queen
06-25-2003, 09:29 PM
I'm desperate for info regarding high function and low function....My husband is in complete denial about his daughter....after reading alot of material over the last year or so I really feel she has a form of autisum but my husband and his xwife are in complete denial....as a step it is very hard for me to understand why a parent wouldnt want to do all they can to help their child to function and succeed in life....it's tearing me apart...could someone please get me started on the right track....
Sponsor
~airforcewife~
06-25-2003, 10:09 PM
Sorry, I replied to you on the other topic before I saw that you had started one of your own. Could you share with us a little about your stepdaughter and why it is you feel she may be Autistic? :)
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~ Proud Military Wife & Mother Of 3 Beautiful Children! ~
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~ Proud Military Wife & Mother Of 3 Beautiful Children! ~
Joanne
06-26-2003, 01:12 AM
It took me 6 months to begin to accept that my son was autistic. It wasn't because I didn't want to help him. It was simply bacause it was easier to live with the fact that it was just a phase. Autism has a horrible stigmy wrapped around it. I always assumed that autitic children must be like "Rainman". My son was nothing like that. After going for many second opinions, I realized it was time to stop ignoring the doctors, and start helping my son. I have never really fully accepted his diagnoses. His doctors think it is impossible to expect too much from him. I think if I truley accepted his diagnoses...I would give up on him. I am just not ready to do that. I have to beleive he will be able to grow and live his own life one day. Sorry, now that I have rambled on, I really haven't helped you. I am sure it is very difficult to be a stepmom. Anything negative you say may be held as negative. Are there any early intervention services in your state? Maybe you could approach things in a different way. Maybe you could explain to your husband that you feel it would benefit the family to have her evaluated by one of these services to make sure she doesn't fall behind. Simply tell him there is no cost to you or him. The only thing it will prove is if she needs a little help catching up. That is what really opened my eyes. My son had a 45% delay. When you see numbers, it sometimes forces you to see the light. I also agree with airforcemom. Maybe you could tell us a little more about her so we could help you more.
queen
06-26-2003, 01:00 PM
I really dont even know where to begin...she is going to be 7 years old in September....she has a severe speech problem (which is what her father & mother think is the only problem..slow speech)she cannot do daily living functions on her own...get her bath, pick out her own clothes, make a sandwich I'm sorry if this is silly or unimportant but these are functions that she should be doing with great pride at this age...my main concern is that she does not comprehend hot/cold, she has a pain tolerance that's uncomprehendable..she cant start a conversation and keep it going...she doesnt recongize other peoples feelings...like I've never heard her say excuse me, I'm sorry...the biggest concern is her short term memory...for instance we came home from her soccer game at which she scored a goal so my husband had her call her grandma to tell her about scoring the goal...it wasnt even a minute later that my husband called his mother back and she said I want to tell grandma about my goal..this happens all the time...there's also the issue that she does not play with children her own age "if" she plays with them at all, there could be 15 kids out in the yard and she wants to stay in the house...and she has a terrible obsession with her younger sister....her mom and dad have been divorced since she was 2 her schedule has been as follows for the last 5 years Mon, Wed and everyother weekend she has seen her dad for the last 5 years, she has no idea what days she comes or goes...why doesnt that concern them???? I hope at least some of this makes sense....I hope you can help me....
Oma61
06-26-2003, 01:06 PM
Yes, please share more info about your daughter! I have a 7 year old daughter diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and sometimes I am just not too sure about the diagnosis being correct! PDD's do seem to vary a lot!
