Ancient Alien theories + Autistic son = ???

Thanks for your comments.
Yes, I use the ABA with Cody. Still do.

reply to post by Tonya


A 10 year old watching "Ancient Aliens" ?

The closest my 10 year old Autistic son ever got to watching anything about aliens was Star Wars and Star Trek.

Perhaps I'm just one of those few parents who limits what I think is suitable TV for an age appropriate child because sometimes broadcasting gets it wrong.

Sorry but I would never have introduced any of my children to "Ancient Aliens" until 16.

reply to post by Tonya

Thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed your post.

You sound like a very supportive and informed parent. My son is undiagnosed because he doesn't tick enough boxes? I feel very let down by a diagnosis based on a half hour interview with him and a questionnaire. I believe he is high functioning aspergers.

You are sooo lucky he functions in state school. My son is using an Internet school, he displays similar traits and interests to yours. He excels in maths and computers tho and at 13 is ready for uk GCSE's which are normally taken at 16.

Its a difficult job but I believe because you are aware and informed your support will be all he needs. He sounds like a very special kid.

Originally posted by Tonya
reply to post by Imtor

 

Does anyone else understand how I have been so badly misconstrued?

My goodness. Well, there it is.

LOL, I think you are doing the best you can right now. I understand that you don't want your son open to ridicule by what he has seen. I also know it's very hard to get a high functioning to NOT talk about what interests them.

Originally posted by trilogy111
reply to post by Tonya

 

Thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed your post.

You sound like a very supportive and informed parent. My son is undiagnosed because he doesn't tick enough boxes? I feel very let down by a diagnosis based on a half hour interview with him and a questionnaire. I believe he is high functioning aspergers.

You are sooo lucky he functions in state school. My son is using an Internet school, he displays similar traits and interests to yours. He excels in maths and computers tho and at 13 is ready for uk GCSE's which are normally taken at 16.

Its a difficult job but I believe because you are aware and informed your support will be all he needs. He sounds like a very special kid.

Why is that, trilogy, that you feel let down? Does your son need a diagnosis? When I took my son to a Neurologist, the doctor was practically yelling at me. "WHY DO YOU NEED A DIAGNOSIS!" Hell, some of the teachers seem to lose their memory when it comes to Aspergers. They continually expect them to be typical and they are not! I got so tired of my son being pulled out of class and tested. He's fine now, but the diagnosis comes in handy when needed.
You can seek a diagnosis on your own.

Originally posted by Tonya
reply to post by MsCrowley

 

Sooo....as an educator, if Cody came to you in front of all his peers and asked you if you believed in ET's, what would you say? With all those little eyes staring up at you...Or the checkout lady in Walmart, or to the new neighbors moving in next door.

This is what we need help with the most. Allowing him to believe in what he believes...because we were all there and can not deny what we saw, and then let him look back and try to understand why they were here, and why they have come back, or if they ever really left.

I don't have an answer, because I haven't seen a UFO. Do I believe alien life exists? My answer was...why should we be the only life on a planet in this huge universe? Do you know my son argues with me? He denies anything that involves aliens and UFOs. Im sure if he's seen one, he'd believe.

reply to post by Onboard2


Yea, I now could get a private diagnosis, but in uk the Social Services won't always recognise it so no support there then? Second opinion through GP ? yes its possible. We self manage so much now and I never wanted a diagnosis to be an excuse to hide behind.

Personally I found the assessment process all a little negative since they kept telling me that there was no treatment anyway. At one point I actually said well what's the point of a diagnosis then? Actually there are social interaction workshops etc that he could access. Comes down to economics and he's outside 'the system'

As you say comes in handy at times, there are times when he actively asks me to get him help, the issue is will it be the right help? Bit of a minefield, luck of the draw if you get a good diagnostic !

Thanks for your input

reply to post by bluemirage5


It's so hard when a thread gets this long for new posters to have read all that has already been stated. But, your opinion has been shared by others as well. I do agree with you. But you see, we had an encounter with a UFO, as a family. Undeniable encounter. Cody went into Ancient Aliens already exposed to the "truth". We all did. So it was natural that we were all beside ourselves with curiosity.

If I may, there is something else I've been meaning to mention and I think now is a perfect time. The amount of alien type movies and television directed at children in this day and age seems so obviously indoctrinating. So much so that as a parent you have to wonder....Why? Even Arther the Aardvark has a best friend "Buster" who is fixated on UFO's and the Aliens, and this a cartoon on public broadcasting, right after sesame street! Let me tell ya, that Bunny is spot on! I'm not kidding either! I had been talking with my oldest son about this even before our encounter. I think in a round about way the entertainment industry is getting our children ready for _______?

reply to post by trilogy111


Jumping in real quick to say....I think things may be different in the UK. BUT...I think my daughter may be sitting real high on the spectrum as well! And she doesn't tick enough boxes either. I get that....but I have to devote sometime to the boy wonder tonight. We have maps to study you see! LOL!

