Hi Jache

Oh is ISADD cheaper than the rest? TO me, it's all about there... yes lucrative business with special needs kids.. sigh...

I do not know who are your therapists with ISADD... I had a really nice and experienced case manager... I'm not sure if he is still with ISADD though... but because he only came in once a week... the therapist came in twice a week hence her punctuality was a glaring issue... yes I felt the same way as you with my therapist ... ie it is only a job to her...

ISADD was my 1st ABA experience hence i do not know what to expect then and trusted that they know better than me... I even accepted that banging tables and raising voice was the way to guide my SN child !!!! I mean How do you question the therapist if her way is correct when you are new to ABA yourself , right?
I finally took the courage to switch to Nurture Pods (to be honest I had my reservations then w Nurture Pods because at that time they were a new start-up.. I wasn't sure if they had the right expertise etc etc) but the experience was ISADD became so bad that I told myself to take the plunge and before i knew it, it had been 3 years since ! As my son is moderate case, the improvement was slow but at least there's improvement. Not that I have stopped ABA, I worry what lies ahead for my son .... he attends a SN school and to be honest, I am not the sort who is very patient to sit down w him and flash him cards every now & then.... I just pray to God that he will be watching my son and guiding him... for me, I just shower him with lots of love and have zero expectations for him So long as he is happy, my job is done sigh.

HI


Sorry for late response. I only logged in recently and chanced upon this thread.

I have personally tried both.

Just my personal experience, Nurture Pods is better.

I did 1 year with ISADD and had terrible experience with their therapist!
I stuck with them for a year because at that time, there were not many centres offering home-based ABA...

I then moved on to Nurture Pods... and stayed with them for 3 years... I only stopped recently due to funds constraints... if I had millions, I would have loved to continue... if you want to try Nurture Pods, drop me a PM... I can connect you with one of the partners ... rest assured you won't get headaches with therapist who is forever late and yet not make up for the lost time! As with all other ABA services, the only \"problem\" will be therapists on MC... but I'm okay with that because at least we don't need to pay for that session... with ISADD, the therapist can appear 30 mins' late (without responding to my text messages if she is coming or not) and make up only 10 minutes! Not once nor twice but almost every lesson! Either that or do a 1hr 30 min session and rushed off for her next session before saying \"I will make it up next session\"... then next session came, she made up only 10 minutes! Highly unprofessional. All my $$$ burnt and my son had no improvement at all.

With Nurture Pods, my son improved but unfortunately we had to stop because ABA is costly Most importantly, I do not have to deal with irresponsible therapist who is perpetually late and does not make up fully!

Hope this helps

BeContented:

Mommies, are you a big eater yourself?

Your kid watch you eat/snack etc?

I'm nibble/snack quite a bit every few hours myself and my kids would come to me still in walkers .... asking for a spoonful here & there. I remember it was quite fun for them and for me back then. I'll bring my stuff to coffee table & wave to them .... both would happily come & sit beside me. Later, they had colorful, decorated snacks, own cutlery, small stool and table etc etc. Snack time was quite a happy time .... But of course, I wasn't too particular with proper manners (must sit at table lah), must all healthy snacks etc.

Not sure if it did help cos my kids were born quite big, have been in upper percentile till now. Can try & see if that can help them wanna eat a little more? But flip side now is I must control my dd food intake :scared:

My kids din drink that much formula milk either. From about 3/4+yo, I have been feeding them fresh milk (cold) & stopped formula by 7yo

Hmm... my son eats everything and anything in huge quantity.
Non-fussy eater.
I eat a lot too so food intake is not the issue for me nor my son.
Back in kindergarten, he went for 2nd/3rd helping daily... Teachers are always amazed with his appetite.
When we are with the cousins, he helps them with their food (ie polish up for them!)
Because he eats so well, we often go to buffets... but he is still small

At K2, he was already \"rejecting\" kids' meal by Pasta Mania, Swensen's and Pizza Hut coz the portion ain't enough. We usually order an adult size meal, complete with soup and ice cream (after meal). He can polish all up effortlessly. On top of that, before bedtime, it is usually a sandwich or bun before he sleeps else he feels hungry.

Now at P2, going to food court is a challenge coz the normal chicken rice meal is no longer enough for him! So we usually end up ordering Kaya Toast Set along w the Chicken Rice meal so he feels full. So buffet is still best for him but bad for our wallets :nailbite:

slmkhoo:

WaWa:

Currently my son's eczema is kind of \"under control\". My sister suggested I put my boy back on formula milk (controlled dosage, ie once a day every morning for breakfast). What do you think of this suggestion?


I know my son is hurt whenever we go out and people go \"huh? he is P2 ah? I thought he is in K1...\" (once someone even thought he was in nursery!). Friends are puzzled why me & my spouse are of average height but my kid is so small.

Do a small test with dairy before you start giving it to him daily. I don't think you want to risk triggering his eczema again. What about soy milk and other protein sources? Cow's milk is really not essential.

It is hard when your child is different, but you can help him accept himself and focus on what he is good at.

Thanks! will do so... will slowly introduce cow's milk again.

Oh about accepting himself... of course I do tell him \"it's alright to be short in height but tall in stature\" ... I tell him that to ensure I preserve his self-esteem. Behind his back, I can't just sit back and relax without trying to find out ways to help him grow more especially since he's still young and there's still this \"window period\" that he can grow. These few years crucial ... once he hit late teens... too late to help ... and til then, he really has no choice but to accept it if he is still short (touch wood) ... hopefully he will grow to a comfortable height by then hahahaha

intruder:

Hi,


My son is 19 months old and weighs barely 8kg. His weight is always lower than 3rd percentile on the weight chart since birth. I've consulted his PD and she took blood test for him and the result was normal but dat doesn't stop me from worrying. Recently i just bought him to see a dietitian and was advised to give him eat more carbo food but my son wasn't a big eater as he is a small size boy so his stomach is not dat big so it is unlikely dat I can follow according to the dietitian's guidelines. I feel bad whenever i need to \"force\" him to eat when he always shakes his head indicating he doesn't want to eat anymore and worse, sometimes he vomited out.

