TCoughlan
02-02-2005, 10:49 PM
My son Ryan was diagnosed with Autism 18 months ago. We had a daughter in July and decided to enroll her in a sibling study program. On our first visit, they screened her for two hours and then told me that the gut feeling was good but she had some concerns, that her speech and fine motor was 2 months behind and she did display a rapid head growth ( 3 cm) since her 4 month checkup. She referred us to Early Intervention to be safe than sorry. Has anyone else had an experience with this? I am beside myself with worry, and hope that I am not overreacting. Ay feedback is appreciated
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BetsyAnn
02-03-2005, 01:03 AM
I don't have any advice. I just wanted you to know that I am so sorry that you are going through this and my thoughts are with you.
TCoughlan
02-03-2005, 08:31 AM
Thank you..I appreciate the thought
Asperger family
02-03-2005, 08:45 PM
Hi, I hope it isnt so, you have your hands full already. I have two children and one is asperger/autistic for sure, the other one makes up for his quietness.The other one is actually showing signs of ADHD right now, but no learning or social problems as of yet(he also went into two years of preschool because of his brother having autism) I think she would be showing more signs of autism right now, other than speech and they would know what to look for. With my other son, he is showing some signs of overactiveness and impulsive behavior, but not autism. Your baby might have some related characteristics, but might not have as many as your other child to where they will impair her ability to function, behavior or be labeled as autism. Siblings are siblings, they do share many traits, autism or not. With her in early intervention and them not being too worried about the autism diagnosis, I would say time is on your side. Just keep her in early intervention so she has a better chance to overcome any challenges she might face in the future, the earlier the better. She seems so young, but even at her age, a child can show symptoms of autism pretty clear. My son did, but I didnt know what to look for when he was younger. My other son does have a few speech problems, but nothing seriously impairing his ability to function or communicate and is very well behaved..he has a lisp,he doesnt studder, but cant get the words out for how fast he thinks them,he overly talks and is pretty obnoxious at times.Just keep doing what your doing, your doing a good job and try not to worry about something that isnt for sure or definant.God Bless *
Annee
02-04-2005, 11:19 AM
My son used to go to a private school for Autistic kids. The school psychologist there once told me that there seemed to be two types of families at that school. One type, where every child in the family had some type of learning or developmental delay, and another type, where there was one Autistic child and all his siblings were honor students. It's an exaggeration for sure, but I have noticed that trend over the years.
Asperger family
02-04-2005, 02:37 PM
Anne I am totally with you on that...that is the same here. I come from a family full of aDHD/asperger/autistic labeled people. NOt only do I find other learning disabilities a trend of families with disabilities, but I have also found that many people will marry a partner who exhibitis traits of disabilities...then it makes me wonder...are we really different..or are we just being noticed. I do believe, personally as I have been consumbed with research and experience from my family and other people in the last 5 years, that these disorders are directly related if not the same kind of disability, but tends to effect people differently and be more severe in different people and/or relatives.I think there should be way more research on this than what there is. I know there are people out there doing what they can, but the government needs to make this one of the top priroties because it would explain alot in society..everything from the way our education system is set up, to the callapse or breakdown of families, to narcissistic traits, sociopathic behaviors, social and society acceptance and awareness, the prison system ratios, drug use and many other things. This is my personal belief. TAke care and God Bless
seesa1
02-05-2005, 02:07 PM
Hi,
I TOTALLY understand how you're feeling. My daughter was 22 months old when my youngest daughter was born. We didn't know at the time that our oldest daughter was PDD-NOS but we did know that she wasn't talking much and that her tantrums were simply OUT OF CONTROL!
When my youngest turned 1, her pediatrician didn't like the fact that she didn't respond to her name very much. We went for a hearing test but that didn't go well as she HATES for people (besides me) to touch her. We had to go to a specialty hospital and have her put under anesthesia so they could do her hearing test. Well, hearing is fine and onto the Neurologist who said she had tendencies but let's see the Psychologist to make sure. By this time, she is 17 months old, not saying a single word, only eating breads and pancakes, and staring off into space a lot. Sure enough, she's diagnosed with Autism and the Psychologist was very concerned about my oldest.
