Need advice about my son PLEASE

Connie - posted on 09/17/2009

Get him evaluated by a professional. your school district should have qualified people to do this. If he does have a form of autism,get him in an autism program. Do not put him in special ed. Make sure its an autism program. There is a difference.

Brooke - posted on 09/16/2009

Also, I forgot, sorry, a therapist that is qualified to dx ASD's is the best way to actually get the correct dx. There are a lot of doctors that know a little and not enough that know a lot about ASD's. Remember that, I went through 3 yrs. of incorrect dx'es and treatments before we found out what was really going on. Your family doctor most likely doesn't know enough to diagnosis properly. Do your research and fight for your son. Make sure you mention when you make appointments that you suspect ASD's b/c they'll tell you if they are qualified then. Good luck to you...

Brooke - posted on 09/16/2009

Asperger's Syndrome is a very hard disorder to a correct dx for. Assie kids have genious like IQ's and very large vocabs. They tend to fixate on the littler parts of wholes, like the wheels on a car instead of the car. They are troubled with social problems, but it tends a little different than with autism. My 5 yr. old has severe autism and it has been a challenge, a big challenge. My son has no idea how to act in a social situation. He has no clue how to relate to children or adults period. My cousin has Asperger's and with him he knows how to start up a conversation with a "normal" child but he can't grasp the concept of friendship... If a child lets him borrow a pencil that child is his best friend and becomes like an obsession until it's to much for the other kid and they break his heart. It's really hard for them to understand it. They also tend to be hyper, all children on the spectrum tend to be a little hyperactive. Asperger children, like children with Autism also have a problem with acting out. My son and my cousin both have horrible, violent, outbursts, or melt-downs, I have been injured countless times during one of these. Also to clear up a few points I read earlier. PDD is not a diagnosis of an ASD. All ASD's are Pervasive Developmental Disorders. PDD is a name for the type of disorder the autisms are. That is a common misconception. They ASD's are... Autism, Ryes, Aspergers, and PDDNOS (or pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. PDDNOS is like autism but not. They have a few of the characteristics of autism but not enough to be dx'ed with autism.) I would google it. Also AutismSpeaks.org, Ianproject.org, and www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca are all good websites for information on all the ASD's and some info no ADHD also. Good luck to you and if you have any other questions please feel free to message me. ~Brooke

Rose Ann - posted on 09/14/2009

take him to a neurologist.. sounds like adhd. i have two son's and a brother with it

Stacey - posted on 09/13/2009

I haven't got an actual diagnoses for my 2 1/2 yr old son yet, but he has been seeing a speech pathologist for a few months now, and she suggested to me that she thinks he has autism from his first visit, and she is still almost positive about that. It had crossed my mind once or twice, but I wasn't convinced, but when I did more reading on the net, it opened my eyes, all those little behaviours my son had which I thought were quirky personality traits are more than likely Autism traits. I am now almost 100% positive he has it. We have an appointment to get him tested, but it is a long wait, so my advise is book him in now! Meanwhile, educate yourself as much as you can, one good site is www.TACAnow.org, www.generationrescue.com, just type in Autism and you will have heaps of info to choose from. Some of my Son's traits are - he isn't talking (just jibberish), he has said a few words that he no longer seems to say eg. Dad. He has lack of eye contact (this has been improving slightly with speech pathology), what they call 'stimming' - he flaps his hands, flaps at his ears with his hands, flaps at curtains and plants and sometimes people's hair, he has moments where he'll just keep jumping - when he does these things it seems like he has no control and he makes a weird noise, he sometimes lines things up but not compulsive, it is very hard to get his attention - he usually does not respond to his name being called, he has digestive problems and a slight rash on his cheeks that is constant, his imaginary play is a bit limited and he is not very good at climbing, throwing, catching as other kids. Fortunately he can interact reasonably well, he is very affectionate, he eats well and sleeps well, he does not have many tantrums or meltdowns, he is quiet and usually well behaved. Also, look up some info on Jenny McCarthy in relation to Autism, she is a mum, actress, author and now advocate since her son was diagnosed with Autism, she also has 3 books about Autism.

Wendi - posted on 09/13/2009

There is so much information on the web right now. I became a google-ologist. I typed in Autism, Asperger's, PDD, and ADD. You will get so many good websites full of information that will answer a lot more questions for you than I could in a post. Just know that you are not alone. I do know that a great place to start is with diet changes. My son was hyper active (sometimes still is) we changed his diet, took out Wheat, Dairy and especially food dyes. His behaviors decreased. I know the biggest food problems for most of my friends kids was the food dyes and high fructose corn syrup. Once they took those things out they saw a big difference. Hope this helps, and keep asking questions. There's lots of moms on here with great advice.

Julianna - posted on 09/13/2009

I'm not familiar with aspergers, but I have two boys diagnosed with PDD ( a more general form of autism) Teachers are not qualified to diagnose, so maybe you should have your son evaluated by a psych. Every diagnosis is different, so once you find out, then you will have more answers! Good luck! Remember.. if your son is struggling w/a condition, it's nobody's fault. I know you're still young. Be strong!