Originally when my daughter was young (2-3) she did act pretty autistic (head banging, unitelligable jabbering, echoing, spinning, no response to pain, no response to her name, no response to other's emotions, a fascination with holes, a fascination with dropping small objects in any hole she could find, ignoring other kids to drop things in holes!). She was diagnosed at 3 with PDD-NOS. I took her to language therapy for 1 1/2 years and her language REALLY came along. I took her to OT. She was enrolled in the school district's Developmental preschool for 2 years. All along she has been maturing and becoming more "normal". When she was 6 she was diagnosed by a different doctor with Asperger Syndrome. At first I thought it really fit, but now as time goes by I am really questioning the diagnosis mainly because she seems so normal...but then not normal too!! She can converse fairly well now, has started getting dressed herself, she has a couple of playmates, she shows emotions, these are all good, normal things. But, she is very negative and irritable, she only wants to be at home, she only wants to play with her one or two friends...no one else, she has learning disabilities and is in special ed part of the day, she has trouble explaining anything, she is very hyper, very loud, she doesn't play organized games well at all, she never in her life has ever played with a doll, she does not play dress ups, she hates having her hair brushed, she is unintentionally mean to animals and cannot leave them alone, she will ignore playmtes to play with an animal...but not play with it like normal, play with it like an object with no thought to how she may be inflicting pain to it! Sometimes I think she has REALLY severe ADHD with learning disabilities and sometimes I think she has Childhood Bipolar (my sister is a diagnosed Bipolar person...on heavy meds and disabled by the condition). Regardless of the diagnosis, we just try to help develop as normally as possible so she will lead a normal life. I, too, am desperate for information regarding high functioning and low functioning autism. How high functioning can you be before you are just considered "normal"? Any thoughts or replies are appreciated, and queen, I hope you find the answers to the your questions...sorry, I am not much help...I am loaded with questions myself!
Best wishes...
Originally when my daughter was young (2-3) she did act pretty autistic (head banging, unitelligable jabbering, echoing, spinning, no response to pain, no response to her name, no response to other's emotions, a fascination with holes, a fascination with dropping small objects in any hole she could find, ignoring other kids to drop things in holes!). She was diagnosed at 3 with PDD-NOS. I took her to language therapy for 1 1/2 years and her language REALLY came along. I took her to OT. She was enrolled in the school district's Developmental preschool for 2 years. All along she has been maturing and becoming more "normal". When she was 6 she was diagnosed by a different doctor with Asperger Syndrome. At first I thought it really fit, but now as time goes by I am really questioning the diagnosis mainly because she seems so normal...but then not normal too!! She can converse fairly well now, has started getting dressed herself, she has a couple of playmates, she shows emotions, these are all good, normal things. But, she is very negative and irritable, she only wants to be at home, she only wants to play with her one or two friends...no one else, she has learning disabilities and is in special ed part of the day, she has trouble explaining anything, she is very hyper, very loud, she doesn't play organized games well at all, she never in her life has ever played with a doll, she does not play dress ups, she hates having her hair brushed, she is unintentionally mean to animals and cannot leave them alone, she will ignore playmtes to play with an animal...but not play with it like normal, play with it like an object with no thought to how she may be inflicting pain to it! Sometimes I think she has REALLY severe ADHD with learning disabilities and sometimes I think she has Childhood Bipolar (my sister is a diagnosed Bipolar person...on heavy meds and disabled by the condition). Regardless of the diagnosis, we just try to help develop as normally as possible so she will lead a normal life. I, too, am desperate for information regarding high functioning and low functioning autism. How high functioning can you be before you are just considered "normal"? Any thoughts or replies are appreciated, and queen, I hope you find the answers to the your questions...sorry, I am not much help...I am loaded with questions myself!
Best wishes...
Oma61
06-26-2003, 01:59 PM
queen,
You must have posted right while I was typing so I didn't see your last post until after I submitted my post. All I can say is...gee, she sounds a LOT like my daughter! The language thing, the lack of "daily living" skills, the short term memory problems, the high pain tolerance, the obsession with her sister (my girl is obsessed w/ animals)...a lot. One difference is that my daughter is very consistant with manners and I only think that is because once they learn something like that and what situation to use it in, they use it routinely, like a script. For example, when she was younger, if she fell and hurt herself on a table, she USED to bite the table, then if she fell on a person, she would bite the person. I taught her that when we fall on a person we say "excuse me, I'm sorry"...ok that's all well and good, but then when she would fall on a table she would also say the same thing "excuse me, I'm sorry" to the TABLE!!! I had to teach her not to say "sorry" to the table, just say "sorry" to people. Now she's very clear on that, but I thought it was very strange how we had to explain the smallest things to her...like she had no common sense.
