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Runt
Emu Egg
Joined: Mar 31, 2008
Posts: 7
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 Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:02 pm Post subject: How can I help my kid to understand simple stuff? |
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Hi, I am new here.
I have a 6 year old autistic son. He is verbal, almost hyper-verbal really.
He has trouble understanding things like "When your tummy growls it means you are hungry. When you are hungry, you need to eat. After you eat, your tummy will growl again, but not because it's still hungry, it growls when the food moves through."
Seriously, this is a real issue with my son.
We have explained this what seems to be a thousand times, and he is a bright kid, but we still have to explain it every single time his stomach growls due to hunger or digestion.
When his stomach growls, he will hit his stomach and say "Stop it stomach!" Then we go into our routine of explaining how to make the stomach stop growling and why he needs to eat.
Please, any input is appreciated |
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Nan
Phoenix
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Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 2991
Location: left coast
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject: Re: How can I help my kid to understand simple stuff? |
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| Runt wrote: | Hi, I am new here.
I have a 6 year old autistic son. He is verbal, almost hyper-verbal really.
He has trouble understanding things like "When your tummy growls it means you are hungry. When you are hungry, you need to eat. After you eat, your tummy will growl again, but not because it's still hungry, it growls when the food moves through."
Seriously, this is a real issue with my son.
We have explained this what seems to be a thousand times, and he is a bright kid, but we still have to explain it every single time his stomach growls due to hunger or digestion.
When his stomach growls, he will hit his stomach and say "Stop it stomach!" Then we go into our routine of explaining how to make the stomach stop growling and why he needs to eat.
Please, any input is appreciated |
i'd let him just hit his stomach and say "stop, stomach". he may be enjoying your going through the motions of telling him the story. unless you do enjoy repeating it, that is. 
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Novinson's Revolutionary Discovery: When comes the revolution, things will be different - not better, just different. |
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DW_a_mom
Phoenix
Joined: Feb 23, 2008
Posts: 757
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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My son would want to know the exact, scientific reason that the tummy growls. Also, I get the impression that your son is not satisfied with the remedy you propose. He's probably thinking, well, I don't want to eat right now, and is figuring that it is his body and geez doesn't he have some control over it.
If your son is like mine, he won't accept your explanation until (a) he understands every detail of the scientific "why" the tummy sends this signal at this time and (b) he has tried every imaginative idea in his brain to gain control over this function of his own body so that he doesn't find himself eating when he doesn't want to.
Give him time. And science. He'll get it.
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asplanet
Phoenix
Joined: Nov 11, 2007
Posts: 1641
Location: Cyberspace, New Zealand
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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We need to allow these children there little differences and not really make an issue out of it. They will still grow, learn and change in there our way and time, all we can do as parents is guild , support and try and understand them.
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"Believe in your self, we are who we are - as it can feel like an endless task trying to be someone else!" Alyson Bradley ...
Aspergers Parallel Planet web site - http://asplanet.info/index.php
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lelia
Pika
Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Age: 56
Posts: 1309
Location: Vancouver not BC, Washington not DC
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm with Nan. If my explanation does not help. If a library book or a library video about the digestive system that has a question and answer format that includes stomach growls does not make him stop, I'd just let him do it. If he gets frantic and noisy about it and starts a tantrum, then it would be go into another room where I can't hear you time. My violent daughter would often stop her tantrums as soon as I left the room. |
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annie2
Toucan
Joined: Sep 18, 2007
Posts: 281
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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| I guess it depends on whether he is upset about the growling. How did you explain it to him? Verbally? If so, this may be why you think he didn't understand. Maybe try putting it into pictures and explaining (if you haven't already done this). Many AS kids are visual. |
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Triangular_Trees
What is right is sometimes found on the left.
Joined: Jul 18, 2007
Posts: 1688
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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| DW_a_mom wrote: | My son would want to know the exact, scientific reason that the tummy growls. Also, I get the impression that your son is not satisfied with the remedy you propose. He's probably thinking, well, I don't want to eat right now, and is figuring that it is his body and geez doesn't he have some control over it.
