My Autism Page

Hi there! My name is Zachary, and I have autism. The first thing that you may notice about me is that I have trouble with speech, fine and gross motor skills, and "normal" social interaction with kids of my own age. (I do have friends though, and we have lots of fun - its just hard for me to communicate sometimes with people I don't know) I am working hard, though, with my mom and my family, and at school with my great teachers and aides. I am in grade 8 right now and I love it. I am learning new things everyday, and increasing my vocabulary, printing, reading and math, all the usual stuff! I participate fully now in P.E. and my favourite sport right now in gym is volleyball.

My favourite things to do are to play with my cars and trucks, watch my favourite videos, go for walks, to the beach, go camping and go to the playground. I am getting older so I don't go to playgrounds so much anymore, but I do like the one at school. I have a lot of fun there and everyone knows me. When I was a lot younger, I used to screech alot and sometimes I didn't know when to stop screeching. This sometimes annoyed other kids or scared them away. I don't do that anymore either, haven't for a long time! Loud noises can frighten me, if I hear a siren or a loud motor, it really hurts my ears and I will cover my ears with my hands. Sometimes I will yell out briefly. A fire alarm is particularly frightening to me. The fire drills at school are unnerving but I can cope pretty well now. I still get a little upset but I can shake it off much quicker now, in a matter of seconds! I still don't like parades much but it seems to get better each time I go. I always say I want to go, but sometimes, once I am there, I don't want to stay. We always stay and I end up having a great time. I used to hate fireworks, but now I absolutely love them and we go to them every time they happen. I just wear my industrial ear defenders and it keeps a lot of the noise out! I also love going to the races and monster trucks! Again, with my ear defenders and added earplugs. A few years ago, I would never have enjoyed these things! I guess I am growing up!

I still can't seem to stop moving, that hasn't changed! It just seems that I need to be doing something all the time. I just can't sit still, even if I am watching the TV. I have my feet going, my head bopping or my hands moving, or I rock in the chair. A lot of times I like to watch TV upside down, or play with my toys while my body is hanging off a chair. Pretty much the only time I am still, is when I am asleep. Fortunately, I am a really good sleeper and sleep the whole night - I go to bed around 8:30 and wake up at about 7:30 in the morning to get ready for school. I don't sleep in on the weekends though. On Saturdays and Sundays if I wake up early, I don't wake anyone up, I just stay in my room and play or watch TV until everyone gets up!

I give my mom a hard time alot, like when she is trying to get me ready for school. If it is time for me to get dressed, I usually don't want to and end up really struggling with my mom. I know how to get dressed on my own and do it all the time at the pool, or if I have something very exciting I want to do. Sometimes my mom asks me to get dressed but usually she ends up having to help because I have taken too long. She tries very hard to get me dressed, but I know just the way to hold my hands or legs so my shirt or pants just don't quite go on. Of course, I am usually laughing hysterically, and this seems to frustrate my mom even more, I don't know why! I am very ticklish too, and this doesn't help the situation! If I do get dressed on my own, the worst that happens now is I get my shirt on backwards. I think it looks okay though, and it bugs me that my mom wants me to fix it! I am not sure why I just don't get dressed by myself because I know how to, but I seem to take too long. If I get frustrated, I sometimes get mad and I slap myself on the top of my head with my hand. I don't do it as hard as I used to, and I do it much less, but I don't know what else to do with my frustration.

My mom is so proud of me for so many things...I am just learning all the time. I learned to use the toilet at the age of 4 1/2, I know, a little behind most kids, but then again, I did it when *I* was ready which is when everyone should. I learned to ride a two-wheel bike too! We were camping and I asked for my training wheels to be taken off and I never looked back! I rode that bike from morning to night and by the end of that day, I was riding like anyone else. I even was riding into ditches and over bumps with all the other kids!

