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Man, That is Autistic!

Autism, Family 26 Dec 2011
8 Comments

Dhuha is how I’ve always known her and to me, at least, that is normal. She is herself. She is my Dhuha.

Most of the time, I fail to see that any of her behaviour is abnormal, even if that behaviour is disruptive. However, there are times when I think, “Man, that is autistic!”.

Reminders of Autism

Dhuha comes down for breakfast. I give her a bowl of cereal. Suddenly, she jumps up, runs and puts the slightly out-of-place sugar container back to its perfect position. She then runs back to her seat and eats her food.

Abdurrahman is playing a game with one of the doors. He wants it closed. Dhuha dislikes the door being closed and forces it open. Abdurrahman is shouting at her to stop it and she is screaming at him. He hits her. She holds the door open.

As soon as Dhuha woke up, I changed her nappy. After a half an hour, Zahira changes her nappy again. Ten minutes later, it looks like she needs to be changed again. Zahira checks her and discovers that she doesn’t need changed, she’s stuffed four toy cars down her pants.

The joys of autism.

AbdullahAbdurrahmanAutismDhuhaThe Joys of AutismZahira

About the author

Abdullah

I am Abu Sabah Abdullah Al-Amreeki, a revert to Islam from Christianity, a husband to my beautiful wife, a father to my amazing children, an aspiring daiee and a wannabe Web developer.

8 Comments

  1. Stranded
     December 27, 2011 at 1:42 am

    Assalam alekum!

    I know right? Khaled saw a tiny thumbnail of a video clip on the computer. A form was visible just from wasit to knees. One thumbnail among dozens in my videos folder. He points to it and says thats a Megan. He recognized his therapist…the attention to detail and instant visual recognition. You wonder what he sees and how he sees it and how fast his brain computes certain things with focus and clarity. Took me a few seconds to catch on…

    Reply
    • Abdullah
       December 27, 2011 at 11:32 am

      Wa Alaykum Salaam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu,

      It is amazing. InshaAllah, one day Khaled will be able to explain to you exactly how he sees the world.

      How about this:

      Dhuha goes to the kitchen and unravels all of the kitchen towel (paper towel) onto the floor and does her best to make as big of a mess as possible before running off to put the welcome mat in its right place.

      Follow Me on Twitter:

      Reply
      • Stranded
         December 29, 2011 at 5:07 am

        SubhanAllah, thats funny.

        How is Dhuha with her siblings? Khaled does things for my reaction as he enjoys the humor in the situation. For eg, he deliberately opens the washroom door for the baby so she can go in there and have a go at the toilet water. It was happening constantly, but now Alhamdulillah this has subsided.

      • Abdullah
         December 29, 2011 at 10:33 am

        MashaAllah, Khaled’s plotting is more advanced than Dhuha’s. Typically, Dhuha is indifferent, or at least appears to be, with her brother and sister. However, there is a real rivalry between her and Abdurrahman.

        One day Dhuha was playing with a toy and Abdurrahman was trying to get it. He followed her from room to room crying and telling her to stop. She just played normally as if he wasn’t there.

        Then their grandfather tried to give him some chocolate to distract him. Dhuha saw the chocolate and wanted some. He broke it in half, giving each of them a piece. Dhuha put the toy down and quickly ate her chocolate. The boy picked the toy up. He now had one had of chocolate and one hand of toy.

        Dhuha snuck up behind him and took the chocolate out of his hand, while he was still looking at the toy. She ate it and pranced happily away before he could fully react.

        Follow Me on Twitter:

  2. zenab
     February 7, 2012 at 12:12 am

    new disabled muslims network page

    salaam everyone. ive made a new page for disabled muslims and for parents with disabled children. my other group disabled muslims support group will close in a few days. i hope everyone likes my new page

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Disabled-Muslims-Network/351651744846793

    my name is zenab and im 23 years old i have a lot of long term health conditions most since birth but some in recent years. i would like to share my facebook page and hope to find other disabled muslims like myself and my page is also for muslim parents of disabled children and for family and friends

    Reply
  3. Nina
     March 1, 2012 at 5:20 pm

    Communication delays can be one of the most difficult aspects of working with — or caring for — a child with autism. The various disorders on the autistic spectrum all involve some degree of difficulty with communication. These may be relatively mild — such as a difficulty interpreting emotion through facial expressions — or severe enough that a child may be non-verbal for part or all of his life. Sign language can give a child with autism an extra channel for communication, which may be easier to learn and use than verbal 1
    Choose the type of sign language you feel will be most appropriate and beneficial to your child. This decision will be based on factors including his stage of development, his gross and fine motor skills, the area in which you live, and the number and type of people — carers, teachers, therapists, family members — who will be using sign language with your child. The sign languages developed and used by deaf people are not universal — British Sign Language and American Sign Language, for example, are different. Another form of sign language developed specifically for use with individuals who struggle with verbal communication is Makaton. The grammar and motions of Makaton are somewhat simpler than traditional sign languages.

    2
    Call a team meeting between all the different people who will be using sign language with your child. Together, and with input from professionals such as sign language instructors or behavioral therapists specializing in autistic spectrum disorders, establish a consistent approach for introducing, mastering and maintaining a sign language vocabulary. Depending on your child’s stage of development, you may agree to introduce one new sign word or concept every week, for example. Make sure that everyone who will use sign language with your child is performing the signs correctly and consistently with one another.

    3
    Practice each sign with your child in a functional setting. For example, you may introduce the sign for “toilet” or “bathroom” to give your child a way to request a trip to the bathroom. Each time during the day when you take your child to the bathroom, make the sign as you say the word. Your child may mimic you in the sign, or you may need to prompt her using a hand-over-hand technique — essentially, holding her hands and guiding her to make the sign. As she learns an individual sign, you will not need to prompt so heavily. Any time your child independently makes a learned sign in an appropriate context, provide lots of positive reinforcement to motivate her learning. Examples of positive reinforcement include preferred snacks, hugs and smiles, or anything that your child Enjoys.

    Reply
  4. Nina
     March 1, 2012 at 5:24 pm

    http://m.youtube.com/?client=mv-google#/watch?v=U_GXVzZ0Unk

    Reply
  5. Nina
     March 1, 2012 at 5:29 pm

    I adore Dhuha, sibling rivalry is a normal typical behavior, especially when losing the youngest child status…..I am dealing with at home now, in a different way….My six year old has regressed in to acting more like a baby, exhibiting more neediness and attention seeking behaviors, like he feels he has to tell me how much he loves me and get a hug in kiss quite literally every few minutes…..lol…before our new addition he was a bit of a loner and could do without hugs and kisses from Mommy!

    Reply

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