If your son is like mine, he won't accept your explanation until (a) he understands every detail of the scientific "why" the tummy sends this signal at this time and (b) he has tried every imaginative idea in his brain to gain control over this function of his own body so that he doesn't find himself eating when he doesn't want to.
Give him time. And science. He'll get it. |
I agree. It sounds as if you've never told him why his stomach growls and without that explanation he probably won't be able to accept that its growling because he's hungry. You'll probably also need to find some pictures or simulations showing how the stomach growls to help him understand |
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ooohprettycolors
elephant extraordinaire
Joined: Aug 19, 2006
Posts: 353
Location: usa
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:22 pm Post subject: |
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| man, now my tummy is growling because i'm hungry and its really annoying because i don't want to stop what i'm doing and go eat something just to appease my annoying body. I want to do what i want, not what my body wants. |
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Runt
Emu Egg
Joined: Mar 31, 2008
Posts: 7
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 10:16 pm Post subject: You guys are great! |
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Thanks so much to all who have replied.
You've all given me some stuff to think about that much is certain!
RE. whether he gets upset when it growls I think he does, but it's hard to tell why he is upset.
He was one of those super picky baby/toddler/preschooler type kids and he has never been much of an eater anyway. As long as he is getting some food I am cool with him not eating a ton of food. He comes from a skinny-ish family anyway.
He also went through the typical phase of little boy erections, and would get pretty frantic over them. He hated the fact that he couldn't control it much, and I guess this is a pretty similar sensation for him. What I see as totally normal he sees as something weird and uncomfortable I suppose.
RE. getting a picture format to explain the digestion process This is a great idea, and we have some "Look Inside Your Body" type books that are somewhat age appropriate, but I think they might need to have more detail than the ones we have now. If anyone knows any good ones, give me a shout, and I will start to look around and see what I can come up with. He's always been fascinated with body processes, bones, blood, muscles, etc.
I guess this is kind of my issue more than his at this point, as I am still in charge regarding when he eats. I worry a bit that he still doesn't quite grasp the concept of "stomach growls mean I need to eat something soon" if that makes any sense at all.
Hitting himself is not something new, but neither is it something I am really concerned about per se as I realize he can't and won't hit himself hard enough to cause any real damage. The weird thing is that he will look directly at us while he's doing it as if to say "Can't you see I am at my breaking point here!?" At that point I stop whatever he is doing and sit him down to eat something, yet again explaining why he has to do it.  Hopefully pictures will help him get it.
Thanks again for all your thoughts. Any and all are appreciated.
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ster
Phoenix
Joined: Sep 24, 2005
Posts: 2237
Location: new england
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:43 am Post subject: |
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| a social story might also help.... |
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Mikomi
Phoenix
Joined: Jan 25, 2008
Posts: 769
Location: On top of your TV, lookin' at you funny.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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Been there, done that, currently doing that some more
Our daughter (4 1/2, Asperger's) just lost her first tooth. At least twenty times a day she says, "My new tooth isn't here yet, I looked in the mirror and it's still missing." We've explained that it takes time for the new tooth to take it's place (right now we can only see the top edge of it peeking through the gum) but she doesn't seem to accept that. But we understand that this is her nature.
Obsessions such as this include firefighters, lights, anything that blinks (has has blinked), anything that beeps (or has beeped), fire trucks, ambulances, or anything that is even remotely similar to the aforementioned items. When it gets to be too much, we tell her to talk about something else. It works for about five minutes unless we get her engaged in something else (an activity).
I suppose the best advice I have is, if explanations aren't sufficient to quell his fixation, provide distractions. Have scheduled meal times, try not to divert from them, and offer activities which keep his mind busy. My daughter loves to draw and paint, so I have a large collection of art supplies for her to choose from. I think sometimes they fixate because their minds want to be busy.
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