Autism?

Bonnie - posted on 09/14/2010

I would keep my eye on her and do lots of reading. I have twin boys who will be 13 on Saturday. Once has high-funcitoning autism. We didn't find out until the end of grade 4. If you catch it early, that is great. Don't panic about it, just keep watching and educating yourself. Keep the doctor/s involved. I know parents with children who were diagnosed around 2 or 3. If, as time goes on, you can't get anywhere with your family doctor, if you have coverage, you could go to a private child psychologist.

In the meantime, enjoy your babies!

Good luck!
Bonnie Spruin

Lori - posted on 08/13/2010

Tina,
You are great!

Tina - posted on 08/12/2010

Hi Danielle,
Listen i am a firm believer in "PRAYER" and by the way your daughters are Gorgeous, and i too have two beautiful girls. Speak into their lives things you want to see them achieve, and believe me, if you do this trust me it will work. each child's development is different, i thought one of my daughter wasn't going to speak, but trust me i believe in her and she is now doing well. Autism is a challenging situation, but can be channeled with love to handle better. Love your children, laugh with them, and nurture them. And Keep the Faith.

Jean - posted on 08/11/2010

YEs! Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) was a big help and it is basically free. They came out and worked with my guys from 9 months to 3 years on speech and motor skills. They can come out if your concerned and do an evaluation for you. The program can be slow going though. From the time I called to the time we got evaluated to when the therapists actually started comming out to the house it was a few months! Your pedi should be able to set you up or tell you who to call. Mine was through easter seals. Good luck!
Jean

Jennifer - posted on 08/11/2010

If you aren't comfortable with your doctor's "wait and see" attitude, take them to see someone else. You can also contact your county health department and ask for a Birth to 3 developmental assessment, which can give you some more insight. Most county programs also have additional autism information and can help with that also. Good luck!

Crystal - posted on 08/08/2010

Hi Danielle,
I have g/g 11 month old twins. They are going to be a year on the 18th. They were born at 32 weeks and they have been developing great. They are not walking yet but are standing. Both my daughters twirl their hands and feet. They have been doing is for a while. I honestly think that the are just interested in the way their body moves. My pediatrician is not concerned at all. They are just discovering their body parts. I do not think you have anything to worry about but i do understand, being a first time mom myself, that we do tend to worry alot. Still keep checking up on it with their pediatrician. Good Luck!

Jean - posted on 08/08/2010

Unfortunately it is a lot of wait and see I think. I had twins at 25 weeks who were for the most part just fine. By 13 months I was very concerned about alexander. He rotated his wrists and ankles all the time, he liked to put his lips and hands on the frigerator and the dish washer when running, he never looked anyone ever, never smiled., in his own world. Spinning everything and anything you name it -he was doing it. He also had eczema and ugly nasty diapers and his skin was greyish. So after a lot of research I took him off of milk and gluten and a few other things to see what that would do and within 3 days he was a totally different kid. He smiled for the first time. He looked at me. He left the appliances alone and stopped stimming half the day away -it was amazing. I know this is not always how it works and I thank the good Lord everyday that he improved and we are by no means done with trying to help him as his diet issues have continued to become more difficult and he can only eat 6 things now without having a reaction of some kind -but it is a lot of wait and see -like the one mom said -a lot of things they do when little would only be a concern when they are older. Listen to your gut. I would also hold off on vaccinations in my humble opinion. I gave no more to alex once i saw what he was doing but let the pedi give his more normal twin his 15 and 18 months vaccines and he had an instant high fever for a week (104) and had a HUGE 6 month developmental regression. He stopped doing everything we had been working on for the last year and went back to laying around like a newborn -it was horrible. There is no reason she can't get them later on. I am a science teacher -middle school- for ten years and have a degree in biology and I believe vaccines are neccesary, but are not made safe and a percentage of kids is damaged by them -some permanently. Sorry to ramble on!!!! Hang in there!!!!!
Jean

Bethany - posted on 08/07/2010

Thanks Amy. I will try to find something. We dont have great services here! There is a centre for children with autism but i dont think they can test your child for it. But i will certainly keep trying different places. Thanks!

