I need help..

Angie - posted on 12/31/2008

Just keep looking for more specialist in your area we went thru many doctors some told me i was looking for something wrong with my son, i had family members telling that i needed to be harder on him, i was letting him act that way. As his mother i knew there was more I started this before he was 3 years old and it took me till he was 6 to find out what it was. I had never heard of Autism before the doctors at the childrens hospital told me thats what it was. I know how hard it is to want to help your child and not know what to do. You put your faith in doctors and they act like your crazy. My son is 11 now and doing ok I still think if he had help earlier he would be alot better now. We live in a small town and it took me to go to the bigger citys to find the answers.

Kerry - posted on 12/31/2008

hello harmonie, I am in agreement with the other posters, you are the mother and as the parent you do KNOW what goes on. I suggest keeping a diary of behaviours and if your GP admits to not having knowlege of autism like disorders keep going until you find one who does! I had one child diagnosed with autism (high functioning classic autism) at 8, but his early diagnosis of adhd at 5 made the step of medication for his buzzing, and when those levels were right we could see the under neath symptoms of autism that had been marked by his speed, endangerment of his life and other adhd traits. It still took a long time. The wait they tell me is usually because some of the social or emotional traits dont usually develop to where you can see a difference before the child starts school.
If hyperactivity is masking other symptoms you need to keep at it. The help provided for adhd is NOT much help with an autistic and doesnt work because the autism is a completly different kettle of fish! You need the label so that any help you receive is in the right direction. At schools after his initial diagnosis my son was disciplined and given behavioural therapys that are for adhd when around 5. This was not much help because the ideas did not stay in his head and like any auty he ignored a lot of the main baisis's for behavioural interventions as being an autistic it ddnt apply to him (in his mind, what they were asking him to do just did not make sense to him).
These guys are very logical and whatever they do usually has some sort of wierd logic attached to it. like for example my son at 21 has had no driving lessons and isnt interested in getting a license, his thought is that "mum knows how to drive and she will take me me wherever I want to go so why should i have a license?)"
I think as he mantally grows more 'standard' this will change but i am willing to wait until he is ready ( i think my car will appreciate that too)
A lot of autralian parents have moved to cnada as the services for autism are much better than those availble in autralia, so please find a support group for autism in your area and go along to meetings , learn and ask questions about what services can ber accessed in your area through your medical benefits system. Keep at it, the diagnosis IS very important as your child grows up. good luck and keep asking questions.

Venetia - posted on 12/31/2008

I say look for a specialist. I waited till my son was 4 to get him help. He was easier to dignose. But only after I went to see a specialist did I get the diagnoses which was after I enrolled him in the Special Education of course. The teacher, wonderful woman that she is, referred me to a business that allowed me to get a case worker and also the diagnoses. You are daughter's voice. So don't stop until you get what you need. The sooner you catch it the easier it to get her the assistance she needs. Good luck to you.

Janine - posted on 12/31/2008

You are your child's best advocate. It is important to continue to find a specialist. Although some people believe a label is not needed for therapy, I am a believer that the more specific the diagnose the more specific the therapy will be...and therefor help your child to the fullest. Many of the symptoms of sensory disorders, ADD, ADHD and Autism overlap. Continue to research and find a Behavioral Psch. who specializes in such disorders. The earlier the intervention, the better off your child will be.

Francine - posted on 12/31/2008

try seeing a ped. neuro as that is their area of expertise.my son was diagnosed at 2 1/2. be patient every doc has their own opinion. i also took my kids so see a ped, neuro behavorist. they study the behavior and have more insight into autism. besides according the signs of adhd everyone falls into that catagory.

Alanna - posted on 11/06/2008

Hi there, From personal experience I know it can be hard for specialists to diagnose at such an early age but if it puts your mind at ease have her privately assessed. It may cost a bit but for peice of mind it may be worth it. My son was not diagnosed tilll he was 8 years old. He was initially diagnosed with adhd and dyspraxia until an independant support person suggested he be assessed for aspergers. i would never have known , I knew there was something different with my son as my daughter was diagnosed with adhd and odd. There were obvious differences between them and the original diagnosis seemed to not fit right.

Leanne - posted on 11/06/2008

My son is 13 and was diagnosed with ADHD at 6 years old and Aspergers at 8 years old. You should push for further testing because it may open more doors for resources that you will need if your child does recieve a diagnosis of ASD. In my opinion, ADHD is a very overused label.

Jesse - posted on 11/06/2008

Hey there Harmonie!

As the mother of 17 yr old son who was finally diagnosed after years of trying to find out what the heck was going on , I hear your frustration. My son Dan showed symptoms very early on and I tried for years to get some help> Unfortunatly he was not diagnosed until he was almost 12. And then it was a school psycologist who recognized what he was seeing. Doctor after doctor, after psycologist said things to me like " He doesn't really have a problem" and " Have you tried parenting classes?"

It's a pretty common story.

The best thing I can say to you is this...You are his mother and if you say something is not right , then something is not right. Keep trying! Keep Pushing! If one doctor brushes you off see another. Try getting in touch with a learning disorder support group in your area. Canvas other parents who have similar things goiung on, one of them will know a doc who can help

And above All, educate yourself . I read ever book i could find on everything within the autism spectrum. When my son finally got his diagnosis of Non Verbal Learning difference ( hate the word disorder) or NLD, I knew as much if not more about autism/ ocd/turretes and ASD/PDD as the professionals I was then consulting.

