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Need Info - Waiting on Doc appt. to see if my 3 year old son has autism

Lori - posted on 07/28/2009 ( 4 moms have responded )

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My son just turned 3 on the 4th of July, about 5 months ago is when my husband and I and some of our family noticed a difference in him compared to my 2 older children and my nephews I talked to my doc and I''m waiting to hear back when his appt. with the devolpmental Ped. Dr. will be for example some of the things my son displays are:



He will confuse things and call them off the wall stuff, for instance I asked if he wanted catsup one day at lunch and he said yes I went with him to get it and said " theres the catsup" and then when we got to the table I said " where do you want your catsup on your plate" and then he told me and then his brother took the catsup to use it and my son screamed at him saying " No, No don't take my syrup, and was very serious, I corrected him and said no it was catsup . I then pointed to the catsup bottle and asked him what it was and he answered " syrup"



another time he was playing with a broom handle with his brother - too rough and I took it away to put up and he cried and told me "no that my dishwasher", I said it was a broom handle and he kept repeating it was his "dishwasher"

He heard a very bad word from his teenage cousin and will not quit saying it, exspecially when he is mad,

He was freezing when he got in the pool the other day and kept yelling HOT< HOT HOT I kept correcting him and he still says Hot instead of cold



He is very sneaky ( I know he is 3 lol) but he is not afraid of anything ( except loud fireworks ) I carry him everywhere I go because I cant let him down yet or he will get hurt



He can't tell me how he feels when I ask He has the fake sounding "yeah" to most questions I ask





He does make eye contact most of the time, he also does seem to ignore me a lot too.

He has almost everywall marked with crayon or pen he gets from his big sister in the house, even though he has been punished a ton of times for it

His tatrums are so bad it took everybit of 10 minutes to get him in his carseat when he didn't want to leave his grandmas one day -- He has put line marks on the his neck trying to squeeze out of his seatbelt



upside he is very loving toward me and loves to hug and give kisses, he is sweet toward out animals and if he accidentaly steps on one he will hug and kiss them and say sorry, also if I fake cry to him for no reason he will immediatley hug me and say sorry over and over-- ( when he didn't do anything to me) He can count great , LOVES music and is Very picky and will tell me to turn the raido over and over until it is a song he likes Same thing with TV he will not watch anything anyone else picks, he will cry the whole time, knock over chairs or call us the "bad word" he has been saying He loves to watch movies over and over and memorizes what they say Potty training has been difficult but he is doing so much better now, he now will use the potty 1 and 2 but he HATES to wear underwear and is usually naked in the house from the waist down



what do you think, and what should I be doing to help him while I am waiting

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Lori - posted on 07/29/2009

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Thanks to everyone for your comments, I very much agree with thinking good thoughts and keeping my focus toward the positvie side of things I have got in touch with my school and they don't have anything but I can take him to an Early childhood co-op for special needs kids I did get alhold of them and we are taking him there in Sept. to be eval. they told me they usually set him up for 30 days of observation and then go from there to see what areas he will need to work on I will let everyone know when I find out Thanks so much again:)

Angela - posted on 07/29/2009

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Hi, my name is angela. I work with children on the Autism spectrum and have an NVQ level 3 in Autism awareness, so I know a fair bit about the condition, although obviously I'm in no position to even guess at a reliable diagnosis. Although one or two of the things that you have mentioned sound quite typical of Autism spectrum conditions, it is also important to remember that they are also Very typical of a lot of toddlers (having an almost 3 year old boy myself, I can vouch for that!!). For example, my son also mixes up words occasionally. I just put this down to the fact that he is still learning many words very quickly and is sure to mix a few up at times.

The fact that he shows empathy when people are upset is very encouraging, especially at such a young age.

My advice would be to try not to worry too much until you have a definite diagnosis. But even if he is diagnosed with an Autism spectrum condition it is certainly not the end of the world. The kids I work with are absolutely adorable, interesting people, and many of them are very bright, talented, high academic achievers.

While you are waiting to hear from your doctor you could try to establish a very structured family routine, which should help your little boy to feel more secure about what is going on around him and what your expectations are of him. This should reduce any anxiety he might be feeling. It may also cause a reduction in some of those not-so-great behaviours like the crayons on the wall. It may also be helpful to try using visual aids whenever possible ho help him to communicate more easily. These might be emotion flash cards with pictures of smiley, sad faces etc, or they could also be used for activities, etc.

Finally have you tried using a reward chart for good behaviours, such as not using the 'bad word' for the whole day?

Well I really hope that at least some of this has helped in some way. Please let us know how it goes with the Doc.

Take care xx

Jill - posted on 07/29/2009

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Another thing you might want to check into is your local public school to see if he qualifies for preschool with an autism diagnosis. My son went through that program, and it has helped him grow in so many ways! My Matthew is now 6.5, and will be in first grade in the fall in a regular classroom with pull out for part of language arts where he is a little behind. But at school, he gets speech therapy, which it sounds like whether autistic or not, with him mixing up words like that, your son may benefit from. You don't have to wait on the ped's eval to go to the school. Just make sure you share information so that they can work together. Best of luck to you!

Darlene - posted on 07/28/2009

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Hello, Lori, I'm Darlene and my son is 15. His form of autism is a high-functioning form called Asperger's Syndrome. His symptoms are a little different from what you described. But I hear in your words your confusion, your fear and your heartbreak. Our sons may be different but as mom's we are the same. I don't have answers but I have encouragement. I don't want to offend you but I approach our situation from a spiritual standpoint. Have you ever read Jeremiah 29:11? It says "For I know the thoughts I think toward says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope". I speak that verse to my son and I believe in the plan God has for his life. Whatever the doctors tell you remember not only that there is a plan for his life but believe IN the plan. And never, ever lose hope. I'm here if you want to talk more.

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