Tuesday, September 26, 2017

AM Santai Workshop: Home Occupational Therapy Series @ We Rock The Spectrum

As an autism parent, one of the things that I'm constantly working on is empowering myself with knowledge on how to best help my son (and myself). Sometimes, for one reason or another, I can't rely too much on external services to cater to my son's needs. So rather than feel helpless and clueless, I'd rather do something about it. 

I was elated, therefore, when I learnt that Autisme Malaysia was organising a 3-part workshop on home occupational therapy at Arif's favourite kids' gym - We Rock The Spectrum (WRTS), Ara Damansara. WRTS was an excellent venue  for the workshop, as it enabled families to bring their kids along. For example, mum would be in the workshop and dad would be playing with the kids. But some participants, including myself, left our families at home. For me, personally, this was a rare "me time" incident :)

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Group photo with fellow participants. Image courtesy of WRTS.

The workshop was conducted by Puan Zuraini Abd Karim, Senior Occupational Therapist at Prince Court Medical Centre. I feel she was great choice for this workshop, as she shared many valuable lessons and insights. It's also clear that she has a wealth of experience in this field and a deep understanding, compassion and passion for autism therapy and parenting.

AM Santai WRTS

Week 1
During the first week, she addressed the challenges of raising an autistic child, the issues our children are facing and how to understand them, as well as what can be done to help them. Throughout this first session, I found myself constantly nodding my head in agreement, because so much of what was said resonated within me.

It was almost like she wasn't just an occupational therapist. She was a psychologist too. It felt good to hear her address matters that had been plaguing the back of my mind. It felt good to have someone validate my fears, concerns and frustrations. She gets it.

Though I'm still quite new to autism parenting, I've become all too familiar with people who "don't get it." So when I come across someone who gets it, I'm just so grateful :) All too often, autism parents can feel completely alone in their journey and struggles, but being in this workshop, a welcoming, nurturing and understanding environment, is good for the soul. 

Armed with many pages of wonderful notes, I returned home inspired and encouraged. I couldn't wait for week 2!

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Theory before practice - Puan Zuraini giving us a fast-paced intro to autism and the importance of occupational therapy.

Week 2
In the second session, Puan Zuraini addressed the abstract concepts that help explain the autism brain, how it works and how to help autistic kids cope better with their environment. She then introduced us to the basic framework of her 45-minute therapy session, which we would learn to do at home with our kids. The idea, she explains, is to get the body and brain ready for learning (I love this!).

Her approach combines a variety of exercises, like gross motor, vestibular, proprioceptive, rhythmic movement therapy, brain gym, fine motor and sensory play. She showed us a few ways to do these exercises using the materials that we may already have at home.

After the second session, some of us had lunch at Bijoex Restaurant, Damansara, which hosts Autism Cafe Project Malaysia on the weekends. I had the delicious Nasi Lemak Lobster and took home some roti jala for my husband. But the real treat was to meet the man with indomitable spirit who spearheaded this project, En Adli Yahya, his son Luqman and their friend Imran :)

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With friends at Bijoex Restaurant with Autism Cafe Project's Luqman and Imran. En Adli was our camera man :)
Image courtesy of En Adli Yahya of ACPM.

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The mouth-watering Lobster Nasi Lemak :) You have to try it for yourself!
Week 3
In our final session with Puan Zuraini, things were much more hands-on, as she showed us the types of games and activities that we can do with our kids both at home and with the gym equipment. The rule she says, is to follow gross motor/ vestibular activity with proprioceptive activity.

She also reminded us to keep making these activities more challenging for our kids, as to continually challenge and 'provoke' their response. As parents, we need to know if our child is overstimulated or understimulated, and we need to get them to a "just right" state. All these exercises may seem like child's play, but they are powerful, as they can help build pathways in the child's brain. After all, children learn through play, a concept that I hold near and dear to my heart.

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Our very hands-on trainer showing us how it's done.

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We also learned how to properly use the gym equipment to meet our children's specific needs.

With the new knowledge gained, participants left WRTS that day filled with ideas and perhaps still a few nagging questions on how to apply what we learnt over the next 6 weeks and beyond. Nevertheless, this workshop has been a wonderful experience for me, because I learnt many things and made many wonderful friends :)

If you were a participant in the workshop and are looking for ideas for gross motor, fine motor and brain gym exercises for your child, do visit my Pinterest pages for some ideas:

Therapeutic Activities: https://www.pinterest.com/adlineaghani/autism-therapy-home/
Brain gym exercises: https://www.pinterest.com/adlineaghani/autism-therapy-rmt-brain-gym/

Join Autisme Malaysia!

Besides registering for the workshop, I also seized the opportunity to become a registered member of Autisme Malaysia, a task that I had delayed for far too long. If you're an autism parent, do consider joining, as you'll be able to join AM Santai workshops organised by Autisme Malaysia at a discounted price. Since July this year, there have been six AM Santai sessions held at WRTS, covering various specific topics that have not been covered elsewhere.

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My membership card and workshop notes :)

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

Birthday treat with a side of meltdown

Look at this spread... looks yummy doesn't it?

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Yesterday was my birthday and we celebrated it by ticking a few things off my to-do list. My husband took leave from work so that we could send Arif for a trial/ assessment at an inclusive kindergarden located in Denai Alam, which is quite a distance from where we live.

