SUCCESS

SUCCESS (TOILET TRAINING)

DONG'S ACHIEVEMENTS

I believe in I have posted about Dong's introduction to the toilet a few posts ago, and this is just a really quick update on the fact that he is now going to the toilet by himself and without being reminded! I am extremely proud of him and that he has been able to take the step of development in his basic 'life skills'. I think he started just wearing underwear at Childcare and he refused to go back to nappies. He's even really hesitant to wear nappies during the night.

THOUGH. He's already becoming a slacker and he keeps forgetting to flush AND turn off the light. If I received a dollar for the amount of times that has happened, I'd be a MILLIONAIRE.

Familiar Place

Familiar Place

26-08-12

A while back, on a Sunday, my mum, Dong and I went to see a show at Melbourne Festival Hall. We received tickets from Early Intervention to see Circus Quirkus. I think the event was free and was hosted by Rotary Club of Preston.

The show was entertaining for ALL of us! It was full of laughter, gasps and clapping. It was a great day for all of us I'd say. It was one of those memories that I think I'll remember for a while.

The thing that stood out for me, was that the audience were all special in different ways. The environment in there was amazing. I'll give you an example.

While I was queuing up for the candy bar, there was a father and he's two kids (daughter and son). The daughter left to go back to her seat or something along those lines and the father and son were left to buy the food. When they went up to order, I found it strange that the son started ordering instead of the father. I realised that the father was partially deaf after he tapped his son on the shoulder and did what I recognised was sign language. I think he was disagreeing about something the son had ordered. The awesome lady that was serving them must have understood what he was signing because she signed something back and he nodded. And for some odd reason, that stayed with me for a while and will probably stay with me for a life time.

I think it was because I was in a place where there was no judgement. Everyone came from different situations. Everyone was unique. It was nice to be in that environment where I could meet people that were in a familiar situation like me. And to the two little kids that had to learn sign language just to communicate with their father, I wish you the very best of luck with your bright future ♥

I am internally grateful that I have the family and love and support that I have.

Toilet Training

TOILET TRAINING

Dong's Achievements

So recently, Dong has started to use the toilet and receive his 'toilet training'. After weeks and months or urging, he finally used the toilet for the first time.I think this is a great achievement for my brother especially now that he is 4 years old. Before then, we had regular visits from Catherine from Early Intervention Childhood who would always be giving advice and tips on what we as a family could do to help Dong improve.

This:

was given to us by her to help Dong to use the toilet. He now, in fact can go to the toilet himself without assistance from my parents which is a massive step forward. Though, he still has to be reminded to go, so for that, he still is reliant on nappie pants.

Research: Although no statistics have shown yet, but Autistic children tend to learn visually and therefore visual support would help them. Like the picture above, the pictures clearly support the instructions. Autistic children tend to struggle with knowing when it is time to go to the bathroom.

Anyway, I'm glad that Dong is starting to use the toilet. This means, more practice at his childcare as well. My mum have this phrase: "mim mim" which somehow translates into going to the toilet.

 

Change

CHANGE 

(5-08-12)

This week. we had changed Dong's toothbrushes as the other one had had its time. His previous one was a simple orange one. The one he has now, is blue with a picture of a smiley face on it. At first he was very reluctant to use the new toothbrush, but mum somehow convinced him to use this one and she'll go find the old one.

This is his  new toothbrush.

Research: Anyone on with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) will to some extent find it difficult to deal with changes, whether it be small changes (like the toothbrush) or more large, dramatic changers (a death of a relative). People with ASD would prefer to be in a familiar environment that holds structure in their life. It takes preparation from the relatives of the person with ASD to make sure he/she settles well and is not anxious when change occurs.

Although this is only a small change, I hope that with this new knowledge, I can help my brother prepare better and adapt to any new changes.

HELLO.

INTRODUCTION- HELLO.

Meet my brother

His name is Dong.
He is currently 4 years old, and attends Childcare.

In 2011, I believe around September, he was diagnosed with Autism. For those who don't know, here is a definition by Wikipedia: "Autism is a disorder of neutral development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restrictive and repetitive behaviour." For me, personally, Autism is a mental disorder that effects the development of a person's communication and social behaviour. This could lead to what others would call 'strange behaviour'.

This blog is part of a school project in which I am required to share with you about all the different encounters that my brother faces. I would love feedback and if you could, please follow. My aim for this project is to further my knowledge about Autism and use this information to help support my brother.