pinebarrens
In the Brooder
I guess my older son would fall into the category of high-functioning autism now that the DSM V did away with Aspergers. He is 13, which has been a pretty harrowing age so far. He doesn't do the teeth grinding, but he used to chew on things a lot... he destroyed a lot of shirts by chewing the collar or cuffs. He would nibble on his lips until they bled, or else he would have his hands in his mouth. We found him chewy necklaces like this:
https://smile.amazon.com/Skull-Pend...69303557&sr=8-1&keywords=skull+chewy+necklace
It wasn't "girly" or "babyish" looking, so he wasn't embarrassed to wear it in public and he did use it. I know he still keeps it in his room and uses it occasionally. We would put those rubbery pencil grips on his pencils for school -- we started that because he would grasp them so hard, a fine-motor thing we think -- but he would chew on those too and we thought that was pretty acceptable.
He still picks his nose all the time and his table manners are really terrible. We haven't had any luck working on those habits. He deeply wants for people to like him and wants friends, and he is self-aware enough to realize that he is socially "weird" and other kids don't respond well it, but he isn't able to fix it. We tried letting him hang out with other Aspie kids and he is put off by the same kinds of behaviors in them that he tends to have. I know he feels isolated and it's painful
Right now, he is at a really fabulous camp we found last year, and hopefully having a wonderful time:
http://campstompingground.com/
They post pictures on their Facebook page, so here's one of my guy a few days ago at camp:
Several months ago, the camp's directors visited us at our house and the kids introduced them to the chickens:
https://smile.amazon.com/Skull-Pend...69303557&sr=8-1&keywords=skull+chewy+necklace
It wasn't "girly" or "babyish" looking, so he wasn't embarrassed to wear it in public and he did use it. I know he still keeps it in his room and uses it occasionally. We would put those rubbery pencil grips on his pencils for school -- we started that because he would grasp them so hard, a fine-motor thing we think -- but he would chew on those too and we thought that was pretty acceptable.
He still picks his nose all the time and his table manners are really terrible. We haven't had any luck working on those habits. He deeply wants for people to like him and wants friends, and he is self-aware enough to realize that he is socially "weird" and other kids don't respond well it, but he isn't able to fix it. We tried letting him hang out with other Aspie kids and he is put off by the same kinds of behaviors in them that he tends to have. I know he feels isolated and it's painful
Right now, he is at a really fabulous camp we found last year, and hopefully having a wonderful time:
http://campstompingground.com/
They post pictures on their Facebook page, so here's one of my guy a few days ago at camp:
Several months ago, the camp's directors visited us at our house and the kids introduced them to the chickens:
His hips were dislocated at birth..never were in. Had the surgeries to get them in the bes they could, but they won't spread far enough to ride a horse. 
