Still not sure if it's true!!

Shawna - posted on 01/10/2010

I live 6 hours away from montreal. I'm not very far from north bay ontario which my son could get all the help he deserves but our provincial gouvernment wont cover the cost for us to go out of province which is sad.
He is suppose to revieve services from this place in Rouyn noranda qc but they have no bilingual therpist in their organization.

Azucena - posted on 01/06/2010

I would like to thank you, because a lot of the thing you said actually most of them are very familiar. Thank you

Azucena - posted on 01/06/2010

Hi! Hope God gives me the right words for you. First of all you are doing a great job, you are asking and trying to get answers.. someone told me recently there are no wrong questions .... I was just recently (12/10/09) my son has autism by psicologist so I understand about going through it again wich I will on 01/19/10 when I take him to Childrens hospital to get all kinds of test and scans part of me wishes its just a mistake but I must preper for what I know and hope for the best. my son doesnt have the hand flapping but he does have speech problems has problems with loud noises blender vacum and also covers his ears doesnt screem when he hears them has problems socializing.... My sugestion would be try to find the nearest childrens hospital to you so you can get the whole truth.... Hope I was helpfull. God be with you all. LOL

Benita - posted on 01/06/2010

Autistic children are described as being on the spectrum. think of this as a big wheel with all the child development factors or stages on it. its divided into sectors such as social\emotional, language/communication, sensory\physical... A child with an autistic diagnosis will have issues with three or more of these sectors, as well as what my pedaetricion described as indicators ( autistic indicators such as hand flapping, absences, seizures, lining things up or stacking- pattern following, sensitivity to sensory input- covering ears at loud noises; being affected by smells, lights, motion. Obsession with fans, lights, drains.) I have missed so much in there but these are a good start. as for your child sounding like mine- this doesn't matter as autism presents differently in all/most cases. My son was taught by an O.T how to greet people and still now with strangers he needs to be prompted to respond, don't stop working on that it is really important even if you spend half your day practising how to appropriately say hello and goodbye and when to do it. As for telling u to stop talking, my boy does that when I am interrupting his thinking, he responds to some things a lot slower than i do and often thinks a lot deeper about things than i or my other son does. Hand flapping or motion obsession is sometimes a way for a child to stimulate themselves to take away stress about other sensativities such as loud noises, being afraid or nervous. kind of a way to deal with things. Hope this may encourage you and give u some things to discuss with your second opinion...

Sheila - posted on 01/06/2010

Hi Shawna,

What part of Quebec are you in? Are you able to get to East Montreal? You should be able to connect up with an English speaking therapist there. As well, try contacting Concordia University or McGill (or is it MaGill??) University. I know English speaking individuals (only English) who were able to obtain their degrees at these universities. McGill has a medical program, so they MUST be able to connect you to some program somewhere. Quebec also has provincially funded nursery school/day programs. Is there the equivalent service of The Ontario Early Years Centre offered in Quebec?

At four, your child is almost ready for Kindergarten. At that point, you will be within the school system's support network. You might also find that the school will quickly contact you if your son hand flaps and has difficulties adjusting to the new routines of "big school."

You need to ensure that you have a copy of the psychologist's report. A psychologist has identified him with autism, but it will take a doctor to diagnose with autism (at least, in Ontario and for federal tax purposes).

How many pediatricians have you seen? I saw two with my son and the third was informed enough to be able to make a proper diagnosis. Often times, we are referred to a pediatrician who specializes in areas such as chronic illness or childhood diabetes, and they really don't have ANY expertise on autism. You need to ask your family doctor to refer you to a developmental pediatrician or a pediatric neurologist.

If you son is high functioning, his "on" times...times where he seems completely with you, and all is right with your world...these times can lead you to think oh, he's fine...but then, you talk to him and he doesn't respond, he stares at water spouts, or he becomes to upset that he can't calm down. Those are the times when you know something is not right with your child. We have all been there to some extent...get your second opinion, and aggressively pursue therapy services for your son.

Good luck,

Sheila

Renee - posted on 01/06/2010

I would get a second opinion. The different world is autism - that's the planet they visit when they leave earth. He does sound like he has both expressive and receptive language delays but it also sounds like he's made some progess. Hand flapping is a symptom of autism. Fascination with water spouts, lamp posts, etc are all typical of children on the autism spectrum. Also putting his hands over his ears is another sign as well. It sounds like he has some sensory things like at the movies - light and noise. Following a routine is important for these kids and it helps them immensely if they can get a structured daily schedule. So there are no english speaking speech therapists in Quebec? Only french? Wow I would never have imagined. Can you get a bilingual person? Also, no child has all the symptoms of autism, they all have a slightly different combination of symptoms.