Best wishes, queen, she sure sounds a lot like my girl! If you want to ask me anything...please do, I will be happy to reply.
You must have posted right while I was typing so I didn't see your last post until after I submitted my post. All I can say is...gee, she sounds a LOT like my daughter! The language thing, the lack of "daily living" skills, the short term memory problems, the high pain tolerance, the obsession with her sister (my girl is obsessed w/ animals)...a lot. One difference is that my daughter is very consistant with manners and I only think that is because once they learn something like that and what situation to use it in, they use it routinely, like a script. For example, when she was younger, if she fell and hurt herself on a table, she USED to bite the table, then if she fell on a person, she would bite the person. I taught her that when we fall on a person we say "excuse me, I'm sorry"...ok that's all well and good, but then when she would fall on a table she would also say the same thing "excuse me, I'm sorry" to the TABLE!!! I had to teach her not to say "sorry" to the table, just say "sorry" to people. Now she's very clear on that, but I thought it was very strange how we had to explain the smallest things to her...like she had no common sense.
Best wishes, queen, she sure sounds a lot like my girl! If you want to ask me anything...please do, I will be happy to reply.
queen
06-26-2003, 04:22 PM
I also have other things to add...sometimes when the whole family is engaged in like boardgame or card playing she will just start humming which I have always thought was really strange....how long do all of you talk on these message boards before you start emailing one another personally.....I'm desperate I tell ya....thanks to everyone that's replied....I'm very eager to hear other information....
Oma61
06-26-2003, 04:34 PM
Hi queen,
Humming, yes, yes...that is ANOTHER thing my girl does! She has always rocked and hummed in the car (she rocks so hard that it feels like the car is surging...only if she is bored, though it used to be all the time...like I said, things constantly change as she gets older and she seems more "normal") and she hums herself to sleep at night. Also, another thing that I forgot to mention is that she is very, very clumsy! She is pigeon toed and trips a lot...on her own feet, on other people's feet, you name it. She walks into the edge of open doors, into counters, etc. Also, she even stepped on her own thumb at school a few months ago and broke it severely...had to be sedated and have it set at the hospital since it was out of place...nasty!
[This message has been edited by Oma61 (edited 06-29-2003).]
Humming, yes, yes...that is ANOTHER thing my girl does! She has always rocked and hummed in the car (she rocks so hard that it feels like the car is surging...only if she is bored, though it used to be all the time...like I said, things constantly change as she gets older and she seems more "normal") and she hums herself to sleep at night. Also, another thing that I forgot to mention is that she is very, very clumsy! She is pigeon toed and trips a lot...on her own feet, on other people's feet, you name it. She walks into the edge of open doors, into counters, etc. Also, she even stepped on her own thumb at school a few months ago and broke it severely...had to be sedated and have it set at the hospital since it was out of place...nasty!
[This message has been edited by Oma61 (edited 06-29-2003).]
queen
06-26-2003, 04:40 PM
Oma61
Oh my gosh, she is totally not aware of her surroundings, she's a clutz....truely...I am just amazed at all the same characterists...I completely understand what you are saying about turning right around and walking into the door she just shut...it blows my mind...she can also put her book bag down in the living then you ask her to go get it and she goes to her bedroom to look for it when it's right there in plain sight....I'm sad for her because they have not made any interventions for her....If they dont come to grips with it...she is never going to be able to live on her own....thank you....how do I post my email for you to see????