I love to go for drives in the car and you can't ever trick me. I must have a road map in my head! I always know if we are taking a different route and will mention it. "You're going the wrong way!!," I will say to my mom. Also, we have the most fun on any trip in the car, we play Pediddle. Pediddle is a game where you shout out Pediddle whenever you see a car with a headlight burned out. There are rules though, it's not as simple as it sounds - and I know all the rules. I usually win too. Another game we play is naming vehicles and I can name them all. Honda, Toyota, Ford, Chevy, Nissan, VW, Dodge, etc., I can recognize them from a mile away!

I love my mommy and Bob so much, and I love my nana, and my grandpa, and my grandma G too! Also all my aunts, uncles and cousins and friends!!! My Papa, grandma, cousin C and my baby brother Jake are in heaven, and I love and miss them so much. I love to give everyone I love big hugs. I didn't use to do a lot of kissing but I do it a little more now. My mommy seems to like this the most!! I don't like to kiss on the lips though and will only kiss cheeks or the hands of ladies. I like to say, "thank you young lady" to salesclerks, etc., no matter how old they are, and this always makes them giggle. I am so funny sometimes!! Sometimes, I like to go up to complete strangers and shake their hands and talk to them too, I suppose this could be bad, but I am just a really friendly guy. Fortunately, my mom is always right there to keep me safe. I also don't seem to understand that there could be dangers out there, like busy roadways and oncoming cars, a hole to fall in, something to trip over, stuff like that. Someone always used to have to hold my hand because I would run and run and run. I would be having much too much fun to come back, even when being called. I don't have to have my hand held all the time anymore, because I stay pretty much beside whoever I am with, unless it is a busy street or something. I like holding my mom's hand when I am a little scared, though, it makes me feel safe. I am doing much better with all this now because I am learning about strangers. I tend to go up to strangers though, and tell them, "you are a stranger." Sometimes they seem confused but mostly they laugh and my mom just smiles. Hey, I am still learning. I like everybody so this is a strange concept to me.

I still like to put things in my mouth, but not as much as a few years ago... like bits of paper, elastics, string, my fingers... whatever would fit. My mom is always after me, she is worried I might choke or get sick. I used to suck or chew on my shirt collars or sleeves, that was quite a gross and destructive habit, but fortunately I don't do that anymore!!

Mostly I have a lot of fun and am usually laughing and happy, or playing quietly in my room. I don't mind playing by myself, and I have lots of stuff to do in my room. I like to read my books, and my reading is getting better all the time. I have spelling tests every week at school and usually get them all right. I do know all the letters and can say them, can count very high. I use a computer at school and do lots of things on there from playing to learning.

I love to sing songs and some songs I know all the words to, and others I just sort of make it up as I go along. Even though my speech is far behind where it should be, I still can manage to communicate nicely with my mom and family. They almost always know what I want. I talk pretty much in full sentences now. I also know a bit of sign language and that helps alot! I can name just about anything. I am really polite too, because I know when to say please, thank you, excuse me, your welcome, sorry and that sort of thing. This amazes some people, because even adults forget to use these words most of the time! :)

Give me a little more time to get things done, and to figure things out. Sometimes I am very impatient, but I just want to get the thing done, just like anyone else. It just might take a little longer, or maybe I can't get my fingers to work the way I want them. I can get frustrated, but so can anyone, me, maybe a little bit more often. Even though I have autism, I am a very happy, friendly, caring little boy. Autism is so different for each person that it affects, but everyone that is affected by it has a place on this earth and in the hearts of those that love them.

My mom wrote all of that by the way - as if I was saying it - I can type, but not that good (yet)!!!

What is Autism?

Individuals with autism can experience or exhibit communication difficulties, unusual behaviour, and difficulty relating to others or forming social relationships.

Autism occurs with equal frequency througout the world, in families of all backgrounds. It is a complex, lifelong disability, usually detected within the first three years of life. Four out of five people with autism are male.

The cause of Autism/PDD is unknown. It is not caused by the physical or emotional environment of the child. Most experts believe that autism results from a currently unknown dysfunction of the brain, but there are theories being explored and research being done concerning toxic environments and reactions to certain medical interventions.

How is Autism/PDD diagnosed and treated?