what do you do to keep them nice and quiet and in their seat? I think I'm ready to start bringing my 5 year old son but can already feel my anxiety rising at the possible scenes... Just wanted to see who's had success with this and what different methods you've used.

First I bring every comfort object he owns! LOL and then I bring stuff that might possibly distract him. Miah loves music and so I always bring his MP3 player, that helps if there is too much noise also, always bring crayons and coloring book and some kind of snack and his soy milk (cause his cup can never be empty). And I slowly introduced him to it, let him set his rountine, he has his church back pack with all his stuff in it. It took several weeks before we could stay for the whole thing, but now he does really well!

Okay, this gives me hope. I thought I'd have to bring a bunch of his favorite things but somehow when

I  

want him to play with his things, he suddenly loses interest, and that's what I'm almost expecting to happen here- though I'm still gonna give it a try. Is your son a hummer? Cause mine is, if he's not humming a song then he's making some kind of noise, were you actually able to quiet your son?

Miah is not one to make noise unless he is upset about something, but I would hope that they would be understanding about a little bit of noise!

The church I go to has a special sunday school for autistic children that he goes to, but it doesn't run during the summer. There is an area outside the congregation, like in the lobby but there are big windows so you can still watch the service. We sit out there. I give him sensory toys or just cool balls like kush balls or whatever to distract him, and if that doesn't work we take little breaks to walk around the building which calms him down. There is no way I could get my boy to sit through an entire service inside the congregation.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Moosey:
The church I go to has a special sunday school for autistic children that he goes to, QUOTE]

That's so cool! I wish my church did that! Miah goes to Sunday school first but then during service the other kids go to childrens church. I tried to take him in there a couple times, but it was just too busy and loud for him. We also take breaks and walk around the building if he starts getting upset. Taking him to church is totally possible, it just takes patience, as does everything else!

Thank you for the tips. I think I'm ready to try this today!

quote:

Originally posted by 4strong:
That's so cool! I wish my church did that!

It's beyond cool! I feel wierd saying it, but my life has changed a lot since I found this church, it's an amazing blessing. The lady who runs it works with the school district in the autism program, and she designed the sunday school to be similar. They teach biblical principles and stories using pictures and activities a lot like ABA or TEACH does

quote:

It's beyond cool! I feel wierd saying it, but my life has changed a lot since I found this church, it's an amazing blessing. The lady who runs it works with the school district in the autism program, and she designed the sunday school to be similar. They teach biblical principles and stories using pictures and activities a lot like ABA or TEACH does

That is the coolest thing EVER!! I was considering leaving the church that I have gone to my whole life because of things that were happening with Miah. The moved him to a new class room without telling me and when I went by to check on him he was sitting in the corner rocking. He has only done this a few times and it's when he is so stressed out and can't handle it. When I confronted them all they said was "at least he's not screaming anymore!" Let me tell ya that was not the thing to say to me!! And they can't seem to grasp the concept that he doesn't do dairy, even though I send soy milk with him every week. It's frustrating! You would think that with the rate that autism is growing, classes like that would be more common!

I guess that all depends on what his sensory diet looks like. Another suggestion would be to bring him to church for a few minutes during your first visit. Gradually increase the time so he's comfortable. If he's humming, have him sit in the back and see how he copes. Many hummers do so to filter out the background noises. In a church, with the choir, songs, organ, etc, he may end up humming louder to compensate. Again, I don't know your child - just fyi