Girls with Autism

Donna - posted on 10/10/2011

Hello! I just found your post. :) I have an almost 7yr old daughter with Autism and Apraxia of speech. My daughter lost her words at 16months old and then started talking again at 5yrs old.

Sheldon - posted on 01/30/2010

they think my Daughter is mildly Autistic she is in the middle of assesments at the moment
my son is mildly Autistic he also has ADHD and ODD

Mary - posted on 01/30/2010

I have an 8 year old girl diagnosed with Aspergers.

Pam - posted on 12/14/2009

You are definitely not alone. I know many children with autism do these types of things My daughter has some SIB, primarily when she is really upset over something. It doesn't happen too often anymore though. She also had some problems with playing in poop, actually within the last year. Without knowing more about your daughter and the situation in which she does this, I can't really offer advise. The reason behind behaviors can be different for each child.

For my daughter some of the reason for it may have been self-stimulatory, but much of it was also to gain attention and to get a bath...which she loved. We dealt with it by offering as little attention as possible, only instructing her in how to help clean it up and then also making sure clean up of herself was not as fun....no bath, instead we just put her in the bathtub and washed her down with soap and water without filling the tub. We also did a time out for it and then after time out, had her practice going to the bathroom and sitting on the potty. After a couple months, she stopped doing it entirely.

I hope you'll consider joining my new community too "moms of girls with autism". I just created it and hope it will grow. Right now it is just me and a friend of mine who has a four year old daughter with Autism.

There are a lot of things all moms of children with Autism have in common, but after talking with some moms of girls with Autism, it is clear there are also some unique challenges, especially as they get older.

LeeAnn - posted on 12/14/2009

I am wondering if anyone else out there is having trouble with self injurous behavior, stimming in their poop, and screaming tantrums. My daughter screams a lot, and when she does this, there doesn't really seem to be a common cause (sometimes there is..like if we say "no" to something, or don't give her exactly what she wants when she wants it). Any advice would be great!! My biggest problem right now is the stimming in her poop...am I the only one who has dealt with this, because sometimes it feels like that.

LeeAnn - posted on 12/14/2009

I have a 3 year old who was diagnosed in March with Autism, and diagnosed in April with DiGeorge syndrome. We live in Arkansas, and so far, I only know one other family with an Autistic child, but they have an older son.

Rhiannon - posted on 12/14/2009

My daughter Elizabeth is 3 and just diagnosed with autism, doesn't seem so rare to have a girl now i see all the names listed here.

Pam - posted on 12/13/2009

Hi Betty,

If you are still looking to connect with moms of girls with autism, I just started my own community for that. I have a 5 year old daughter with autism and apraxia too.

The community is called "moms of girls with autism".

Hope to see you there.

Katie - posted on 03/13/2009

My daughter Mindy has autism and she is 9.  She functions in the severe range so I would love to talk with anyone who's got a low functioning child.

Kim - posted on 03/12/2009

I have an 11 year daughter, Sarah, who has autism. She was diagnosed when she was 3 and was put in therapy and preschool right away which has helped her a lot. She is currently in 5th grade and loves to go to school. She is not mainstreamed but does have some classes with her mainstream piers. She used to have problems sitting through these classes but as she's gotten older she's gotten better and will usually make it through the whole class. She is nonverbal and antisocial. She can talk but chooses not to and when she does it's usually so quiet you can't hear her. There is usually one or two of her mainstream classmates that will step up and help Sarah when she needs it and it really warms my heart to see that. She is so antisocial that she doesn't have any real close friends that she interacts with. I would also be interested in hearing from other parents of girls with autism that are entering puberty. I expect that Sarah will be recieving her monthly visiter anytime and would love to know how other parents handled it.

Kim - posted on 03/11/2009

hi i live in australia and i have a 5 year old autistic daughter.we have not had assessmenmts yet and are just starting with Ei .the most frustrating thing is the waiting lists for everything,i need help for my daughter and i need it now i dont want to be put on some waiting list.

i am also a single mum to 2 other children,who dont have autism,so that is another challenge,i try and stay strong but sometimes it just gets to you.i am lucky they go with there father every second weekend and my mum is just up the road.the non austistic kids and i had our first night without her the other week and i realsied how much time and energy she takes up

Katharine - posted on 02/19/2009

Quoting Annmarie:

self talk. or stemming off a "tv" show

Ah!  My daughter did that a little bit but not so much as to be problematic.  We were actually just so glad to hear her say anything resembling a sentence that we welcomed it.  She still incorporates phrases she hears on TV into her speech but it is less stimming and more conversational. There was one memorable occasion when she was upset about being scolded.  I sat with her in my lap intending to hold her until she stopped crying.  Seemingly out of no where she recited the Pledge of Allegiance.  I haven't any idea why but it helped to calm her.