Iridescent - posted on 08/06/2010

Bethany, ask schools, nurses, clinics, google online for local autism clinics. If you suspect one of your twins is autistic they can test for it (very accurately) as early as 18 months. ADHD/ADD can't be tested for accurately at that age (needs to be closer to at least 5 years usually), but autism certainly can. So look around, find a reputable autism clinic that specializes in autism, full testing, and therapy, and get started. I hope that helps you.

Bethany - posted on 08/06/2010

my twins are 2 and a half, and are very clever, however i feel my older (8 mins older. lol) is showing some signs of autism. i have asked people such as health visitor/doctor and was told i have to wait untill she is out of the "terible two's". i dont think mums should have to wait this long as if it turns out your child does have autism, ADHD, ADD etc, there could of been something done earlier. it is very frustration having to "wait and see". i know how you feel. good luck!!

Danielle - posted on 08/04/2010

Thanks so much for all of your advice. It is a wait and see game. And as far as I can tell both my twins are standing unassisted, sitting unassisted, saying dada and momma, and both are babbling, smiling, and laughing. They interact great with oneanother, maybe I am just being a "first time mom". The only think with Hailey, the older by 9 min, does the hand circling and feet circling.
Again, thanks for all of your support!

Ilene - posted on 08/04/2010

Like Sandy, I have a set of twins who are both autistic (girl/boy). They were diagnosed at 26 months. Boy twin started showing signs (realized after the fact) at around 8 months. But again, as Sandy said, they were both significantly delayed for everything. We thought it had to do with prematurity (they were born at 34 weeks). As more time passed, we realized it was more severe.

Farsightedness isn't necessarily autism. What, at the age of your twins, we were told are some early signs of autism is developmental delays (walking and MOST IMPORTANT any form of communication) and general demeanor. Girl twin here RARELY smiled and laughing was almost unheard of. Boy twin had the more stereotypical behaviors (flapping, stimming, abnormal tantrums).

Watch your daughter for the way she interacts with people around her in ways that are age appropriate (so use this list over time). Does she initiate/maintain eye contact? Can she follow a point? Does she INITIATE a point? Can she comprehend what you say to her? Is she developing language of her own? Is she babbling? And keep your eyes open for everything else.

Good luck!
Ilene

Helen - posted on 07/30/2010

sorry but it really is a waiting game,im still waiting on a diagnosis for my 4 and a half year old daughter,she has every sign of the autism spectrum,mentally she is 18 to 23 months,she does weird movements too.autism apparently starts to show around 18 months to 2 years.ask to be refered to a peaditriction now as lists are long.if she cam communicate with you and plays with toys it prob wont be autism.

Iridescent - posted on 07/29/2010

Sandy is correct. Autism traits are each a developmental milestone at some point. Not looking people in the eye is typical of newborns, but quickly becomes outgrown - except in most cases of autism. Not accepting textured foods is quite typical up to even 18 months, but very common in autism. Every single autistic tendency is this way, so it does take time. My first autistic son is now 11. He is moderately/severely autistic, and it was very obvious by 2.5 years in many areas. His first diagnosis was severe global developmental delay with failure to thrive and hypertonia. Our second autistic son is 3, and there is no doubt about him being autistic either. Developmentally he is 14-15 months old in all areas. Yet he is not as severely affected as our first son was! Our first, at the same age, was developmentally only a few weeks to months old. Our second's first diagnoses were severe global developmental delay, hypotonia, malnutrition, chronic diarrhea, severe asthma and Selective IgA Deficiency.

Sandy - posted on 07/28/2010

I have twins with ASD. Mine did not develop on time, everything was delayed: sitting, walking, speech. You can only wait and see.