Don't give Up! It will be worth it in the end! It sure was for Us.

Beth - posted on 11/06/2008

My son is 3 years old and was diagnosed with Autism when he was 2 1/2. Our pediatrician also wanted to take the "wait and see" approach, but we decided to go another route. We took Brady to a Developmental Pediatrician who specializes in developmental disorders. She quickly spied the issues at hand. This has been very helpful for us because it has opened several doors for us simply because we have a diagnosis. We are lucky to live in an area where this type of doctor is available. (It was hard to get an appointment, and we had to wait several months before getting him in), but through persistance and help from our state's early intervention program we were able to get an appointment. I don't know if this will be of any help to you, but we were certainly helped by this service. I hope that you do find out some answers soon, and if I can be of any help, please contact me!

Harmonie - posted on 11/06/2008

I live in Niagara Falls, canada, and I don't know my daughters doctor said himself he doesn't know a lot about it, but she doesn't have it....and just brushed it off as ADHD, and that really pissed me off cause he did the same thing to my nephew. Anyway I will try and look for that book...sounds like it could really help. Thanks again.

Meredith - posted on 11/05/2008

I have a three year old son and I have been going through the same thing. I have been told that he has PDD-NOS but have been fighting to get a diagnosis. The PDD-NOS show signs of just about every Spectrum disorder including sensory. I think you should definitely push for a diagnosis to make sure that she gets the therapy she needs. Good Luck!

Janine - posted on 11/04/2008

As a mom and teacher I will tell you....First and foremost...DONT PANIC...You are your child's best advocate. There are defnitely Specialitst out there who can and will help you. Of course, depending on where you live this can be easy or difficult. Continue to look for a Behavioral Pschologist. In the meantime this is an excellent, easy to read book that will give you LOTS of resources as to where to turn. You can find it on Amazon....I recommend it to any parent who has concerns....It is written by a parent of an Aspergers child who couldnt get a dr. to acknowledge her concerns for several years.....the book is Eating an Artichoke: A Mother's Perspective on Asperger Syndrome by Echo R. Fling (Paperback - April 2000). Good luck...and a label is not a negative thing....that label can open doors for many appropriate services for your child. There is even therapy for sensory issues (SI). My daughter received Early Intervention (EI) for Sensory Intervention (SI) Good Luck!

Harmonie - posted on 11/04/2008

As a reply on what her symtoms are, she basically has every single symtom that is on the test, there was like 5 or 6 that she didn't have.

Shea - posted on 11/04/2008

What are her symtoms?

Sarah - posted on 11/04/2008

I think you should keep at it and get the diagnosis. It could change the types of services she gets. When I was trying to get my son diagnosed, I called my insurance company and asked them for a psychologist that specialized in autism spectrum disorders. They willingly gave me a list of psychologists that they would cover. Good luck! We were very lucky to have a family doctor that always listens to my concerns and takes me seriously.

Christy - posted on 11/04/2008

I am new to this as well and my 3 1/2 years is going through the same things. I am lucky to have a doctor who has stood by me the last year since we started observing her. I have her in a with a behavioral physchologist and she is going to have testing done in a few weeks. ADHD is a sign of aspergers according to the therapist, as well as sensory sensitivty and my daughter shows both signs. It has been noted in many articles that I have read that aspergers is more common in boys then in girls, but that doesn't mean that girls aren't going to have this. I think that your best bet would be to seek the help of a phychologist as soon as possible. We have had 2 sessions and I am glad we are moving in the right direction.

Hope - posted on 11/03/2008

My son was diagnosied with Autism before his second birthday and he has had intensive therapy since then which has really helped him alot. We saw a Developemental Pediatric Specialist. I would ask for a referral to a specialist and then ask what testing would need to be done prior to meeting the specialist. There is also a condition called Sensory Processing Disorder that children can have either with or without another exsisting condition. My son has both Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. What is most important is that your daughter should be functioning at a three year old level and if she is having delays or sensitivity issues that is interfering with day to day life, I would think she would need developemental therapy, and waiting until school age only makes it that much harder to work on those issues. It is hard to test for ADHD at a young age, but whatever the issues are, if delays are present-therapy is needed to give your child the best chance to be able to handle mainstream school. Don't take no for an answer, the only person that is going to fight for your child is you. Is is not unreasonable to ask for a second opinion and to seek that out by seeing a specialist--Good Luck

Debbie - posted on 11/03/2008

Does the diagnosis really matter? Just try to get as much therapy for her as possible and see how she does with early intervention. It is what it is and there's not much you would do about it other than therapy anyway. I agree that a behavioral psychologist could help you with the diagnosis, but they're expensive and not normally covered by insurance. My husband and I debated weather to take my son to a BT and decided we're not going to gain anything but a label (or removal of one) after spending a lot of time and $ to do so! Good luck!

Jessica - posted on 11/03/2008

I'm not sure where abouts you live but try seeing if you can get your daughter into see a behavioral psychologist -> they can test and diagnose but my require a referral. I went through something similar to you...My son was diangnosed with epilepsy....then ADHD....and I kept telling them we were missing a piece of the puzzle. This went on for a long time until I finally got him referred to a behavioral psychologist who tested and diagnosed him with autism spectrum disorder.



Keep at the doctors....since early detection is key, you'd think they'd listen a little harder to you. Trust your gut and hang in there!