Is my son autistic?

Pam - posted on 05/12/2010

If that is his only symptom I doubt that he has Autism. My son was diagnosed when he was two but he had other symptoms like not making eye contact, not wanting held, high pain tolerance he would flip himself out of the baby bed over and over. irregular sleep patterns. I know its stressful hearing your child may have a disability, but I can think of a lot worse disabilities than Autism. Good luck if you have any more questions you can e-mail me at pjones7@triad.rr.com

Sarah - posted on 05/12/2010

I can't tell you that your son doesn't have autism, because there is always a chance that he does...what I can tell you is that you CAN do it.

I do not believe that your son has autism from what you have said. I believe he has a speech delay that is causing frustration. That is what happened with my youngest ( now 4.5 years old). I just knew in my gut that something was wrong at 15-18 months old--he only said 10-12 words and sometimes he grunted instead of saying those words. If he gained a new word, he lost one too. Something as simple as not letting him stir a pot on the stove or flip a light switch ( because I didn't know he wanted to...) could cause a 15 minute tantrum that was intense enough to make him turn red in the face and break a sweat.this could happen up to 12 times a day! I mentioned something to the doctor, but the doctor brushed it off as a "boy thing" and said to give it time. At 2 years old I had given it enough time, so I called early intervention. They sent us to a speech pathologist who said that my son had a 12 month delay, and suggested learning some sign language ( for his immediate communication needs). Her favorite series is called "signing time" and was created by the mother of a deaf child so her child could have fun while learning to sign. A week after he started watching the DVDs I was at the stove and he started to grunt. I looked at him and he was signing "help. help" --He wanted to stir! A few days after that I asked him what he wanted for breakfast ( not expecting an answer...) and he signed "candy? Ice cream?" ...and I noticed that there were not nearly as many tantrums.

Within about a month of the initial assessment, he was diagnosed with severe verbal apraxia ( aka developmental apraxia of speech). Basically, the wires get crossed when he is trying to speak--his mouth and tongue get confused messages and move wrong. With therapy he made amazing progress-- within 4-6 months he was speaking in sentences, and within 9 months he had an age appropriate spoken vocabulary. As he picked up spoken word, the sign language was dropped. The funny part? when he finally began speaking, we realized that he had absorbed so much knowledge--he knew his ABCs at 2.5 years old! His first year in special needs preschool he was doing the same work ( at 3.5 years old) as the typical 5 year olds in the class...at 4.5 he is reading on a 1st grade level!

your son's eating issues could be related too! Some apraxia kids have super super sensitive mouths, so things taste super intense to them, or crunchy things feel very sharp. I knew of one little kiddo who survived on pediasure because he HATED the feel of food in his mouth. The speech therapist was ecstatic when he sucked the salt off a cheeze-it cracker at 4 years old!

Stephanie - posted on 05/12/2010

I dont know wether your son is autistic or not, but I can tell you that even if he is you can do it. I am a single mom with five children. My 4 1/2 yr old son was diagnosed just after he turned 2. Yes sometimes I have to have a little help but we have managed to come up with a daily routine that works for us. The most important thing is that you are addressing the issue early. So many wait hoping that their child will catch up on their own. This shows that you love your son and will do anything for him, and this is what matters most. Find a good support system. It could be family, friends, a suppoty group in your community, anyone who will be there for you when you need to talk. Talking bout it really helps, if for no other reason but to vent your frustrations. Also check into your local help me grow or another program like it. They will help you to find the right doctor's for your son and will also help provide therapy for him. I think the most important thing to remember though is not to panic, your son is your son, and you know him better than anyone and when it comes down to it you will be the biggest tool in helping him with no matter what trials come his way. You have known him for 15 months plus the nine during pregnancy, so just hug him kiss him play with him and be a good model for him, and everything will turn out just fine.

Ramona - posted on 05/11/2010

Just remember to love your son and be his greatest advocate. You are the one who will be fighting for everything he needs if he is diagnosed with Autism. It doesn't mean the end, it just means doing things a different way to get where he needs to be. There is no way to prepare yourself other than having faith in God that He is in charge and will take care of things.

Melissa - posted on 05/11/2010

It seems like you may be resting the possibility of autism on a few factors (or you might not have listed all of your concerns. :) ). before you worry too much, go to an autism website, such as firstsigns.org, and see if your son has any red flag behaviors. You mentioned that he isn't talking, but talking isn't the same as communicating. Does he point, wave, or try to get your attention in any way? When he's throwing fits, does he look at you, and can you get him to stop by any means? Does he have precocious abilities to do certian things, but he's so focused on that that you can't drag him away from it (such as stacking, lining things up, letters & numbers, etc)?

It's great that your doctor is being so proactive and it sounds like you will have answers relatively soon. Often, the answer is wait-and-see, but at least he'll be on a watch list if he needs to be. As for worrying, my only advice is . . . don't. As a mom, you have enough to worry about in the definite world, without stressing over the what-if's. ♥

Sheila - posted on 05/10/2010

Hi Karmi,

Can you do this? Yes...not because your son may or may not have autism but because you are his mom and this is what moms do...they look after their children and do the best they can.

You are having your son assessed very early. If there are red flags, they will be noted. Hopefully, if there are red flags you will have access to a good OT and Speech path to help you implement a program for your son. The earlier the intervention, the better.

Of course you are scared....EVERYONE is scared when there is the possibility that something is not right with their children. But, you are doing the right thing...you are not letting fear take over. You are taking steps to help your son...keep moving forward and stay strong.

Sheila