sleeps, he'll make noises non-stop! imagine at 12midnite, he's still 'talking to himself'.. making all sorts of noise.. we were already so tired and sleepy, so tak larat nak layan dia!... turned out that is called 'stimming'.. look at the definition;

“Stimming” (v) or “Stim” (n): behaviors that are self-stimulatory/stimulate one’s senses. Some “stims” may serve a regulatory function (calming, increasing concentration, or shutting out an overwhelming sound), such as waving a string, talking to self, or humming.


There are so many verbs, nouns and adjectives to describe their behaviors, to know more, read this link.

Pretty interesting huh? At least for me, mmg menarik :)
Now i know why he makes those sounds.. just to calm himself.. sian dia :(

he used to be obsessed with ultraman. that was his arragements..

kalau ubah, siapla dia ngamuk. and he likes to 'feel' the plasticine.

I have to go. imran's been bugging me to create a facebook account for him!


♥edi