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I know your all not Doctors but have looked everywhere and as my little girls Nana and hard times for my daughter I wanted to ask if it's possible that her little girl is really sick..you see it took her a long time to develop and now going to turn 3 Oct 1st she cant tell you what she wants she comes to you and takes your hand and you have to try and guess and she will yell at you till you get it right..she doesnt talk on her own but she can resite every movie she has ever watched and comercials on TV..and her temper is getting much worse..like when she wants or doesnt want something..Or her sister is playing with something and she decides she wants it..she can be the most loving child on earth and then she doesnt even want you to touch her at times..and the screaming is out of control..we have appointments set up for doctors but to ease my mind till then maybe needed someone to talk to about this..at this time my daughter and my 2 grandaughters are living in my home and maybe need help on how to deal with her anger most of all..she cant tell you what she wants..if she hurts or where..PLEASE anything could help me out for now..It takes so long to get into these doctors..Thank you So much..

Hi there! I have a 4 yr. old autistic son who exhibited alot of those same behaviors in the beginning. He also couldn't say what he wanted and lead people by the hand. He too had outbursts of anger. He is in pre-k now and doing so much better. When he was 3 he started receiving early intervention services which included occupational therapy (he has alot of sensory issues) and speech. Most of his frustration stemmed from being unable to express his needs. Once he started to develop his language this got much better. Although he can't have a full on conversation with you he can say what he needs now. Like your granddaughter he loves to recite movies word for word. He gets alot of enjoyment from this. Have you talked with her pediatrician about autism? If not, that is where I would start and then get her started with early intervention services. Good luck to you and I hope you get the answers you need!

You might try to use pictures of the things she asks for the most, put them on a board and point to them to see if she can let you know that way, maybe then she will learn to point to what she wants herself.
You should call the board of education and have them evaluate her for the early childhood program, they should be able to get her in pretty quickly. My son started a playgroup at 2 1/2 that help them and teach signs for things they want also, here it was the D R Lamb program, but they should have something like that there also.

Jakey
Thank you so much it's nice to see that I'm not thinking anything is wrong and there really is and nice to know the sooner we get her in the better it will be..I think this will be less stressful on everybody once we fine out..Thank you so much for your input

PDDmother
Thank you so much we will get right on everything come monday norning..its so hard when you know your doing everything right and something is still wrong..she can say her ABC's better then my 4 yr old grandaughter and sing songs and cout to 14 and do it back wards but cant tell you anything at all..shes my sweetheart girl and I only want the best for her..Thanks for your input..

Wow, she sounds just like my two older daughters at that age. My daughter knew her alphabet when she was 18 months old, she could recite her address and phone number at 2 years old, and could count really early on. She could memorize songs, books, and movies, but could not carry on a conversation. She had some other behaviors going on such as hand flapping and toe walking, but I had no idea those things could be seen with autism. She was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder at the age of 6. I actually have four children, 3 with an autism spectrum disorder, and 1 neurotypical child. My 7 year old and 6 year old daughter both have PDD-NOS, and my 2 year old son also has PDD-NOS. I also have a 3 year old neurotypical child. The behaviors you are explaining sound very much like the meltdowns that my children have. I know how hard it is when you are concerned something is wrong, but do not have that official diagnosis, and have to wait so long to get one. I would suggest doing some reading. A good start for you would be a book by Nancy Wiseman called "Could it be Autism?" It covers autism, but it also covers other developmental delays as well. Also, if you do a little searching around the Internet I'm sure you can find a PDD questionaire that may let you know if you are on the right track. I hope some of this info is helpful to you, and if I can help on answering any questions for you or your daughter, please feel free to ask.

-Steph

Michigan;

Your post sounds a lot like my son was when he was younger. He will be four in November and now has full language and most times seems like a typical kid. He didn't say mom or have a name for anyone in the family until he was over 2 1/2 and used to pull me around and push my hand in the direction of what he wanted. Now he talks so much.... He is always making random comments about things he sees or hears. This is very recent and sooo appreciated because I didn't know if it would ever come.

Autism isn't what I thought it was, but I've resigned myself to the fact that my son does have a touch of it. I wanted to deny ( hope it would go away )
but I realize it doesn't go away, it does however have lots of changes as they grow and develop. It's constant redirection and ignoring of the tantrum like behaviors, but it is soooo rewarding to see them accomplish new skills.

Early Intervention and as many services as you can possibly get before the child turns 6 will give the best prognosis. My goal is for my son to be indistiguishable from his peers by the time he enters kindergarden. At this point I'm starting to think it's with in reach.

He is now three and has two more years of preschool which he is in an integrated model with many typical peers. He receives 10 hours of 1:1 ABA therapy ( which has been intrumental to his success) in my home and I take him twice a week to Occupational Therapy for strengthening and sensory needs. He is doing wonderfully.

It seems like doom and gloom when you first get on this road, but the key is to put those emotions aside and focus on being proactive and getting any and all services through your local Early Intervention such as Speech therapy, OT, an Integrated playgroup, and once you get an official diagnosis, then as many hours of ABA and Floortime as you can stand.

When my son was 2 1/2 he was getting 25 hours of the above mentioned combination. Each therapy is valuable and but I found the intensive ABA therapy the most effective.

If I can answer more specific questions, please feel free to post them. Remember, the key to succuss is not to let the doom and gloom consume you and to be as proactive as possible. Start by calling Early Intervention then see a Developmental Pediatrician ASAP if you haven't already done so. I'm sorry for rambling on.

Good Luck

In a way, your kids were a lot like I was. I did well in the academic areas throughout my schooling, but was either unwilling or unable to talk about emotional issues.