*the four question marks in my comment apparently are in place of the emoticon I attempted to use...which was a smiley face. :)
Amy Cronic - 7 years ago
Youngest son DX with moderate to severe ASD at 20 months old. He said his first word at fifteen months: "A"...as in the letter A. ???? From that point on, life has been about letters, numbers, reading, writing, counting, shapes and grouping. Oh and lining up items correctly organized by their respective category.
He's now six-years-old yet still becomes extremely happy when speaking of letters.
Had we listened to his OT during the early years, of whom cautioned us about his fascination of letters,etc., he may have never found his own secure way of communicating. Routine is also a biggie for him, and when followed accordingly, anxiety is more manageable.
Joanne Steptoe - 9 years ago
My son is 24 and I find you can't cure obsessions. But, they can and do change. They can also be used to your advantage.
When he was young he loved trains, Thomas the Tank and the colour blue. I used the colour blue to update his wardrobe. I could get him to wear just about anything as long as it was blue. Because he got used to changes in his clothes I was able to introduce colours and he now wears almost any colour.
I wanted him to learn to read and to use computers, so I got Thomas books and computer games and puzzles and board games. The great thing was they were age appropriate for my younger daughter, so we could all enjoy these activities together.
Trains in general allowed me to encourage his use of public transport. I think he actually uses our public transport system better then I do. He has even happily done long distance trips on the train by himself.
I admit not all obsessions can be easily changed or manipulated. But, before the obsession drives you totally insane look at ways to use it to your advantage if you can.
April Bolden - 9 years ago
My 10 year old son with autism have an obsession with penguins n electronic devices. Lately he has picked up different animals ocean n farm it calms him.
Rebecca - 10 years ago
My son has an obsession with watching tv/dvd clips over and over the same 10 seconds of a video. He rewinds it back the obsession of what he's watching changes but usually jumanji, the Orlando shamu show, trains and planes. He will not watch a full episode or video of anything.
Glenda - 10 years ago
Thomas the train when he was little, Bob the Builder after that, Legos, currently watching walk thrus (video where you watch someone else play a computer game and they monologue the whole thing). Walk thrus is only one I truly do not get. He is very techno minded.
Karen McCarthy - 10 years ago
My sons first obsession was Harry Potter....we watched the same DVD from 6am till 6pm over and over again for about 18 months...I eventually realised it was because he wanted to make sure everything was the same each time he watched it..slowly I introduced other things into his life, he rarely watches Harry Potter now, but has turned to Jurassic Park, Lego and mine craft, he also has his own YouTube channel that he puts his stop motions films on which he has made with his Lego... He is cool.
Shelly Slater - 10 years ago
Our son has an obsession with Legos of all kinds. He loves the kits. Only the funny thing is that he builds the kit one time, then demolishes it and uses the parts to do his own thing. He never rebuilds the kit again. Ethan is a very intelligent, charming 8 yr old Autistic, PDD-NOS, HFA Asperger's child. He has had a life of trauma, heartache, suffering, and survival, all entirely too much for his young life to endure. Without him, our life would have no meaning. We love that child more than any one single thing. He's our true "Miracle Angel". So, if he needs us to buy him another 50,000+ Legos, we just might do it....
david barnes - 10 years ago
my son is 20 he lives with me and my better half in florence sc. we got him about 3 years a go so we are learning to deal with autism so if there is some kind of help in this area that any one knows about or could give us any help on finding thing to help us find things to do with him for fun and or training to make things beter for him thxs for your time
Mimi - 10 years ago
My 2 1/2 year old grandson has an obsession with money-coins he changes them literally 100 times into different containers everyday, We can not under any circumstance leave his money at home when we leave.
Laurie Streiling - 10 years ago
I am a mother of a 19 year old son who has high functioning autism. I remember what it was like when he was diagnosed at 8 years to be totally in the dark. I felt as if I had lost my child literally. Now that he is going into his adult years, I would love to share what we have learned so maybe we can help someone else who has that same feeling.
*the four question marks in my comment apparently are in place of the emoticon I attempted to use...which was a smiley face. :)
Youngest son DX with moderate to severe ASD at 20 months old. He said his first word at fifteen months: "A"...as in the letter A. ???? From that point on, life has been about letters, numbers, reading, writing, counting, shapes and grouping. Oh and lining up items correctly organized by their respective category.
He's now six-years-old yet still becomes extremely happy when speaking of letters.
Had we listened to his OT during the early years, of whom cautioned us about his fascination of letters,etc., he may have never found his own secure way of communicating. Routine is also a biggie for him, and when followed accordingly, anxiety is more manageable.
My son is 24 and I find you can't cure obsessions. But, they can and do change. They can also be used to your advantage.
When he was young he loved trains, Thomas the Tank and the colour blue. I used the colour blue to update his wardrobe. I could get him to wear just about anything as long as it was blue. Because he got used to changes in his clothes I was able to introduce colours and he now wears almost any colour.
I wanted him to learn to read and to use computers, so I got Thomas books and computer games and puzzles and board games. The great thing was they were age appropriate for my younger daughter, so we could all enjoy these activities together.
Trains in general allowed me to encourage his use of public transport. I think he actually uses our public transport system better then I do. He has even happily done long distance trips on the train by himself.
I admit not all obsessions can be easily changed or manipulated. But, before the obsession drives you totally insane look at ways to use it to your advantage if you can.
My 10 year old son with autism have an obsession with penguins n electronic devices. Lately he has picked up different animals ocean n farm it calms him.
My son has an obsession with watching tv/dvd clips over and over the same 10 seconds of a video. He rewinds it back the obsession of what he's watching changes but usually jumanji, the Orlando shamu show, trains and planes. He will not watch a full episode or video of anything.
Thomas the train when he was little, Bob the Builder after that, Legos, currently watching walk thrus (video where you watch someone else play a computer game and they monologue the whole thing). Walk thrus is only one I truly do not get. He is very techno minded.
My sons first obsession was Harry Potter....we watched the same DVD from 6am till 6pm over and over again for about 18 months...I eventually realised it was because he wanted to make sure everything was the same each time he watched it..slowly I introduced other things into his life, he rarely watches Harry Potter now, but has turned to Jurassic Park, Lego and mine craft, he also has his own YouTube channel that he puts his stop motions films on which he has made with his Lego... He is cool.
Our son has an obsession with Legos of all kinds. He loves the kits. Only the funny thing is that he builds the kit one time, then demolishes it and uses the parts to do his own thing. He never rebuilds the kit again. Ethan is a very intelligent, charming 8 yr old Autistic, PDD-NOS, HFA Asperger's child. He has had a life of trauma, heartache, suffering, and survival, all entirely too much for his young life to endure. Without him, our life would have no meaning. We love that child more than any one single thing. He's our true "Miracle Angel". So, if he needs us to buy him another 50,000+ Legos, we just might do it....
my son is 20 he lives with me and my better half in florence sc. we got him about 3 years a go so we are learning to deal with autism so if there is some kind of help in this area that any one knows about or could give us any help on finding thing to help us find things to do with him for fun and or training to make things beter for him thxs for your time
My 2 1/2 year old grandson has an obsession with money-coins he changes them literally 100 times into different containers everyday, We can not under any circumstance leave his money at home when we leave.
I am a mother of a 19 year old son who has high functioning autism. I remember what it was like when he was diagnosed at 8 years to be totally in the dark. I felt as if I had lost my child literally. Now that he is going into his adult years, I would love to share what we have learned so maybe we can help someone else who has that same feeling.