Need Communication Cards?

So as all of you now know - my 2-year old has been diagnosed with Autism and the support we've been getting has been fantastic.
Why today, we got in the mail, his hearing appointment booking!  It'll be near the end of the month but they had booked it last Friday and sent the notice out then. :-)

Some things I have been working on for my son, is taking photos of places and of people's faces and their homes...this way I can eventually print cards out for him, laminate them, glue velcro on them and make some communication cards.
But if your child has special needs and perhaps is fine with other people but maybe doesn't do well with understanding actions or transitions...I have some tips!
*I am not a therapist - I am a MOM and just passing along useful things on to you to do as you wish.  I do not make any guarantee or promise this will work because it's a long road ahead of me and my family and perhaps for you too.*


One site the psychologist suggested for me was Papu.  There IS an English option at the top - but I could not find the available build-your-own-cards...so I'll show it to you in Finnish!
If you click on the 2nd tab on the left-hand side, you can pick whatever topic - for example, "El�imet" is animals, then there will be categories below, and I picked "Kissat" (cats) and a bunch of photos of cats showed up.  Then you click and drag the one you want to use (perhaps one that looks the most like your cat for example) and drop it on the right hand-side in one of those boxes.
You'll notice the word in Finish above the photo is also labelled!  How handy!  (And excellent for those that want to learn/teach Finnish to your family at the same time!)

When it's filled accordingly, you can save it and show it to your child or perhaps print them off and cut them - make them into your own flash cards or like what I am doing, using them as communicating cards.

As well, if you have a smart phone or device like an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad - just as an example - there are some pretty awesome Applications ("Apps") available - lots of them for free too, for children with special needs.
Some do cost money, like iCommunicate (40�!) but depending how far advanced your child is - something basic or the above photo-card-communicating system may be enough and more affordable.

Now, I know what you MIGHT be thinking....
"INK is so expensive!"
Yeah I was in the same shoes as of this morning and trying to figure out if my printer was compatible with the computer or not (our landlords is not)....then some friends suggested I just order my photos through ifolor and then make cards by gluing them onto paper (after trimming them if needed) and  then laminating them.  Voila!

If you're experiencing the same or something similar - good luck and I hope this helped a little!

PS - if you type in www.papu.net or papu.net - it will take you to some online storage site called "Hover".  Just type in www.papu.fi or papu.fi and it will bring you there!  Or click on the links provided up above.

Different Therapies for Autistic Children in Finland...

Wow.  Well, here I am writing this post (more than) 24 hours after the most wild last 2-days.
Not wild as in drank my face off wild...no - a different kind of wild.

We have had our suspicions about our son, V�in�, being Autistic for awhile now and it's absolutely amazing how quickly appointments were booked and we expressed our concern in December of last year.
In January, we had his first speech therapist appointment and she told us about using photos to communicate with him.
It wasn't working in the sense that he could show us what he wanted by pointing or picking up the photo and giving it to us.  And in part, it was our fault for not trying hard enough and for having them all hole-punched and clipped onto a key ring.  It was too distracting for him.

We have had a child psychologist appointment for him since then and as well, more photos printed and laminated by his speech therapist too.

Immediately, they recommended he be sent to the children's neurologist department to see what was going on inside his head.
We were advised our appointment would be booked for us and we would be sent a notification in the mail.
Well, within a few short weeks - we had an appointment booked for May 2-3rd.
We knew that they wanted to see him for more than a day and they would provide lunch but we had to bring breakfast and snacks if necessary.  Also they said a nurse would call us before the appointments to confirm the appointment time was okay and to see if we needed anything special for V�in�.
Well, that never happened.

For those of you that live in JKL and don't know what building we went to - it's located behind the hospital and  in a new building.  (They'll provide you with a map!)
It's in a new building because the old one was filled with mold....seems to be a common trend among old buildings here...(i.e. The hubby's old office building...)

When we walked in - it wasn't too loud - there were two other children there...and it wasn't all white inside either!  It didn't have the "squeaky clean Neuvola/hospital feeling" inside and V�in� did not scream when he got inside.
They had a huge play room with every toy you could imagine!  A little kitchenette so you could bring your own food for yourselves...and make coffee...and many chairs to wait in - should your child be with a specialist or nurse for awhile on their own.

There was a white board nearby and V�in�'s name was there, along with the other kids and with his schedule for the day written down.  The first day was a short one - from about 8:45am-11:30am.
He was assigned a wonderful and lovely nurse named Niina and she will be the same nurse he deals with every time he goes there for a check-up or for more therapy.

V�in� played worked with the speech therapist while we met with a team of specialists...

• A social worker
• Niina - his nurse whom stuck with him throughout the two days and will continue to do so in future! (How awesome is that?!)
• An occupational therapist
• A children's school specialist

They also provided us with a translator so that way everything could be understood perfectly between the two parties.

We were asked a wide variety of questions during this meeting and it was a little overwhelming at first because it was a panel of specialists and I worried they questioned things about how we felt - but they really didn't.  They just wanted to help and know what was the best route to take to help rehabilitate our son and help him with his developmental issues and linguistic skills.

The first day ended with a small success, I am pleased to share with you all.

V�in� worked with the speech therapist alone for an hour and he was able to give her a photo of a container of bubbles and if he did that successfully - she blew bubbles for him.

