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don't know if this is possible autism

Stacy - posted on 06/03/2012 ( 2 moms have responded )

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Hi, my name is Stacy. I have 2 children that I am concerned about but I don't know if I should have them evaluated or not. Sawyer was evaluated once but we hadn't gone in for autism specifically. Although, his report says they gave him a CARS test and he scored a 26.5. I don't remember answering these questions at all and my husband said we didn't do that. The doctor spent about 30 minutes with us and he said Sawyer was too social for autism and Sawyer had I guess showed him some toys so according to his report he didn't have autism. Anyways, Sawyer is my 5 year old son. He has been different since pretty much birth. He has delays in gross and fine motor skills, and in speech. He was seen by ECI since 9 months of age and went to the public school for a year and was put in their self-contained classroom. He has a lot of strange behaviors. Here are a few off the top of my head.



-Gets angry a lot and will hit his head and bite himself

-He has a hard time relating to kids his age. I would not say he is anti-social. I do think he will play especially if it is a physical game but he just doesn't do well socially. For example, at church he licked his hand and wiped it on a girls hair. He will put his hands on someone's face to get their attention even if they say stop. He does show concern if his sister is upset but gets really angry if she wants to play with his cars even if he has a whole bunch.

-He seems to have fascination with getting towels sopping wet and stashing them some place.

-He tends to crave sensory things running into things on purpose.

-Lines cars up and bangs them together.

-Will hum the Cars2 theme song over and over.

-Does not understand the meaning of share at all.

-When he plays he tends to just get everything out. I don't see a lot of imaginary play with him. He gets all things out stuffs them in a bag or stuffs them in his big ride on Lightening McQueen and rolls them around the house back and forth.

-Very hyper except when watching a favorite movie or playing the computer where he will do the same activity over and over.

-Has a hard time winding now sometime taking 2-3 hours just to fall asleep.

-He will say "Hi" to people and seems to be social at times and I don't really see problems with eye contact per se.

-He will ask the same question over and over again sometimes, or here lately will come up to me and tell me he misses me even though I haven't been gone.

-He has no sense of danger (once when the kids went to school he walked to school by himself looking for me. My hubby thought he was still taking a nap).

-He has a very high pain tolerance (it is unbelievable, once leaned against a hot smoker and got a nasty burn on his back. He had a melt down not because he was hurt but because my husband yanked him away from it.)

-He is still having problem with potty training with BM.

-He has low muscle tone.

-He has worn glasses since 9 months old and has stabismus.

-He gets right in your face to ask something and sometimes when you tell him to look at you he won't hold his head straight but rather tilts it all the way up.

There is a lot more but these are what I can think of off the top of my head.



My daughter, Kara, is 3 and we are concerned about her as well. She does not have the medical history that Sawyer has. She has poor muscle tone, her right foot turns in and her right hip turns in. She is delayed in gross, fine, and speech as well. She is having intestinal problems right now as well. Her belly will swell up and she will look pregnant and then she will finally have huge BM and it will go back down again. This happens over and over. Here are some things we notice about her off the top of my head.



-She has terrible temper tantrums with the longest lasting more than 30 minutes. This will include hitting the floor with her arms, pushing something over, scooting on her back kicking and screaming, flinging herself against the wall. If someone is the object of the anger she will hit, kick, and pinch them.

-She will hum the same song over and over.

-She says the word "butthead" over and over (I'm sorry but we have a teenager and she heard it from him)

-She doesn't deal well with changes not necessarily at home but things like her sunday school class where she had to go to a different classroom and almost had a meltdown even though the same kids were in there.

-She does sleep a lot. Sometimes taking 2-3 naps a day. But will have trouble sleeping at night even if she doesn't take a nap taking a long time to go to sleep. She also will wake up in the middle of the night screaming and hitting the walls until we can get her to calm down.

-She will sit there and stare at you for an unusually long time sucking her thumb.

-She too doesn't seem to play appropriately with toys. She takes them out and scatters them but doesn't put the doll in the stroller, play with the little people or what not. She tends to collect them and horde them but not make them do anything. I do see her talk on the "phone" occasionally but that is it.

-She will sit and open and shut a door a thousand times.

