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My son was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2 years and 3 months. A month later he was on intensive one-on-one home-based therapy. By five, he was in a regular mainstream school, totally indistinguishable from his peers.

I soon found there was very little software available to teach children with Autism. This document outlines the information on Autism I have acquired over the years and the computer software I used to aid my son's recovery.

To view our complete software list, click on the "Products" tab above.

I think that's what we all worry about, the future. I try to take it

a day at a time but that's so against my nature (Im a worry wart)

that I struggle daily. Marcel is only 8 now but I've decided (and

daddy & his doctor agrees) that eventually we'll have to get a live

in to assist me. This is the plan, my sister in law is a realtor. When the

time comes we'll buy a bigger home & find our own version of the

Brady Bunch's Alice. She'll get free room & board in exchange for helping

me during the day. I'm curious if anybody else has thought of this. We're

doing okay right now but when he gets bigger and stronger I will need

more help when my husband is at work.

 Thanks for the comments. We have had staff bring Chris home. They have funding for transportation 3 times a year and we have visited him twice this summer. It just seems the more we visit the more difficult it becomes for him when there is a change at his group home. He just seems to loose it when he has a great deal of change typical  autistic behavior . The guys at his group home have more ability and parents closer to the home. He calls every evening and we are working on another visit next month and bring him home for a week. It seems every time he comes home for a visit we have to deal with the adjustment back to the group home. It seems sometimes as if the more we visit the harder it is for him.

I just received a phone call from one of my son's respite workers that our son Chris is having a difficult time. He is in a group home 2 1/2 hours away. He has three other house mates that live in the group home. As it turns out all three of theses guys are able to leave the house on weekends which leaves Chris alone with staff. He really does what to be home with us and does not understand that because of gas prices we are unable to visit or bring him home for a visit as often as we would all like. Some of the staff understand and try to get him out with activities while others just sit at home with him. He loves hardware stores and that is one of the rewards that he gets if he has good behavior. Since this change with room mates  his behavior has escalated and now he is stuck in the house. I feel very sorry for our son and have tried to communicate with staff that they are setting him up to fail. Chris gets very bored and that is when things get out of control. It is just so hard to parent from such a distance. We would like to get him closer to home. The group home is not the issue but the day program.

A way to pack for a road trip with an energetic ASD child is to create a separate tote bag with one change of clothes (for the entire family) for each day of your trip.  That way you don't have to load and unload a big, heavy suitcase every day.  I also like to pack a pool bag that I can grab quickly, and a small bag of toiletries (shampoo, deoderant, etc.).  The pool bag should contain suits, towel, lotions, diaper, deflated/small pool toy, and flip-flops as needed.

Always have a backpack for your child with "busy time" toys, beverage, and at least one change of clothes within easy reach.  Also, I like to keep at least two extra pairs of kids' shorts in the seat pocket.  I do this for everyday excursions, not just road trips.

Try to keep putting your camera, maps, flashlights, books, and other gear back in the same place every time so you don't waste time looking for them during your trip.  In other words, save time by trying to stay organized.

Save your sanity by investing in a portable DVD player.  If you don't have one and you will be traveling, look for one during 4th of July, Labor Day, and day-after-Thanksgiving sales this year.

You're too quiet...... you didnt float away in all that floading did ya??

We're having a drought in Tx ugh.

Preston is now in MN with grandparents and seems better. He told me he rode in the plane with his worn out ratty "blankie" over his head (his way of coping with a stressfull situation). I have decided to try to see what I can do on the legal end of getting visitation and travel arrangements modified so that he will not have to travel alone in the future. The visitation arrangements were made in 2002 and before Preston was diagnosed with autism so there is a good reason to reexamine the judgment and modify if that is within Preston's best interests which i am quite sure the court will see that. Surely there is something out there where this has happened before. I try to google similar situations but it has turned up nothing so far. Also, about the American Airlines allowing my son to fly even though I had a signed letter from Preston's pediatrician advising him not to fly alone, I feel that was irresponsible and grounds to look into some policy changes concerning special needs children. I know Preston's dad failed to tell them he was autistic, but I did tell them Prior to his flying of his special needs and the Dr's note. I am bothered that an airline would allow that to happen.

This is a great link:

http://www.our-kids.org/Archives/Holland.html

WELCOME TO HOLLAND

by
Emily Perl Kingsley.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

Have you all been waiting to hear about the not-so-rosy parts of our road trip?

I'm not sure if you all know that Wyatt is a head banger. He lightly bangs his head on the carpet when he is happy, he bangs his head against the wall, floor, cement, whatever if he is unhappy. The latest in innovative head-banging happened on our trip when Wyatt wanted to reboard a train we had taken. Marc put Wyatt up on his shoulders. Even though Wyatt weights close to 70 pounds, this is a way we have been using to quickly remove Wyatt from situations.

However, Wyatt decided to slam his head into the back of my husband's skull--repeatedly. Oh my God, my husband saw stars, yelled, nearly passed out. And now since Wyatt knows that he has gotten some sort of reaction from Marc because of this head slamming behavior, we can no longer use the shoulder hoist method of getting Wyatt away from places. We thought about getting special football-player helmet padding and putting it inside a baseball cap that Marc could wear, but I think it would be too easy for Wyatt to grab and throw off.

I just thought I'd share something about I.D. Marcel has a medicalert bracelet

but the little stinker manages to get it off. The chain is aluminum so it stretches

just enough that a determined little boy can get it off. We'll have to get a different

chain, anyway I have made up what we call I.D shirts. I just take a black permanant

ink marker and write his first name, our cell phone number and that he has autism

and isnt to be left alone just in case he were to wander off. He wore an I.D shirt when

we went to his doctor last week, I thought Dr Fierro would think we were overly

paranoid but on the contrary, he thought it was an excellent idea and that I should

share it. I told him about this group =) Anyway I always use a light shirt (that I get

second hand at a thrift store) and write on both the front and the back. It just makes

us feel a little more secure =)