He is listening to the Grandin book and it has been AMAZING! He has just become so much more involved and concerned. He is actually (pretty much) demanding testing for our non-verbal, sensory defensive little guy. Normally he's not this involved, so it's a blessing. On the other hand, he's now convinced I'm on the spectrum myself. And...he may be right. One of my close friends insists on it as well. I can definitely see traits now that I always thought were just normal. So, that's interesting. It's been a spectrum-tastic month.

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions! I'll definitely link him to the Prizant, and Marie, NO worries! I was wondering if a Grandin book might be a good thing, myself.

Can someone help me out? I need an intro to parenting kids with ASD book for DH. He isn't a great reader so easier is better, Audible is even better. We are still half way through DD2's diagnosis which the psych tech said is most likely on the spectrum after our very first visit. I've had the, "Yeah, it's autism and I've been misunderstanding this kid for years," moment already. Sigh. It's still early days for us, and I just need an easy-in for him. Thanks.

Can I suggest an alternate? Essentials in Writing. Video teaching, applied grammar.

CLE is best up until 5th. 6th -7th are sooo technical. Until then, I highly recommend it and it's all in one. Free placement tests on their website :).

Waaaaiiit. Morning teeth? What the...? :D

Yeeeees. DD is 12. She is in the last half of CLE 500s actually. We had a rough and unretained start with MUS until we found THE SPIRAL. She was on grade in CLE LA until we dropped it ;). Way more grammar than I ever had in school. Truth is, she's doing fine. She just started doing single step algebraic equations and I feel that's entirely respectable for 7th. Maybe I'm odd, but I'm not too worried for her. The high school option we have planned starts kids who a review of all the basics anyway, so I'm pretty confident she'll be fine. Your plans for high school may vary, of course!

Well, I kept the internet. I need it for my online high school courses! I am still cutting back physical books. Don't ask me about Kindle books though!

No. No. No. Those purchases are forbidden here.

CLE, Essentials in Writing

Winona Ryder!!

Here's my list of good picture books I want to keep 'in stock' for our kids: *4 Seuss/Eastman Treasuries *3 Little Golden Book Treasuries James Herriot for Children Harper Collins Treasury 20th Century Treasury *Beatrix Potter Treasury (to consolidate all our little white and green books) A Grimm's collection A nursery rhymes collection *A common folk tales/Anderson/Chaucer type collection (any suggestions?) Munsch Grand Treasury *Frances Treasury *Amelia Bedelia Treasury *Mike Mulligan and More *Frog and Toad Treasury *Make Way for McCloskey A Franklin Treasury Papa Papa Perfectly Arugula Ten Big Toes and a Prince's Nose I Saw an Ant on the Railway Track Such a Noise The Mitten Fritz and the Beautiful Horses A Phoebe Gilman or two Ferdinand The Story About Ping Tikki Tikki Tembo Love You Forever (sob!) Lots of these are treasuries and if you buy used the main cost is shipping - treasuries help with that (fewer items)

Yes, we moved to NS just before our first son was born, almost 3.5 years now :). Our supports aren't awesome and that's all on us - we have a really hard time asking for help :/. I'll look into desensitization - any book recommendations?

Round ligament pain when I conceived baby 5. Before implantation, just a few days after conception.

You are my big-family, homeschooling, little guy with suspected apraxia and spd issues online friend! It's a unique kettle of fish :). Despite being here for a long time, I am very new to the LC boards corner.

Thanks, it has been a bit overwhelming for the past 1.5 years to be honest! How mysterious! I will have to PM you :). I have gone for board breaks now and then throughout r years. We are in Nova Scotia right now, we have had OT suggested for DD2 already, but I'm not sure if/how MSI covers it. Oh, how I hear you on the hair! Little man is getting shaggy again and it's definitely a two person job :).

Prayers going up. Hugs.

Thanks :). We were expecting #6, and it was 6 AND 7. Quite a surprise and a bit of a journey of its own :). They were sharing a placenta, were pulled early by c-section after extensive monitoring, and one was diagnosed with a kidney issue in-utero that may eventually need surgery. They are really adorable and much loved here :). Anyway, I'm feeling all dx-ed out this past year. It's been tough.

We are just past our first speech appointment, hopefully things will become clearer for us as time goes on in regards to the dx. The nearest person who does PROMPT is a couple of provinces away and probably speaks French since it's Quebec. That's a couple of days away, so not really realistic. Hearing tests on this little guy are hard. He has a lot of issues about having his head and ears touched. He only made it part way through his pre-speech hearing test. They said his hearing looks good (I know this isn't what you're asking or recommending) but we'd have to come back when he's older to get the rest done. It isn't background noise, it's mostly mechanical noises - toilets flushing, furnace running, water pumps turning on, vacuums etc. intense movies, both babies crying can do it as well. He isn't toilet trained, resists diaper changes without a routine he does with his dad, and often doesn't come to/eat at mealtimes unless he gets his pre-meal setup done just right. He overfills his mouth then needs to empty out (daily), and has recently begun to strongly resist bathing. Elevators terrify him. Erm. I guess I'll talk to our psych-tech. The SPD is a self-dx. I need to get him a referral to OT. He LOVES using his signs. I'm learning new things about him every day :). Apparently his favorite color is orange, and he really wants to use the orange cup (just like other kids his age - I wrongfully thought he was super patient and easy going because he wasn't able to communicate this stuff before). He's also asking me to do pretend play with him now that he can sign some.

If you like traditional grammar at all, choose CLE :). CLE is quite independent, step by step, and traditional. SL is heavier on creative writing, doesn't always include a lot of direct, step by step instruction on writing, and is incredibly light on grammar.

Theres a bit of a waiting list :). DD is around 1/2 way through the process, or will be soon - we are 3 appointments in now. I'm definitely going to talk to our psych tech about him. He desperately needs an OT referal now that we are underway with speech.

Our DS3 also has suspected apraxia/SPD (particularly noise related). I'm going to have to jump in here. He doesn't have many other typical ASD markers, but do you think those two are enough to start diagnostic procedures? Sorry to OP for my thread-stealing behaviour.

I am not an expert at this. We are just now around half-way through a diagnosis process for our 9-yo DD. It's never too late :). Our DD sounds similar in many ways to yours, our psych tech told me straight up after our first visit that we are looking at an ASD diagnosis of some sort, it's just a matter of determining severity. I guess I'm saying that I would pursue it. HFA can be subtle, especially in girls, but clearly you can tell that something is off :). We always could too, but thought we were dealing, and that DD was just DD. Well, she still is, we just hope we'll all understand her better, deal better, and help her live up to her full potential in the future through the whole process....whatever that ends up being.

Also, here's a link for you: http://www.amazon.com/b?node=2245146011