Oh my gosh, she is totally not aware of her surroundings, she's a clutz....truely...I am just amazed at all the same characterists...I completely understand what you are saying about turning right around and walking into the door she just shut...it blows my mind...she can also put her book bag down in the living then you ask her to go get it and she goes to her bedroom to look for it when it's right there in plain sight....I'm sad for her because they have not made any interventions for her....If they dont come to grips with it...she is never going to be able to live on her own....thank you....how do I post my email for you to see????
Oma61
06-26-2003, 05:01 PM
queen, Yes it is really amazing all of the similar characteristics they share...really!!!
[This message has been edited by Oma61 (edited 06-26-2003).]
[This message has been edited by Oma61 (edited 06-26-2003).]
[This message has been edited by Oma61 (edited 06-29-2003).]
[This message has been edited by Oma61 (edited 06-26-2003).]
[This message has been edited by Oma61 (edited 06-26-2003).]
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cavallaro94
06-28-2003, 03:23 PM
http://www.autism.com/atec/
Here is a link to an online scoring for Autism. It will give you a rating from non-autistic to severely autistic.
Good Luck!
Jenna
Here is a link to an online scoring for Autism. It will give you a rating from non-autistic to severely autistic.
Good Luck!
Jenna
queen
06-28-2003, 04:31 PM
cavallaro94
thank you for the website...very interesting but I've never seen results of this nature so I'm a little confused with reading them could you help me??
thank you for the website...very interesting but I've never seen results of this nature so I'm a little confused with reading them could you help me??
zuzu8
06-28-2003, 04:57 PM
Queen- I was just browsing the board, and I don't know if I missed some info or not, but has your daughter actually been evaluated my specialists and diagnosed? What are her doctors telling you?
zuzu xx
PS Unfortunately posting our email addresses here is against HealthBoards Guidelines and one can be banned for doing it.
[This message has been edited by zuzu8 (edited 06-28-2003).]
zuzu xx
PS Unfortunately posting our email addresses here is against HealthBoards Guidelines and one can be banned for doing it.
[This message has been edited by zuzu8 (edited 06-28-2003).]
queen
06-28-2003, 08:53 PM
Zuzu8
I didnt realize it was against the forum to post email addresses...sorry...its just how desperate I am..
Back to your question...has she been evaluated, apparently she has to have an IEP for speech but when they test I dont know what kind of testing they do, now I know that she took the Gazel test for kindergarden and the IOWA test at the end of kindergarden but see they dont include me in the meetings so I dont know what's said...and when my husband comes home from the meetings he very vague about what was sad...but all the teachers say she's very well behaved, of course she's well behaved she dont talk, my girlfriend tried to say that she was shy, shy is one thing but the other things are what worries me....so to answer your questions those are the only 2 test that I know of, but they are always going to have her hearing check and it comes back fine, but that doesnt mean anything...her mother really thinks she dont have a speech problem....I did that test on the autism link and got the results but I dont know how to read the results....I've tried to convince myself that I'm the one seeing too much but too many people have come to me for me to be the one that's seeing this.....
Regarding the earlier posting about taking her to get her tested....they would want to know about her history and I just dont know, I mean what if she has been diagnosed and no one is talking about it, you know that happens....I could take her but then what?
This is really hard because I find myself everytime my husband is out of the house I'm on the internet on this site typing to all of you and you listen, only if I could get him to listen.....
I really appreciate everyone that's posted, I really do....I hope you all will keep posting my that will give me the strenght just to hit him head on with it..God Bless all of you....
I didnt realize it was against the forum to post email addresses...sorry...its just how desperate I am..
Back to your question...has she been evaluated, apparently she has to have an IEP for speech but when they test I dont know what kind of testing they do, now I know that she took the Gazel test for kindergarden and the IOWA test at the end of kindergarden but see they dont include me in the meetings so I dont know what's said...and when my husband comes home from the meetings he very vague about what was sad...but all the teachers say she's very well behaved, of course she's well behaved she dont talk, my girlfriend tried to say that she was shy, shy is one thing but the other things are what worries me....so to answer your questions those are the only 2 test that I know of, but they are always going to have her hearing check and it comes back fine, but that doesnt mean anything...her mother really thinks she dont have a speech problem....I did that test on the autism link and got the results but I dont know how to read the results....I've tried to convince myself that I'm the one seeing too much but too many people have come to me for me to be the one that's seeing this.....