Feel free to use my thread to continue this discussion and I will be back in the morning.

G-night to all! ~ T

Howdy Tonya! Beautiful children you have and you seem to be a wonderful mom. My son turned 13 yesterday and is high functioning (now!) autistic. He mainstreams with a learning support teacher for him and 3 other students. I think a lot of folks don't understand how diverse our kids' interests can be! My son just asked me to order him "My Favorite Universe", which is a college lecture series from Great Courses. He loves documentaries on just about anything. Oh and Spongebob/Fairly Oddparents as well for those who think we're not letting him be a kid. How it's Made and Mythbusters are favorites. We also did away with cable and only have Netflix/Hulu Plus.

Anyway, I wanted to reply regarding Cody's reading level. Dearest son here wouldn't read at grade level. That's right - wouldn't. Drove his 3rd grade teacher nuts! If Matt was not interested, he couldn't answer the simplest questions. If he was interested in, say, the 6 foot sea scorpion fossil that was found, he could read a college level article and summarize it. This year (7th grade) I finally got him to read chapter books by getting him an e-reader. Worked wonders - he went from reading Mudge and Henry (really easy) to book reports on The Island of Dr. Moreau. Or is he more of an auditory/visual learner? Books on tape maybe?

Originally posted by trilogy111
reply to post by Onboard2

 

We self manage so much now and I never wanted a diagnosis to be an excuse to hide behind.

Mum to Mum, that's a beautiful thing to hear! Cody's school is extremely supportive of the autism program and even if a child is suspect to certain behaviors that have gone either 1. Undiagnost by testing or 2. Because the parents are clueless....the program will still work with these kids whatever their needs may be. I know how lucky I am to have Cody in this school because I have heard some real nightmare stories about spectrum kids in public schools. I am so thankful to the women and men who work with Cody.

If you don't mind my asking? How old is your child? And what do you see of sense that makes you suspicious of Asperger's? You know here in Maine - Many doctors, therapists and even teacher's no longer label these kids with PDD or Autism, Asperger's...they are simply..."On the spectrum" Whatever end makes no difference to us.

I knew Cody was Autistic when he was 2 - he simply stopped talking! It turned into this weird jibberish. Little by little the flags started going up and luckily I have a pediatrition that picked up on it very early and send him for a full evaluation. It actually took 2 days to complete. Even then it was provisional diagnosis. But more to the point - I absolutly believe that children are an extension of our own heartbeat - trust your intuition. ABA is all about charts and percentages and computer models that are very accurate in isolating where a child is developmentally and then from that a plan can be developed to focus on how to use the strengths to sort of bolster the weaknesses. But, nevermind the computer models, when you can tune into your child and adapt and "manage" as you say, I think that is just exceptional! Truely! ABA has worked well for Cody, even if the rewarding part of it makes me feel like we are treating him like a little trained monkey. It's worked, it's working, and he's a happy kid.

That's really what is most important ~ Right???

So speaking of happy notes...

I have some wonderful news everyone ~ Cody and I have been able to talk over the past few days and tonight before I left him to sleep, we came to a place of compromise and understanding. I think it deserves a new thread so I'm planning on writing this in the morning. Keep an eye out everyone and please if you've followed this thread, stop by and take a peak once it posts so I can thank everyone properly!

I need some sleep too, it was a wonderful but emotional and exhausting talk...but ALL GOOD!

reply to post by Mountainmeg


"My Favorite Universe"....hmmm....I'm intrigued! I'll have to library that one!

Thank you for checking out the pictures. Yeah, shucks, I'm pretty proud of them all. They are not all mine though. LOL! I just love to photograph kids.

As for the reading....someone earlier had mentioned E-books or audio books too. I haven't given it a go yet but it's certainly worth a try. But you know, I think Cody will do the same as your son. He knows how to read! I catch him doing it all the time. LOL! Like when he wants to know the name of a dinosaur...he will use the prenunciation key. But then he always pitches a bit of fit...."WHY DON"T THEY JUST SPELL IT THIS WAY!" He'll read. No one at school is fussing over it, just continued patience and encouragment.

Alright, you are REALLY the last post of the day!
But listen, I am planning on a new thrread in the morning. If you'd like please follow me there once I put it up. I'm really starting to love this...it's like a support group for Aliens and Autism! Heyyy that sounds like a good book title!

BUT not tonight...
Thanks again and keep an eye out okay?

Unfortunately, it was absolutely necessary for my son to have a diagnosis. He was constantly pulled out of class and tested from first to third grade. They didn't have a clue why he was different. I won't go into a lot of detail, but trust me when I say they didn't know what they were doiing. They even gave him a test for autism and the traits he displayed are classic-straight out of the book Aspergers! Not only was it stressful for him, but me too. Sometimes you can't leave it up to the teachers and take matters into your own hands.