-We often refer to her as our crabby child and make the statement we hope she grows out of it someday.

-My son is sensory seeking and she is sensory avoiding. She hated walking in grass and would stand there crying if put in it. She always held her hands up when she was younger because she didn't want to touch anything. She will only eat pureed veggies and some fruits that way.

-She is very shy and when we go someplace she will often hang back with me coaxing her to come on.

-She likes to sit in the rocking chair upstairs and rock and rock and rock.



There are days when I look at them and think no way. I see them do something normal or my husband will and we will say "See, there is nothing wrong".



I tried to talk to my son the other day about his favorite movie and he will glance briefly at you and talk about it. But he doesn't answer either appropriately or very shortly all the while he is looking everywhere with occassionally looking at me. My daughter's sunday school teacher who had her for 2 years said she has trouble socializing. She interacts in activities where there doesn't have to be any give and take such as when they have the bubble machine going. But her teacher says that she would a lot of time prefer to play off in the corner by herself. If a new adult or child came in she would not smile or talk to them She has never initiated a hug but will allow a hug from her teacher.



Do autistic kids interact well with their family?



Anyways, I appreciate any comments



Stacy

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2 Comments

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Lauren - posted on 06/07/2012

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Your son and dayghter, while I can't say if it's autism, does sound like they may have at the very least some sensory issues. What you can do is ask for a referral to an autism/developmental specialist for evaluation. They can tell you after that which you're looking at. Hope that is helpful. Remember no matter what comes out of it they are unique and can enrich yours and others lives. Be proactive and assertive when it comes to their health. Even the research shows, when it comes to development, mother knows best. So, let the professionals know how you feel and what you want for your children.

Anaquita - posted on 06/04/2012

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My son is warm, friendly, can make eye contact (unless really uncomfortable) but... he has Aspergers. So yes, they can be social, with family. And to non-family. The thing is while he's social, he's socially awkward.

Often parallel plays, doesn't read social cues at all, body/facial language is often lost to him, doesn't have the best proper reciprocal conversations, and so forth. He's also clumsy (though taekwondo has been helping with that), has a few obsessions (current one is star trek) and playing is just now getting somewhat imaginative (at age 8). Though his imagination is more building things with legos in terms of whatever he's currently obsessing over. (I have to admit he made a pretty good lego star ship Enterprise on his own) So while imaginative, it's not quite the normal imaginative play. He'll talk your ear off about what he likes, and often repeats things over and over and over. He also has some stimming (though more so when younger) and signs of mild tourettes. Meltdowns however, are rare for my son. But keep in mind every kid is different. For my kid being overly hungry and/or tired is fodder for a meltdown. He's tried pulling the tears to get his way, but I can tell the difference as it's not the same as a full on meltdown. He's never harmed himself, and only lashed out at someone, once, briefly. (And never again after he had to face some pretty hefty consequences for doing so). He didn't have a language delay, though instead he properly used words four year olds shouldn't comprehend just yet, and enunciates ... almost overly so. He didn't talk really until age 4, but understood what we were saying, and once he started he wasn't behind. He reads well, but has a disconnect with his writing. (Though he's getting help in order to catch up in that area)

And, he was briefly screened when he was 5. The pediatrician didn't think he needed a referral for further testing. Two years later, a long list of observations by me, and teachers pre-k, k, and first grade, we got a referral to a pediatric neurologist, and low and behold..... Aspergers.

That being all said, from the stuff you listed, get your son re-checked, and your daughter screened. Not by a regular pediatrician, though he/she may be able to give you a proper referral for both kids. Sometimes higher functioning kids tend to not get a proper diagnosis until around ages 6 or 7, as they could be functioning enough that the doctors may just consider them being socially delayed. (Though really I think you have enough to really get them looked at). I don't know where you're at but you should have them seen by a pediatric neurologist, autism clinic, children's hospital, etc. A regular pediatrician is ill equipped to do more than give a referral for a proper evaluation.

Also your daughter needs to see a doctor over her right hip and foot. Her bones might be turning inward. And about her digestion. She might have an allergy or autoimmune disorder affecting the intestines from the sounds of it. I could be wrong, but it should be checked out. And those are not issues caused by being on the spectrum.

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