Regarding the earlier posting about taking her to get her tested....they would want to know about her history and I just dont know, I mean what if she has been diagnosed and no one is talking about it, you know that happens....I could take her but then what?
This is really hard because I find myself everytime my husband is out of the house I'm on the internet on this site typing to all of you and you listen, only if I could get him to listen.....
I really appreciate everyone that's posted, I really do....I hope you all will keep posting my that will give me the strenght just to hit him head on with it..God Bless all of you....
saratire
07-18-2003, 05:14 PM
sounds like sensory integration to me . Have you been on the densory integration message boards. You can find out alot there. My daughter has severe sensory integration and does not like her hair brushed. she is not clumpsy but that is one of the main sytoms. so is humming or making noise. they also lack motor planning. so it is hard for them to do every day functions. they also have a hard time being social. talk loud. anyway its an suggestion. An ot can test her. saratire
susanamorr
07-21-2003, 11:47 AM
Hi.. I just want to add to this post. I have a son, who has just turned 8. He is overcoming a severe speech disorder called dyspraxia. He has been involved in speech therapy since he was 18 mos old. He has sensory intergration disorder : touches everything.. sniffs everything ( but getting better).. I was told by his preschool teacher years ago ( special ed: with a Phd) that my son didn't understand his "space" in the world.. meaning he was understimualated and "seeked" out comfort to control his body. I find him at times sitting upside down on the sofa, he used to like to hide under the cushions.. no fear of heights , likes spinning rides, hates to have his hair brushed ( so we keep it in a buzz cut), hates to have his face washed, he cannot "read" his body's cues that he is tired. He will actually "speed" up to compensate. He has been diagnosised as having severe ADHD, dyspraxia, has a learning disability called Audiotory processing disorder, along with a few autistic stims that the last psychologist who evaluated him ( last month) felt were more "sensory" related than autistic. She hasn't ruled out "asperger's" , which our private speech therapist ( We have come to our home twice a week.. the public school offers 3 / 15 minute speech therapy sessions a week and Im confident he doesn't get much out of them) seem to feel he has.
Im concerned for your step-daughter. First grade is tough. If your daughter has some learning disabilities, by being evaluated and put in a special ed classroom for academics could really help her to succeed. My son cannot handle reg. ed on his own. He has to have taught a different way than a typical student. He CAN learn, he just needs a list of "where" to start a lesson. He needs to have things broken down so he can understand them.. given too much info at one time is something that overwhelms him. He also has problems relating to his peers. He is great with adults, but still has some eye contact issues. Again.. therapy has helped him to "understand" social cues and how to start and interact in a conversation. The issue with his speech has not helped with his interaction and he "lost" alot during his toddler years because he couldn't speak. When he was younger, he did alot of odd things: walked backwards, would hold food in his mouth, had many strange behaviors ( switching the lights on and off.. making the garage doors go up and down) He'd walk the perimeter of the driveway. All of those behaviors have disappeared, but , he still handflaps at times when he's really excited. When we "remind" him not to do it.. he can stop. I had him tested for food allergies because I found him to be more " out of sync" " hyper" " unfocused and withdrawn" to be " out of sync" meaning one day he seemed "good" the next " competely opposite:. He has many food allergies. He had a HUGR reaction to corn. Just taking that away ( corn syrups included) , I saw an improvement! We are now basically GFCF.. no dyes or preservatives and we stay away ( the best to our ability) to phenol foods : apples, citrus etc. This helps.. along with supplimenting with enzymes and probiotics.
