I'm considering having another child. I am concerned that my autistic son will miss out on all my attention and help I am possibly able to give him to help him funtion in society. I also have an older daughter (typical) and I think my job is to make their life as happy as I can and it's especially harder because my son has autism so he needs all the help I can give him.Has anyone had another child and then not been able to give their autistic child as much help as they had before a baby? Has there been negative effects on the autistic child after the birth of baby? Any regrets?
I would love to hear any feedback ↓
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| Name: aldam2 | Date: Oct 21st, 2007 10:22 PM |
| Hi gemmdenn, I have 4 children altogether and it is my eldest daughter who has asperger syndrome. I didnt actually get a proper diagnosis till I was heavly pregnant with my 3rd. I then got pregnant accidently with baby no4. I have mixed emotions, I love the fact that I have 3 other siblings to look out for my autistic daughter and that she will never be alone, but on the other hand, I think sam would be much happier if I only had her then she could be centre of attention all the time and I could give her my undiveded attention 24-7, but then again this doesnt help her in the real world and socially she must learn to interact with other people or she wont ever get anywhere in life. Its a hard decision for you to make, but unfortunatly only you can make that decision. I didnt have any chose, and I cope with sam and her 3 younger siblings, but it can be hard work sometimes and I feel we have to make sure sam is happy first before we can join in. Hope this helps luv sarah XXX ps. sam loves the fact she has too little sisters age 5 and 3 and does use them to her advantage!!! ↑ |
| Name: gemmdenn | Date: Oct 23rd, 2007 4:47 AM |
| thanks sarah for your honesty you do make a good point about your daughter learning to live in society. ↑ |
| Name: Ashley Dawn | Date: Oct 25th, 2007 2:48 PM |
| i have 2 children...a 2 year old and a 4 week old. my oldest has austim. we found out when i was 8 months pregnant with his brother. my 2 year old takes ALOT of attention and after the day is over i'm physically and emotionally drained. not to mention he goes to speech 3 times a week and OT once. my son seems to be taking well to his brother and i haven't really noticed any changes. as for my husband and I,we're not going to have anymore. before my son got disgonsed with austim i wanted him to have a brother to play with and share memories going up together. now, i'm thankful he does have a sibling, because we don't know if he'll be able to live on his own and if we're (his parents) aren't here at least he'll have a brother. ↑ |
| Name: kat26 | Date: Apr 14th, 2008 5:06 PM |
| hi, i have a 3yr old boy who is mild to moderate autistic. when i first brought my daughter home from the hospital, my son was very jelouse-which is normal.but anyways, he would act out anyway he can, and it took him about a week to relize-she was here to stay. i just try to include them both in the things we do..he is really fond of her now-though i have to watch him closely around her. they play patty cake together peeka boo and other games. i think it is good for him to have another sibling in the house to play with. at first your son will be jelouse-most kids are, if not all-but in do time he will adjust and love having an extra sibling around. ↑ |
| Name: ryans mom | Date: Apr 18th, 2008 10:18 PM |
| I have 3 children, my oldest has autism. Now he is 6 and we just had another baby she is now 4 months old. It is true I can't show my son as much attention as I did before but he doesn't seem any worse for the ware. The first couple of months were difficult and the last couple of my pregancy were also very trying,but now my son actually wants to interact with the baby, we had to make it VERY clear he neeeded to be careful around the baby but he trys to talk to her and sings at her, Its really cute, I say go ahead kids learn to adjust even kids with autism ↑ |
| Name: jagosto | Date: Apr 25th, 2008 6:51 PM |
| Hi Im Jennifer and I have a 5yr old autistic son, a 7 yr old daughter and a 1yr old daughter. At first when I found out I was pregnant I was very scared with the thoiught of having a boy and the possibility of another child with autism. My daughters are perfectly healthy and they all bond well. Yes My son Henry requires alot more attention but I give them all my love and support. I dont treat him differently, I make him feel just like a normal child. He is nonverbal but will make sure he is understood. I do have to be carefull when he gets his tantrums but that;s how he deals with stress. I think having other children is great because just like in school they will copy and mimic them. My son likes to play with his sisters. I dont know if he would be the kid he is if he didn't have any siblings. Well, I dont know if this helped you but good luck and god bless. ↑ |
| Name: Lori2 | Date: Jun 14th, 2008 9:03 PM |
| My 4 year old son has PDD-NOS, I was 6 months pregnant when my son was diagnosed. This really scared us because we really didn't know how my son was going to handle this new baby, he really doesn't handle changes very well. One of his specialists recommended using a simple story book to help him understand that "mommy" was going to the hospital and when she returned she would have a new baby with her. This worked well for him and when I did finally go to the hospital, he knew what to expect. I'm happy to say that the two of them get a long very well. It's true that we can't spend as much time with him, but as ryans mom said, I don't find him to be any worse off then when he did have our undivided attention 24-7. ↑ |
| Name: There IS Hope | Date: Jul 14th, 2009 4:48 AM |
| Hi. I work in a school district, as a special-education paraprofessional. I have been blessed to care for and help many different children of various ages, with a variety of challenges. I recently listened to / watched a woman share her incredible story of raising a son with autism. It touched me deeply. Her son was healed, a few years back, and continues to improve in his schooling. I ordered her book and found so much hope in her experience. Hope that applies to everyone, including families with autism but not limited to only autism. My heart goes out to all. If anyone is interested in the details of the book and the radio / t.v. program, please e-mail me at [email protected]. (Since it is my understanding that some things cannot be posted.) With excitement, encouragement, and heart-felt appreciation and compassion to every family touched by especially autism...There IS Hope. ↑ |
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