suspected autism.

Donna - posted on 02/05/2009

thank you melony, you have just decribed exactly how i feel lol. its great to hear your son is doing so well. its just so hard waiting for all the test and etc to be done. i am also worried that docs and etc wont take me seriously. cos all i want is the best for my son. it s nice to know i am not the only person that feels this way. i just feel useless, cos no matter how many times i sit down and play with him, he just doesnt take anything in. may i ask. does anybody child learn to say something for a few weeks, then just completely forget what he has learnt????

Melony - posted on 02/01/2009

You are definitely right to love him for who he is.  My son is 9 and was finally diagnosed last August.  It was a very long process.  I knew in my heart there was something not quite right, but I could get a diagnosis for him.  He was diagnosed with PDD NOS, high functioning autism.  He is so smart but sometimes it seems like he tries to act unintelligent just so he doesn't have to do what he is told.  We took him to behavioral therapy for a week steady when he was 3.  At that time, they said he had speech delays and behavioral disorder, as well as some other delays.  I worked and worked with him.  Sometimes I would think things were better, but it would always end up the same....with me wanting to pull my hair out because I didn't know what to do to help him.  My son did a lot of the same things your son is doing now.  Now he is a whiz at anything he takes an interest in.  He got an A+ on his space report and model of the planet.  He can tell us how to get anywhere once he's been there once.  He is great at math and has not missed a single spelling word all year.  Just a couple weeks ago, he was released from his behavioral goals at schools because he had met them all.  Now we focus on written and expressive language as well as speech and reading comprehension.  I recommend that you stay firm in getting a diagnosis for your son.  And don't settle for the ADHD diagnosis.  They diagnosed my son with that a year before the PDD NOS; that was so wrong!  The sooner you get answers, the sooner you will be able to help your son and understand what his little mind is going through!  Good luck!

Donna - posted on 02/01/2009

thank you to everyone who has replied to me.i really appreciate it xxxxxx

Michelle - posted on 02/01/2009

Quoting donna:

suspected autism.

hi , i am new to this so bare with. i have a two year old boy with suspected autism. we see a keyworker on the 24th feb and then peaditrition on 24th mar. i would like some advice, because i think i am gonna go crazy. my little boy doesnt talk much (mum, dad) yes and no, but doesnt understand the meaning of them. he repeats things off the telly eg. teletubbies. speech therapist has said he is about one years old for speech, she said he is delayed in understanding and pretend play. he prefers to play alone. all he plays with is his thomas the tank engine trains and bricks. he lays on the floor and just rolls them. he lines all his trains and bricks up and if one is moved he goes mad. he doesnt understand facial expressions. i would say 90% of the time he ignores you when you say his name. appears deaf even though hearing tests have come back fine. doesnt pretend play at all. i bought him a pretend kitchen all he did was wreck it. waste of money lol.he will cuddle me when he wants to. thats just some of what he does. i find myself constantly observing him. i know in my heart something not right as i have two older children and they didnt behave this way.it doesnt bother me that he might be autistic. i love him for him and he is my little man. its just all the waiting around for tests etc and i am constantly thinking and worrying about it., as i feel totally useless to help him in anyway, so if anyone has any advice for me that would be very much apprecited x

Donna,

Sometimes the Docs just think we are being overprotective and don't want to admit that as mother's- we do know what is best for our kids. My point is, don't wait for a diagnosis, start intervention now! My son is 17 going on 18 next month, he did exactly what you are describing when he was young-All the way down to only hugging when solicited. He was initially diagnosed as gifted. We soon saw there was more to it than that. So then came PDD (because of the speech delays) and of course ADD but he is now just an Aspie. Back when he was having these issues, no one knew that  Autism even had a spectrum to it! But the thing is you see your little man needs help with a few things so don't wait for someone to give you a diagnosis, start your intervention now. Let an Occupational Therapist evaluate him for sensory issues, let a speech pathologist start him in a social skills training class, develop a more rigid structured schedule at home for him to help with the transitions from one task to the other. (ie. moving from playtime to dinner time).

My son was held back at daycare because he was not as social as the other two's and did not speak as much...we went through a whole history of issues, but he is now graduating from high school and has scholarship money waiting for his arrival to college. As a pre-adult, we have seen even more areas of concern that tell us he is not ready for the world alone but looking back, he has come so far. Just keep providing him the tools you see he needs to adapt, learn, or overcome his defecits.

Shawna - posted on 01/31/2009

I understand how u must feel. My son is 3 and was diagnosed with PDD NOS. He had delays in everything since he was a baby. He crawled at age 1, walked at 19 months, had and still has some speech troubles. He is obsesed with making towers and use to have very little eye contact and prefered to play alone ect ect... dont lose hope.

Christine - posted on 01/31/2009

I went through some of the things you are going through before my son was officially diagnosed with autism. My son was delayed in speech, did not respond to his name some of the time, he preferred to play alone, and he also lined cars/blocks in a row. My advice or suggestions would be to see your family doctor with your son as soon as possible and bring with you your facebook posting and see what your family doctor recommends. The sooner you see your family doctor the sooner other resources will open up to you and your son. I would also recommend getting your son into speech therapy, occupational therapy, also try half-day daycare with other children if possible to build up social. Just a suggestion: when your son does not respond back to you when you call his name go directly down to his eye-level and look him in the eye and in a calm voice get his attention. If you would like some more advice or suggestions feel free to add me to your facebook. Sincerely, Christine