Seems odd I suppose for those of you that don't know - but he's a big time visual learner and they believe he has a photographic memory to some degree because of how he refuses some foods repeatedly and other traits he has displayed for them.

So he was learning to "say" or to show what he wanted by giving her the photo and that was a huge step for us!! :)

Day 2 was much longer and more intensive because we went to the Occupational Therapist's office - which was located in another building.
It was very new, very white (i.e. walls, ceiling, floors) and scared the crap out of my 2-year old.
After that session and an attempt at feeding him the lunch they provided (meat patties, mashed potatoes, boiled carrots and bread with butter plus drinks) - we met with the doctor who made many suggestions and discussed that V�in� will require some more tests and of course, a lot of therapy as he grows.
After that, we waited a bit - and were sent in to meet with the team of specialists...

We discussed applying for Disability Benefits for V�in� through Kela - can you believe they DO provide disability benefits for children under the age of 16 and once the child reaches their Sweet 16 - you just have to re-apply again (if you think your child qualifies) for regular Disability Benefits for someone over 16?!
I'm not sure what the system is in Canada...because most of the medical care is free - but things like therapies for speech and such - may not be.
There was also discussion of reviewing and borrowing a DVD about Autism in young children with the speech therapist, what kinds of activities would benefit V�in� and day care.
OH day-care.

In case you're wondering - day care has to be applied for and you may not get the location closest to you.  They try to put your child(ren) where is more convenient for you - but you might not get your first choice.
Also, there is a 260� maximum fee per child (full-time, 5 days a week) - regardless of how much the total household income is!  That's a pretty sweet deal considering in the US - prices range from a minimum of 600$!
As well, the amount you pay is based on how many days per month your child(ren) attends day care and if it's for a full day (they provide breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks) or for a half-day (breakfast and lunch included)...oh and based on your total household income.

Back to the original topic.
Yes there are day-cares specially targeted towards children of special needs of a wide variety, there's "regular day care" with some spots available for special needs children...and there is private day-care too (more expensive).  With private day-care - there's more adults available per smaller group of kids.
So instead of 1 teacher for every 6-7 kids - there could be 1 teacher for 3-5.
And of course, some children require special aides - so that's more adults.
We haven't decided what kind of day-care would benefit V�in� the best because of the language issue...we're not sure if he understands English or Finnish better...but we'll figure it out.

We'll be back to visit them in 6 months with V�in� and in 1 week, we have to meet to fill out all of these forms...oh and we're going to submit a request that V�in�'s rehabilitation program be charged through to Kela.

Phew - I apologize this is so long and quite personal - but if you should happen to live in Finland and be in the same boat - this is what you could be going through.

Therapy

One thing that can cost quite the pretty penny for folks in North America is therapy.
Whether it's physiotherapy, mental therapy or speech therapy (I know there are more kinds out there but cannot list them all) - it'll cost you.
Some employers offer their employees free therapy at certain therapist offices...which is great!  And which I have used in the past to get over some troubling events in my life.

Never would I have thought that I would need to get my 2-year old therapy.
Well, in Finland - for children- therapy is free (so I've been told).
Why does my 2-year old require some therapy?

Well, V�in� is 2-years old and doesn't speak at all.  Some relatives on my husband's side didn't speak until they were older than that...but we thought it was odd because let's face it: I talk a lot.
That and he's surrounded by languages...English and Finnish and a little Portugese!! (Good friends of ours are from Brazil and visit regularly).
But it's not just the lack of speech that had us concerned at first.
We noticed that V�in� may love his DVDs to the point of obsession...and he doesn't play with toys at all....he loves books though but doesn't look at them page by page either.  Lately he hasn't played on any of the playground equipment either!!  And he normally LOVES the swings!  Perhaps it's because the swing seats are cold because of the winter...but still....
If you pointed at something - he wouldn't look at the item or spot you were pointing to..he'd rather look at your finger.
95% of people he sees on a semi-regular basis - he's terrified of.  We can't figure it out...he just ignores them and if they try to hold him - he goes wild.  And not the "I just won a million Euros!!!" wild either.
And the hardest thing is that V�in� doesn't listen.  I'm positive he understands what we're saying - but if he's bouncing everywhere - no matter how many times I clap my hands, yell, sit him down on a time out - he just goes back to jumping as soon as my back is turned.
(The list could go on forever...don't get me wrong - there are plenty of wonderful things about V�in� too!)
This has all been very frustrating...I am willing to admit that it has sometimes put a strain on our relationship with our son and between my husband and I too.  After much discussion we finally decided to be open-minded and realize that perhaps it's something a tad more serious than being a "spirited child" as we originally thought.

Thanks to having regular Neuvola appointments with my youngest, the nurse has been asking about V�in� regularly and back in December she recommended a speech therapist.
I was there again last week and advised her that nobody has called to make an appointment yet - so she got on them for me and this morning I got a phone call from a local speech therapist.
AND the speech therapist is going to request a young child-psychologist sees V�in� as well!  This is great.

We are suspecting that V�in� may have some spectrum of Autism or Asperger's Syndrome and we're trying as hard as possible to get not only the help he needs but the advice we need to help him grow and be more sociable.
(Poking other kids in their eyes can be cute only for so long - right?)

I'll keep you updated on this journey - not that I enjoy spreading my personal life on the internet in this fashion, however, I hope this can reach other parents that perhaps live in Finland  (or another country) and I want you to know how things go here.  And that there's nothing wrong with getting some help when you need it.