Annmarie - posted on 02/18/2009

self talk. or stemming off a "tv" show

Pat - posted on 02/18/2009

My niece just turned 9 in Dec and she is Autistic. I would like to know how your girl is fairing on.

Katharine - posted on 02/18/2009

I am not sure what you mean by "self talk".  Can you elaborate on the issue?

Annmarie - posted on 02/18/2009

Just wondering if anyone had any "methods" used for "self-talking" My daughter does a lot of this and we me and my team have tried various ways to try to stop this self talk, but nothing.. Just reaching out if anyone has exprerienced this "self-talk and scripting and what methods were used to "help" the problem..thanks

Annmarie - posted on 02/18/2009

Hi there! I'm Annmarie and I have a daughter Maiya a 6yr with autism! I love to talk with any mom's who has a daughter on the spectrum and if you are local in Pa, would love to get the "girls" to hang out.

Laura - posted on 02/18/2009

My name is Laura, My 9yo daughter has PDD-NOS (autism) along with ADHD, ODD, mood cycling disorders, and other issues. She wasn't diagnosed until she was 7. Before that it was looked at as delayed but not enough to do anything about it. And also looked at as behavioral or family problems.



I was relieved but scared when I finally got a diagnosis as I then knew which direction to get help from. It all gets better with time.

Tawny - posted on 02/17/2009

Hi, my name is Tawny. My daughter, Savannah is 4 and was just diagnosed with high-functioning Autism last month. We started her in the Early Childhood Education program at a public school this past September and she is doing fantastic!!!!! Before starting the program she was not talking hardly at all unless she was singing and she would throw tantrums 4-5 times a day. Now after only 6 months she is talking in 2-4 word phrases her tantrums rarely happen at all! She is using a lot more eye contact too, which happened to start after we started taking her off of dairy. Has anyone tried the GFCF diet?

Emma - posted on 02/16/2009

Hi, my name is Emma. My daughter, Hannah, is 8 years old and has high-functioning autism. Hannah has been receiving therapy since she was 2, though she was only diagnosed with autism at 6. Before that, it was 'development delay'. Hannah attends a mainstream school, does well academically, but struggles with her social skills. Abstract concepts also remain a confusion for Hannah. Does being an only child amplify autistic behaviour?

Katharine - posted on 02/11/2009

My ten year old daughter was diagnosed with autism just prior to her third birthday.  Her teachers are always excited to get another girl in their classroom. I find that the biggest difference between our experiences and those of autistic boys and their families involve expectations.  People expect different things from boys and girls and that doesn't change in special day classes. 

Mainstream girls really don't know what to make of girls who are different.  They often ask me why my daughter behaves the way she does seemingly in an effort to understand so that they can gain some sense of control.  Control is a big issue for girls.  All the girls in my daughter's class, there are four, can be described as control freaks, much more so than the boys.

Ellen - posted on 02/11/2009

I have a 9 year old daughter - soon to be 10.  She was diagnosed with mild/moderate autism at the age of 2.  Even before she was two I started getting therapy through the county and when she got her actual diagnosis we continued.  To see her today, you would never know it.  What a world of difference therapy makes and if you get them started at an early age.  She now talks and you can't get her to shut up!!  I'm happy for that since there are so many children with autism that will never speak.  She struggles with abstract things, and socializing skills, and has some difficulty in school - but we continue to work with her and I DEMAND the assistance from the special education.  Ellen

Aria - posted on 02/11/2009

It is true they are mostly boys. 85% of all individuals with autism are boys. Only 15% are girls, so it is a different road for the girls. Btw, this is because boys are more vulnerable to developmental disabilities than girls. It's biological. Boys are also more subject to infant mortality. The reason for this weakness, is, because all fetuses start out as female, and then during the 3-4 month of pregnancy if it is going to be a boy, then the change occurs. It is the cross over from girl to boy, which is so delicate and can cause physical and developmental disabilitiesyou  (this has been documented in many research papers and in a book about raising children called ,"The Boy Book") . If  you go into any special ed classes you will see this is so, because regardless of the disability, all the classes are FILLED TO THE BRIM, with BOYS.

So, being a girl with a developmental disability is pretty tough, but there are other moms out there, it's finding and connecting with them that can difficult. Maybe you could start your own community here for that? Just a thought. It might really be invaluable to a lot of families.

Aria

Jade - posted on 02/11/2009

Hi! My name is Jade. I have a six year old daughter, Audrey, with autism...I'd like to talk to someone else with a girl, too...it seems like, at my therapist's anyway, there are all boys, and I'm sure that the experience is different in some ways!



Jade