Let me preface by saying ds was a preemie (33.2 wks gestation). He was first evaluated at 20 mos. (now 23 mos) for the typical red flags (poor, fleeting eye contact, virtually no speech, no pointing, waving, never brought/showed me anything, very disinterested in/poor interaction with others, etc. etc.). Only 3 mos. later with EI and ST started immeiately after being evaluated, here are the changes...

about 30 words (not articulated correctly but used appropriately and pretty consistently), and lots and lots of babbling, great eye contact (about 90% of the time), looks to see my reaction when he does something, brings/shows me things constantly, interested in being around/interacting with others, great pretend play, great immitation, no stimming, no sensoring issues, starting to point, starting to wave bye-bye (most of the time), knows tons of animal sounds, can identify most of his body parts (points to them and says them), great with floor time and almost all activities (can sit and play for a long time), easily diverted when any form of tantrum starts from not getting his way.

I would say he's probably about 5-7 mos. behind on a few things typical of his age and a few months behind on most others, but he seems to be 'catching up'. His therapists are thrilled (and tell me so over and over again)...one even shed a tear last week when she saw him self-correct during a matching game and she has started to film him to show the director of the program his progress. They have actually told me that he is progressing a lot faster that what they typically see.

Let me say that in no way am I in denial about a possible developmental issue with ds; ever since ASD was mentioned, I have accepted that possibility. But with all of these 'positives' taking place so quickly, I can't help but be frustrated with a possible diagnosis of ASD. I guess my question is this...Let's say that ds takes a year or more to catch up, but the skills everyone is concerned about do eventually appear, isn't that all that matters?

Thanks, in advance for any feedback!

heres the thing about an ASD label... they are not always perminant. if a year later he is doing exactly what every other kid his age... (neurotypical kids... cause those are the only kids that count when statistics apply) the label will come off. its not like an MR label that you would have to battle to have removed. its expected if children on the spectrum make improvements that their diagnosis will change in severity. my son is severe and is staying severe:) but i have a friend who's son was diagnosed and by the age of 5 he was taken right off the spectrum.

if he has ASD he sounds like it could be pretty mild if he is making these kind of leaps. and he might just be delayed because most preemies have some sort of small delays.

dont sweat the label IF! they want to use it because here is a little secret, labels change, funding doesnt:) they are more likely to fund for an autism label and get you tons of services if he still needs them at school age than they will for a vague developmental delay diagnosis. and as he gets older the funding gets tighter. so, IF! they want to use it for now let them. if he gets the point where it doesnt apply and he doesnt need the services then have him re-evaluated and have it removed:)

in all reality though it is probably a non issue:) sounds like he will be fine before school even hits:) Great news for you guys! wonderful that he is progressing so well:)

It is possible that your son has a higher functioning form of Autism known as Aspergers as well. I have seen many a family with a child who received a full autistic label only to see that label disappear a year or two later and Aspergers diagnosed instead. If his social functioning is impaired he may not have enough traits to even be labeled with any form of ASD but would instead carry the label of PDD NOS. That stands for Pervasive Developmental Delay, Not otherwise specified. He may not even have any traits after the right interventions you are doing with him and lose the ASD label all together. Doctors are usually hesitant to affix a label to any child, especially ASD, for a life time. Time and interventions can make all the difference in the world for some ASD kids.

Because he is so young you may not know the full extent of his social functioning until he is in school full time. ASD is a very wide spectrum. My daughter is extremely high functioning and is actually gifted verbally. However her nonverbal development is severely delayed along with her ability to transfer previously learned information to a new or novel situations

Has he ever been tested for a Central Auditory Processing Disorder. This is something that is quite common in ADHD/ADD, ASD kids. For more information check out CAPD on google.

Good luck :angel:

Tammy
aka CanadianMom

Thank you sooo much for your posts. They are very encouraging. I think ds will be getting a 'formal' diagnosis in the next few months, so we'll just have to wait and see what they say. In the meantime, we will just continue to be thrilled with all of his accomplishments and hope for a positive outcome. Whatever the prognosis, I know we'll be ok. I appreciate this board so much and the support and hope it has given me and my family.