My son doesn't have any help. He's mainstreamed and is expected to do the work his classmates do and he does for the most part, but is very forgetful and doesn't always remember, if he turned in all his assignments. His organizational skills have improved. It does make me angry that the mildly autistic are expected to be neurologically typical and never given a break by some teachers.

late reply here, been in hospital for a day or so, thanks Tonya for your positive thoughts , I agree 'on the spectrum' is a far better way to view, due to overlaps and grey areas. Still thinking you have a great handle on all this !

So good to know there are others out there who understand the frustration of those dreaded boxes, yes its worse in the uk I think.

Also hearing onboard 2 who points out the sometimes downside of diagnosis. Its a minefield and everyone has a unique situation going on here but no doubt in my mind these kids are unique and deserve our support.

My son is 13 and we chat about all sorts of things, he can talk for England and America He loves codes,computers and maths and his grades are excellent, loves his online school, never has to be reminded to do homework and does some amazing powerpoint presentation assignments. Downside not enough sports etc or so called social interaction with peers, however my view in uk state school is that can often be a very negative thing. He explained to me today that the binary and the maths he gets into are safe for him because its black and white to him, right or wrong. People are harder to read and when he sees grey areas... he views it as 'hypercritical' or 'two faced' and cannot understand it. Maybe the asperger trait of struggling with facial expression and difficulty reading body language is the price to pay for a logical mathematic brain but thats only my opinion ?

I do the best I can to give him a fairly rounded education, we travel and mix socially but not always with kids his age. He is great with the very young and most adults, also the elderly.

I am happy to share more if it helps please ask away and I really value hearing from other parents, thank you !

Readers of this thread may be interested in the book by Donna Williams titled

"Nobody Nowhere" may help some understand the complexities of autism.

Originally posted by Tonya
Hello, as my very first post and I must be honest that I'm a little nervous.

There is so much I want to say and so much overwhelming information that makes my head spin, I’m not even sure where to begin. I suppose I’ll get my feet wet here and hope to bring some amount of intelligence and integrity. What I really came here today for is not necessarily for myself but for my 10 year old son Cody. He is autistic and his "gifts" are so incredible I could ramble on about him for hours. I am truly honored to be his Mum.

So to get straight to the point...Cody has watched and continues to (obsessively) watch "Ancient Aliens". As a matter of fact, he has every episode nearly memorized, word for word. When Cody can't get an "answer" to the numerous questions that show poses he asks he becomes incredibly aggravated. Than he gets aggravated with me when I can't answer them either. It is actually causing a lot of distress in the household. His brother and sister are getting pretty shaken up about it too. And I can't even begin to tell you how many times his teachers at school have called me and asked me to "Stop" giving Cody information that he is "scaring" his little friends with.

Do I think anyone here can supply Cody the answers to all that are posed by the Ancient Aliens series? Of course not! I know. Or at least not in the conventional way that he acquires all of his information and knowledge about his numerous fixations and questions, like at the library.

All the sudden I feel a little flustered about this post. My eyes are wide open folks...wide open! Always have been but there is no book out yet about teaching your children the truth about aliens and ET theories. Or, how to comfort them as we head into this mysterious and uncertain era of either disinformation or TRUE information.

In short, my kids are scared. And I'm scared because I don't know how to comfort them. I don't want to say to them, "Don't talk about the UFO's or Alien theories or any other conspiracy theories to friends, family and teachers." so as to protect them from ridicule. So it has all become our "secret". Mostly, I just tell them that not everyone one is ready to believe what is right before them. That maybe they are scared too and don’t want to talk about the things that we believe to be true.

I guess, there is no easy answer, at least not yet.
I suppose I'm here now for many reasons and they probably have a lot more to do with than just answering Cody's questions about Noah's DNA ark! It's about having conversations with people who will listen and understand with compassion the turmoil in my home that I don't know how to bring peace to yet.

I don't have answers for Cody. I guess it's not a plea for answers, just a statement and my hopes of finding people here to talk to about it.

So there it is 1 post down 19 to go...looking forward to them. Thanks in advance for any responses!

Peace ~ Tonya

Im sorry but I cant stop laughing at your post. I can imagine him and the kids all talking in school and trying to explain the dynamics of DNA to them. God bless that kid. 10 years ol and Noahs DNA Ark HAHA YES

Originally posted by WhoDat09
Welcome!

I really don't have any answers to your questions, but Ancient Aliens is a pretty good show and they do present some interesting theories! Maybe you could see if Giorgio will meet with your son, then he can get the answers straight form the source!

Anyway welcome hope you enjoy!

That would be awesome. And I bet he would totally go for something like that dude is a badass no doubt