My oldest (now 3 1/2) was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. My youngest is now 22 months old and still no words, very picky eater, flaps her hands a lot but she is very affectionate and loves hugs and kisses.
My 2 girls were both diagnosed with Autism but are TOTALLY DIFFERENT. The oldest hates things to be changed, wants things done the same way every single time, doesn't know how to initiate play with other kids and has a temper like i've never seen before. My youngest is very adaptable to change but doesn't understand anything we say, she's the worst eater i've ever seen, laughs for hours in her crib at night, puts EVERYTHING in her mouth (besides food that is good for her) and uses her peripheral vision to look at things a lot but she seems very happy all the time.
It just amazes me how completely different they are from each other but were diagnosed with the same thing. We now have the youngest in Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy and we work with her a lot at home. The oldest just got approved on Monday for Pre-School through our school district and hopefully will be starting soon.
For the first year of my little ones life, all I did was compare her with her older sister, looking at old pictures, watching old home movies, comparing baby books, just to see if my youngest was developing like my oldest and I completely drove myself nuts! My husband had to sit me down and pound it into my head that they are 2 different people and if something is wrong with them, then we will just do our best to make them as happy and healthy as they can be. From then on, that's all my focus is on. Making them happy because that's all that really matters. There is a reason that we are given what we are given and it will only make all of us stronger.
There is nothing better than seeing your child hit that milestone you've been working on for so long, even if they are a few months or even years behind, there is just no better feeling than seeing them accomplish something that you wandered if they ever would. It just takes a lot of hard work but it's all worth it in the end.
Stay strong and positive and everything will work out for you and your family!
I wish you all the best,
Lisa
I TOTALLY understand how you're feeling. My daughter was 22 months old when my youngest daughter was born. We didn't know at the time that our oldest daughter was PDD-NOS but we did know that she wasn't talking much and that her tantrums were simply OUT OF CONTROL!
When my youngest turned 1, her pediatrician didn't like the fact that she didn't respond to her name very much. We went for a hearing test but that didn't go well as she HATES for people (besides me) to touch her. We had to go to a specialty hospital and have her put under anesthesia so they could do her hearing test. Well, hearing is fine and onto the Neurologist who said she had tendencies but let's see the Psychologist to make sure. By this time, she is 17 months old, not saying a single word, only eating breads and pancakes, and staring off into space a lot. Sure enough, she's diagnosed with Autism and the Psychologist was very concerned about my oldest.
My oldest (now 3 1/2) was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. My youngest is now 22 months old and still no words, very picky eater, flaps her hands a lot but she is very affectionate and loves hugs and kisses.
My 2 girls were both diagnosed with Autism but are TOTALLY DIFFERENT. The oldest hates things to be changed, wants things done the same way every single time, doesn't know how to initiate play with other kids and has a temper like i've never seen before. My youngest is very adaptable to change but doesn't understand anything we say, she's the worst eater i've ever seen, laughs for hours in her crib at night, puts EVERYTHING in her mouth (besides food that is good for her) and uses her peripheral vision to look at things a lot but she seems very happy all the time.
It just amazes me how completely different they are from each other but were diagnosed with the same thing. We now have the youngest in Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy and we work with her a lot at home. The oldest just got approved on Monday for Pre-School through our school district and hopefully will be starting soon.
For the first year of my little ones life, all I did was compare her with her older sister, looking at old pictures, watching old home movies, comparing baby books, just to see if my youngest was developing like my oldest and I completely drove myself nuts! My husband had to sit me down and pound it into my head that they are 2 different people and if something is wrong with them, then we will just do our best to make them as happy and healthy as they can be. From then on, that's all my focus is on. Making them happy because that's all that really matters. There is a reason that we are given what we are given and it will only make all of us stronger.
There is nothing better than seeing your child hit that milestone you've been working on for so long, even if they are a few months or even years behind, there is just no better feeling than seeing them accomplish something that you wandered if they ever would. It just takes a lot of hard work but it's all worth it in the end.
Stay strong and positive and everything will work out for you and your family!
I wish you all the best,
Lisa