I can't imagine where Hunter would be if some type of intervention was in place. I can understand the denial and I understand it's hard for you living in a small community.. it seems like nobody wants to "step on anyone's toes" , especially in her school. If she is allowed to " fall through " the cracks because of this, it is a total diservice to this child. You may just have to intervene in her behalf because obviously,... no one else wants to "deal" with it. She could be living a much better life if she can get the therapy and services she deserves. Just because she is 'well-behaved' doesn't mean she doesn't need special ed to achieve in a classroom setting. Sometimes it is the "well behaved" children ( especially girls) who do get shoved through the system. My suggestion is to print out some information you feel are a "red-flag" regarding your step daughter and present them to your husband. It sounds like he needs to be "educated" a bit. I had to "eduate" my husband, he was in denial for a while.
Best of luck to you.. and your step-daughter. Thankfully, she has someone looking out for her!! Bless you for that !
Susan with Hunter
Im concerned for your step-daughter. First grade is tough. If your daughter has some learning disabilities, by being evaluated and put in a special ed classroom for academics could really help her to succeed. My son cannot handle reg. ed on his own. He has to have taught a different way than a typical student. He CAN learn, he just needs a list of "where" to start a lesson. He needs to have things broken down so he can understand them.. given too much info at one time is something that overwhelms him. He also has problems relating to his peers. He is great with adults, but still has some eye contact issues. Again.. therapy has helped him to "understand" social cues and how to start and interact in a conversation. The issue with his speech has not helped with his interaction and he "lost" alot during his toddler years because he couldn't speak. When he was younger, he did alot of odd things: walked backwards, would hold food in his mouth, had many strange behaviors ( switching the lights on and off.. making the garage doors go up and down) He'd walk the perimeter of the driveway. All of those behaviors have disappeared, but , he still handflaps at times when he's really excited. When we "remind" him not to do it.. he can stop. I had him tested for food allergies because I found him to be more " out of sync" " hyper" " unfocused and withdrawn" to be " out of sync" meaning one day he seemed "good" the next " competely opposite:. He has many food allergies. He had a HUGR reaction to corn. Just taking that away ( corn syrups included) , I saw an improvement! We are now basically GFCF.. no dyes or preservatives and we stay away ( the best to our ability) to phenol foods : apples, citrus etc. This helps.. along with supplimenting with enzymes and probiotics.
I can't imagine where Hunter would be if some type of intervention was in place. I can understand the denial and I understand it's hard for you living in a small community.. it seems like nobody wants to "step on anyone's toes" , especially in her school. If she is allowed to " fall through " the cracks because of this, it is a total diservice to this child. You may just have to intervene in her behalf because obviously,... no one else wants to "deal" with it. She could be living a much better life if she can get the therapy and services she deserves. Just because she is 'well-behaved' doesn't mean she doesn't need special ed to achieve in a classroom setting. Sometimes it is the "well behaved" children ( especially girls) who do get shoved through the system. My suggestion is to print out some information you feel are a "red-flag" regarding your step daughter and present them to your husband. It sounds like he needs to be "educated" a bit. I had to "eduate" my husband, he was in denial for a while.
Best of luck to you.. and your step-daughter. Thankfully, she has someone looking out for her!! Bless you for that !
Susan with Hunter
r and r mom
07-21-2003, 02:12 PM
saratire, my son also has been dx'd with sensory integration dysfunction. I was wondering if you could share the url for one of the boards dealing with sid. (if it isn't against the rules)
Thanks! connie
Thanks! connie
queen
08-08-2003, 10:51 AM
Thank again to everyone for the posts....
Thank you Saratire and Susanamorr for your most recent posts.
I havent been on the boards for a few weeks so let me update you as to what has been going on....a few weeks ago I was at my mother-in-laws house, who I'd thought was in denial about her grand daughter, well come to find out she too has questions about her behavior, of course they are very light compared to how I see them but at least she is starting to see that there are issues. Well since we (my mother in law and myself) had the conversation its not been talked about since....1 week until school starts. A friend of a friend is a licensed speech pathologist and has done many detailed studies on all types of learning disablities and behaviors, she suggested that we take her to a developemental peditrician, which I was already to do as my mother in law knows the history and I know the behavior but NOTHING...I feel sorry for my step daughter well her parents are so in denial that "they" are going to let her fall flat on her face. Like I've said before how is she going to be able to handle 2 math papers a night, 3 reading stories a night, 15 new vocabulary words a week and 10 new spelling words a week that includes a test on the spelling words when she can do daily functions with out complete help....and my husband just acts as if its no big deal....