My boy has 3 meals a day and i will give snacks like milk, biscuits, yogurt, etc. in between meals but if I do dat, his nxt meal, he will not be able to eat much. And worse of all is my boy still naps 2x a day, morning nap at 11+am (naps abt 2hrs, ard 2pm wakes up, abt 2+pm den eat his lunch) and another one at ard 5+pm (normally i will try to keep him awake till his dinner time) but if he is tired, he will be cranky and refuse to eat.

I seriously do see a problem, probably in my routine or feeding methods?
Being the primary caregiver for my son, i really can't stop worrying and questioning myself where actually is the problem.. y he is not putting weight like other babies or toddlers do?! When ppl (especially old folks) see my boy, they will always comment \"boy, u must eat more or u must feed him more food.\" I do feel hurt & sometimes inferior when I heard such comments or when I see other babies or toddlers younger than my son are bigger size than him.
Any mummies having similar problem or could advise me, pls?

I feel for you. Although our situation is somewhat different ( my son eats a lot and looks for food throughout the day proactively) but we face similar issue ie our kids are small

Although I can't help you, I hope someone can help you soon

Elgarmummy:

I took my son (K1) to the feeding clinic because he eats very little and is super short and skinny. The doctor/psychologist/nutritionist/speech therapist say there is nothing wrong with him.


Perhaps while your child is eating a lot, he is burning a lot of calories in his sport. Since he eats a lot, this may not be the issue.

Cow's milk does have lots of growth hormones due to the medicine farmers give to the cows to prevent them from falling sick. Hence, those who eat beef and drink cow's milk tend to be bigger.

My son also cannot take cow's milk like your son due to allergies. So I guess it is really hard to grow taller. He is also extremely short, and those in N2 are already taller than him. His classmates also tower over him.

Currently my son's eczema is kind of \"under control\". My sister suggested I put my boy back on formula milk (controlled dosage, ie once a day every morning for breakfast). What do you think of this suggestion?

I know my son is hurt whenever we go out and people go \"huh? he is P2 ah? I thought he is in K1...\" (once someone even thought he was in nursery!). Friends are puzzled why me & my spouse are of average height but my kid is so small.

Thanks. I think I will get a referral to KKH via polyclinic.

Yup I definitely want to seek help sooner rather than later

He is in Primary 2 .. height is 110 weight is 19 kg.
He swims and does TKD.

We did that 2 years' back. Paediatrician said... \"eat more; drink more milk\" but my son cannot drink milk due to allergies... he has chronic eczema!


We even brought him to 2 Chinese Physicians... still the same size
First physician... after we go all the way there, he said he doesn't look at \"young kids\".
Second physician we queued for 2 hours each time (we went 3 times) still like that...
We do not need him to be tall... just 50% percentile is good enough for us .. just so long as he feels \"integrated\" in terms of height.

Maybe must go take queue number at KKH ... I just worry that after all the time and hassle, doctors say \"it is ok\"... it is obviously not ok for him as i am worried how it will affect his self-esteem... and since he is still young, this is the \"opportunity to work on it\"... rather than wait til past puberty then seek help. May be too late by then.

Dear All


I have a 7yo child who is eating a lot for his age (really a lot.. same amount as my rather rotound husband!) but he has the height of a 4.5yo and is very skinny. He amazes many with his huge appetite. There was once we went to a Japanese a-la-carte buffet (when we walked in they charged him foc given his height ... only to watch in amazement (maybe horror) how he could polish up the cooked food... beef, chicken, fish, tofu w rice.. in his own minute capacity). We were quite embarassed really.

Is there any nutritionist / dietitian out there who can advise how i can help him grow esp in the height department? I am 1.6m tall and my husband is 1.73m tall (considered average individuals for our respective gender) but my son is not even in the average range. When we brought him to coffeeshop , coffee aunty will comment \"have you started school?\"..thinking he is pre-nursery when he has already started primary education!). My son is not concerned about his skinny frame... he is more concerned about his lack of height! His classmates are all easily half a head to 11/2heads taller than him

Appreciate some valuable inputs here. Thank you

ImMeeMee:

there was a program last night over Channel 8 regarding autism. it featured a few case studies, providing insights into parents' struggles and the child's thinking. I thought the program was done on a very positive note, but it may be good if the program could have also featured some of the difficulties of autistic children, eg. meltdowns in public, so as to build the public's awareness and empathy towards these children when faced with such situations in public.

My exact sentiments.
I felt the programme was a little \"lop-sided\" in that it portrays only the functional aspects ... and the children featured were either \"mild with good eye contact\" or even if moderate, seems \"well-integrated\" ...well, at least this is what i gather from the show.

I'm sure these children have their meltdown moments & moments where we can never \"talk sense\" to them ... such difficulties should be portrayed alongside the positives, so those unaware will know that while autistics can function quite \"normally\", there are times where they can't.

At the end of the programme, I can't help but wonder what is the purpose of the show? To educate the public & create better awareness? Definitely not what i felt since the show failed to deliver that content (if it ever had the intention).

Or, is the purpose of the show trying to tell the public that there is \"enough spaces in special schools\" to accomodate the autistics.... this seems likely to be what they are trying to promote.