Anyone in Oregon

Sally - posted on 11/06/2011

Hi. Read your post. I had a similar experience when my son Parker was 3. I had him evaluated. The results said definitely not Autism. Then, I had Parker re-evaluated when he was 4 1/2 just before kindergarden by a neuropediatrician, she sat with him for 10 minutes stood up and said your son has Asperger's. Parker exhibited aggression toward his peers, sister and myself. He was very hard to manage. Now, Parker is doing very well. There's hope! He's doing well in school in a regular classroom, smart, funny. Hang in there. It gets better. I feel now, Parker is easier than his sister who's 8. It sounds like you are taking the right steps to support him. My son and daughter fight like crazy still. It's normal. Lack of motor skills is not abnormal for kids with Asperger's. I know a lot of individuals on the spectrum. Some with very normal lives. Parker doesn't know how to ride a bike and I don't pressure him. Work on the things your son's good at. Another helpful hint: social play groups.

Ruby - posted on 11/04/2011

,,,MY SON Josh has Autism ,,,you must see this video phone,I did the family plan 2 phones I put one in my sons class room he has Autism,it is helping us with his meltdowns at school,were ever there is internet you just plug it in to the ether net ,we can see each other and talk,I take it to school with him and to the sitters, go to rubynichols.acndirect.com This phone has been a gift for me and my Son ,you can take it anywere there is internet. it works in all 50 states any where you go ,my son Josh loves his video phone

Heather - posted on 11/09/2008

My son is 16 and is just in the beginning stages of the Aspergers workup. He has had ADHD, bi-polar, OCD since the 1st grade but as he is getting older and the psychiatrist hears what we are telling him he is leaning more towards the aspergers diagnosis. As I read the signs and symptoms it sure does make a lot of sense with a lot of the things that he has and currently does. We don't go for the eval at OHSU until Dec. 16 and the referral was made May 23. It's very frustrating.

Cynthia - posted on 11/09/2008

Hi Erin, Your son sounds much like mine with the sensory processing issues and emotional/behavioral anxiety problems of moderate Asperger's..he also had the early verbal skills & amazing memory, but slower fine & gross motor skills.... He is now 9 with a 5 yr old brother and I have had the same issues with the "sibling rivalry". I would say it is a normal sibling rivalry for a situation where the older one has the SPD issues, if you know what I mean. It can be very hard to deal with. As the little one gets older you can teach him to give the older one the extra needed space and for now you can just do your best to be the mediator "teach them how to play together" ... it is still a daily struggle in our household. It can be very draining. I feel for you. Take care & if I think of anything else that may help I will be sure to come back and post it.

Stacey - posted on 11/09/2008

Hi, coming from the east in PA our youngest has PDD which was diagnosed when he was almost 3. However, we began our quest when he was merely 18mos old and we began with Early Intervention services. Here, it often takes a year before you can be seen by a developmental pediatrician to get the formal diagnosis. We were able to get the early intervention for his speech delay and during that time period he had so much trouble that they sent in an OT and he was diagnosed with sensory integration disorder. He had behavioral issues as well, but services changed before a behavioral therapist could evaluate him. He was then diagnosed by the specialist which was confirmed by a somewhat objective tool called ADOS (done by an arbitrary examiner). We were then able to receive services but it took again 6 months to get those because there is no availability. Maybe that is different elsewhere?

If you feel (and know!) in your heart that something is not right follow your instinct. Mom's know their children best and you are his number one advocate. Some of what you describe may be siblings acting out, but it may be more than that. If his verbal skills are strong but there are social issues, maybe Asperger's would be considered.

We have four children all of whom have 'issues', and our nephew has autism, so this has given some knowledge to know what to do with our younges. I also read and research often and have found helpful resources from other parents, Amazon, Autism Speaks. I hope this helps!

Rita - posted on 11/08/2008

I just saw your post and I want you to know to deep seeking answers. I have a almost 7 year old that has aspergers and a 5 year old with High Functioning Autism. We went through the same issues and we just had to keep seeking until we finally got answers from ASTAR in Seattle. It is a wonderful place and they really helped us with both boys. We have both our boys in OT and my 7 year old just finished 7 months of Pool therapy. Keep seeking answers.

Cristina - posted on 11/03/2008

hello there, i'm in alaska, but when we suspected our son had pdd-nos... i flew him to OHSU to have the eval done... where did you have your son evaluated at? you're concerns are hard to answere in terms of on the spectrum or not, because like you'll hear over and over each child is unique... but there are 6 areas that are affected in order to get an autism diagnosis... our son met the dsm-iv(the psychological blue book used to diagnose a vast aray of issues), criteria for 4 of them... so that's why there was a ppd-nos diagnosis (pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified)... for us the diagnosis allowed us to get our son services that he wouldn't have otherwise recieved... and today i still have people who think his behaviour is just a typical child acting out (and i not being a consistant parent)... but i had to do alot of research on my own....good luck and hang in there, parenting is the toughest journey... but i hear there are rewards..

Angela - posted on 10/31/2008

Hi Erin,my name is angie jeffcoat and my nephew is austistic.he was diagnosed between 2-3 yoa, he is now 10.drop me a line sometime and maybe we can go over some of the signs of autism, there is such a wide range, from moderate to severe.