Alhamdulillah his four hours at the kindy went well (I'll write more about this in a separate post). And since he seemed calm after we picked him up, we thought we'd have lunch at Jaya One, PJ, where I needed to pick something up and wanted to check out services at The School, which is an enrichment mall.

We got to the mall, which we hadn't been to in a long while, and we basically got bewildered... because the layout of the place is a little haphazard. There were many restaurants and cafes there, but we finally settled on Tedboy Bakery. It was more quiet and we didn't want Arif to get annoyed by loud noises or crowds.

Thankfully, our lunch was utterly blissful. Arif sat quietly, watching YouTube Kids and munching on fries. I ate all the fried mushrooms you see above (those brown round things) and the fresh strawberry/ yogurt drink wasn't bad. I'm not too sure about the coleslaw though... because the dressing tasted like peanut butter. Don't get me wrong, I love peanut butter! But with cabbage, it just tasted kind of odd to me.

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I then had the Irish Lam Stew with Sourdough Bread. It's a light dish, but it was warming. But lunch wasn't the only treat I had :) I was happy to find out that my article has been published by Mummyfique, a Singapore-based parenting portal. Check it out...

My article in Mummyfique

You can read the full article here.

I'm quite proud of this article, because it's the first I've written about my experiences as an autism mum. Hopefully, I'll be able to learn more along my journey and share them with others, not only through this blog, but on other platforms too.

And now... about Arif's meltdown...

After our quiet lunch, I was supposed to pick something up from someone's office and visit The School to check out any enrichment centres that would be suitable for Arif. But we didn't make it...

We saw a play area and went closer to ask about their rates. When Arif realised what it was, he tried to climb out of the stroller. We couldn't take him to play, so we tried to leave. That's when his tantrum/ meltdown started.

It's hard to communicate to Arif that we would be back another time, because he has limited understanding of what we're saying. He's non verbal, so he can't express his frustrations. It may have started as a typical temper tantrum that grew out of anger and disappointment for not being able to play. But then it escalated into an epic meltdown.

It seemed like he had used up all his resources for self regulation... four hours at the kindy and another few hours in the car and restaurant... lots of new places and faces... the tiredness... it all caught up with him at once.

We made a break for the car... Arif kicking, screaming and wriggling, trying to get away from daddy's firm hold. Yep, to every onlooker, it seemed like we were torturing or kidnapping him (autism parents out there will be able to relate I'm sure *throwing Katniss Everdeen three-finger salute*).

When we got to the car, I insisted that my husband go and pick up the-thing-I-needed-to-get-picked-up on my behalf. I would handle Arif in the car. It was about 20 minutes of pure mayhem. My little one thrashed about so much, he ended up on the rear deck of the car. He then he thrashed onto the floor of the car, between the driver's seat and the back seat, and then he vaulted himself over to the driver's seat.

I had to use all my strength to get him back into the back seat, because the engine was running and I was worried that he might accidentally release the hand break, hit the gear stick or press on the gas pedal.

Finally, my husband appeared, and he slowly calmed down. This morning, I woke up with a sore neck and shoulders from struggling with my son.

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Every time he gets upset, it breaks my heart. So you can imagine how I feel each time he has a meltdown. But these days, my feeling of sadness and being overwhelmed have been replaced by a sense of calm. It's like riding a storm. And I guess you could say, by now I've numbed myself to it.

I understand why the meltdown happens and that it's not my fault or my son's. It's important for me to stay calm and to help him through it. At that point in time, he is in a fight or flight state, from which he cannot simply deescalate. 

But of course, meltdowns are something we need to extinguish as soon as possible. We need to help Arif reach a better state of self regulation and develop his ability to calm down. We also need to remember not to ask too much of our son. Perhaps the hectic pace of yesterday's activities were beyond his comfort zone. Maybe we pushed too hard. Lesson learnt, hopefully we can improve and grow from this, as we move forward in our autism journey.

PS: For more reads on autism meltdowns, here are a few good links I've found:



Thursday, September 7, 2017

Sticky Situation: Developing Fine Motor With Stickers

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Arif admiring his handiwork. He put some stickers on a monster during one of our home art classes.

When I was a kid, I loved stickers. I even used to collect them, though I didn't have much pocket money to spend on them. But guess what? I still love stickers to this day! And as an autism mum, I'm finding a new purpose for stickers - as an occupational therapy activity.

One of the ways to help children develop their fine motor skills is by using stickers. Kids love cute and eye-catching stickers and enjoy peeling them off and sticking them onto things. 

Besides helping them to develop fine motor skills, playing with stickers also encourages the ability to sit still and attend to a task. And believe me, for a mum of an autistic kid, getting your child to sit still is a challenge!

Today I'd like to share with you some stickers and a sticker book that I recently got for my son at Daiso. They retail for RM5.90 each.  

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Cute puffy animal stickers!

Sticker book from Daiso
Here's a look inside the sticker book.

And here's what you might find when you stroll along the sticker aisle in Daiso. So many to choose from!

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Cute stickers at Daiso

We use stickers when we're out and about too. Check out Arif enjoying his sticker book in his stroller.

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Reusable stickers and sticker books are cool too!


To end today's brief post, here's a word of advice - don't be too precious with those stickers. Your kid may not play with them properly (clumping them up or placing them upside down). They may even peel them off and throw them around. But don't let that hinder you. Just have fun! 

Welcome 2019: Time to Grow

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