Teh sensory integration is something I thought about a long time ago when she was a small baby, as her mother had a vaporizor in her room and she held her hand over it which cause a 2nd/3rd degree burn and she never cried...at all...infact her mother didnt even know it happend until she went to wake her up the next morning to go the sitters and noticed it herself.....speech, well of course her mother doesnt think she has a speech problem, but she is only getting 20 minutes a week and that's only if the speech teacher shows up.....I have so many thoughts in my mind at this moment cant keep them all straight so if this sounds all here and there sorry....
Like I said the sensory thing has also been a thought but I really think that there is too many autisic traits for it not to be some form...I really do....like your son Susanamorr, my step daughter also does not know her place, she takes no ones feelings into consideration as she has no feelings of her own, I've never, and I've been around this child her whole life, have seen her express happiest or true sadness..its amazing because my son who is 8 is a true tender heart, even my 18 month old daughter is expressing feelings, how that cant be a big sign for my husband is beyond me, but denial is a hard hard thing to bust up....Myself I'm all about facing things head on....but not everybody feels the same what, especailly if its just a phase she's going through, I'm sure you have all heard that one...
Well thanks again to everyone for the posts, everyone has been such a blessing with all the information...all posts welcome.....take care and god bless
Thank you Saratire and Susanamorr for your most recent posts.
I havent been on the boards for a few weeks so let me update you as to what has been going on....a few weeks ago I was at my mother-in-laws house, who I'd thought was in denial about her grand daughter, well come to find out she too has questions about her behavior, of course they are very light compared to how I see them but at least she is starting to see that there are issues. Well since we (my mother in law and myself) had the conversation its not been talked about since....1 week until school starts. A friend of a friend is a licensed speech pathologist and has done many detailed studies on all types of learning disablities and behaviors, she suggested that we take her to a developemental peditrician, which I was already to do as my mother in law knows the history and I know the behavior but NOTHING...I feel sorry for my step daughter well her parents are so in denial that "they" are going to let her fall flat on her face. Like I've said before how is she going to be able to handle 2 math papers a night, 3 reading stories a night, 15 new vocabulary words a week and 10 new spelling words a week that includes a test on the spelling words when she can do daily functions with out complete help....and my husband just acts as if its no big deal....
Teh sensory integration is something I thought about a long time ago when she was a small baby, as her mother had a vaporizor in her room and she held her hand over it which cause a 2nd/3rd degree burn and she never cried...at all...infact her mother didnt even know it happend until she went to wake her up the next morning to go the sitters and noticed it herself.....speech, well of course her mother doesnt think she has a speech problem, but she is only getting 20 minutes a week and that's only if the speech teacher shows up.....I have so many thoughts in my mind at this moment cant keep them all straight so if this sounds all here and there sorry....
Like I said the sensory thing has also been a thought but I really think that there is too many autisic traits for it not to be some form...I really do....like your son Susanamorr, my step daughter also does not know her place, she takes no ones feelings into consideration as she has no feelings of her own, I've never, and I've been around this child her whole life, have seen her express happiest or true sadness..its amazing because my son who is 8 is a true tender heart, even my 18 month old daughter is expressing feelings, how that cant be a big sign for my husband is beyond me, but denial is a hard hard thing to bust up....Myself I'm all about facing things head on....but not everybody feels the same what, especailly if its just a phase she's going through, I'm sure you have all heard that one...
Well thanks again to everyone for the posts, everyone has been such a blessing with all the information...all posts welcome.....take care and god bless