Hey everyone

Just looking into what others with experience of autistic children think, bear with me it might be long.

My son is about to turn 4, at around 19 months he started to go backwards, things he had learnt he could no longer do. So we took him to dr after dr and all said at this age it was normal, this i didnt believe, so any way we let it go. Well then a few months later i was having health concerns and the public health nurse came out to visit, she saw my sons behaviour and wanted to do an evaluation on him. So she completed it and then we had the early childhhod team come in and do an evaluation and although he was behind slightly it wasnt enough to qualify for services. Well about 4 months after that we took him to our new PCP and explained the problems such as head banging, isolating himself, not talking and he refered us to a specialist. So after 6 months of waiting for an observation he got in by the time he had developed obsessions over cleaning and smelling everything. He still wasnt talking, he was still headbanging and his temper tantrums had got out of control. After the observation we were told that although he has a lot of autistic behaviour he is far to sociable to be autistic but they said he had OCD which was unusual at such a young age. At the same time he was tested for williams syndrome along with allergies and nothing came back. so we got refered back to the early childhood team. Well anyway they did another evaluation and they discovered he was now very very behind. At nearly the age of 3 he had speech of a 19 month old, he couldnt follow one step directions, he was still obsessive over things, he didnt respond when asked questions and so on. Well anyway we now have him in special ed and he recieves speech therapy, occupational therapy and hes in a grosse motor programme DAPE. Well after being in school a yr he has made tremendous progress with his speech, hes talking pretty well, i understand him but others still dont, they say its like talking to a deaf child. School want to have him evaluated there in the fall to try and get an educational diagnosis of autisum because they to believe he shows all the signs and he isnt progressing as he should be. He still cannot count to 5, he doesnt know any colours, he cannot focus on a task, he can still only follow one step commands they want him following 2, hes still obsessive over cleaning, he smells everything, he can get into anything such as child locks and safety caps on medicine,we have to be careful, hes been to the ER for swallowing bleach and he likes to eat prescription cream if he gets his hands on it. He gets over emotional to silly or what i think is silly,things like thomas tank engine derailing. His heart races and he panics if he hears tornado sirens, or smoke detector or fire alarms. He repeats things over and over again that he has seen in a movie or in a book. He can memorise things very well, such as the teacher said rhys can recognise all the kids name tags at school along with a few other things. And he comes out with words or phrases out of the blue almost like he cant control himself, like right now he is stuck on saying "cows go moo" yes he is correct and thats a great thing but hes stuck on it. He doesnt like change to routine either, if something gets moved around he will get very upset.

So my question is, do you think this sounds like autisum, after reading up children dont have to be anti-social to be autistic. I was wondering if i should get our PCP to refer him for another medical observation and see if this time round we could get a medical diagnosis before he starts school again in the fall. Im am so confused and frustrated over all the different ideas the drs have came up with and blood test after blood test for him. I just want to get a diagnosis, so we know what we are working with and then we to can read up and learn more so we can try to help him progress.

Well sorry its so long and thanx in advance for any info or insight you can offer me

Take care Donna

Hi Donna; My name is Jean. I have an 8 year old boy who has ASD

I am having a hard time because i get so frustrated I try so hard to help him.

He lacks social skills, some speech delay, is obessed with dinosaurs, and taking anything he can and making a gun out of it. HE is very loving and empthic to me. However he gets frustrated very easliy and tehn tend to hit others. He is in grade 2, should be 3. HE has a teaching ***, and a OT that comes to the school. I need help. HE is the worst eater in the world.
His diet consits of weiners and beans, fries, pizza with only sauce and maybe a peanutbutter sandwhich. HE gets so frustrated so ealy and then explodes.


any advice Jean

Donna,
He seems to have many autistic tendencies. Most people want a diagnosis to get services. I think the level and type of services he is currently getting now would be the same if he had the exact diagnosis of "autism," so I think you are on the right track there. The one thing that you might want to look into is "ABA Therapy." We chose not to use it with our son, but it might work with yours.
Unfortunately a lot of professionals are not willing to give a diagnosis of Autism until a little older, but I think if you at home try to tailor his therapy as if he is you might be more sucessful.
Good luck:wave:

Hey everyone

Just looking into what others with experience of autistic children think, bear with me it might be long.

My son is about to turn 4, at around 19 months he started to go backwards, things he had learnt he could no longer do. So we took him to dr after dr and all said at this age it was normal, this i didnt believe, so any way we let it go. Well then a few months later i was having health concerns and the public health nurse came out to visit, she saw my sons behaviour and wanted to do an evaluation on him. So she completed it and then we had the early childhhod team come in and do an evaluation and although he was behind slightly it wasnt enough to qualify for services. Well about 4 months after that we took him to our new PCP and explained the problems such as head banging, isolating himself, not talking and he refered us to a specialist. So after 6 months of waiting for an observation he got in by the time he had developed obsessions over cleaning and smelling everything. He still wasnt talking, he was still headbanging and his temper tantrums had got out of control. After the observation we were told that although he has a lot of autistic behaviour he is far to sociable to be autistic but they said he had OCD which was unusual at such a young age. At the same time he was tested for williams syndrome along with allergies and nothing came back. so we got refered back to the early childhood team. Well anyway they did another evaluation and they discovered he was now very very behind. At nearly the age of 3 he had speech of a 19 month old, he couldnt follow one step directions, he was still obsessive over things, he didnt respond when asked questions and so on. Well anyway we now have him in special ed and he recieves speech therapy, occupational therapy and hes in a grosse motor programme DAPE. Well after being in school a yr he has made tremendous progress with his speech, hes talking pretty well, i understand him but others still dont, they say its like talking to a deaf child. School want to have him evaluated there in the fall to try and get an educational diagnosis of autisum because they to believe he shows all the signs and he isnt progressing as he should be. He still cannot count to 5, he doesnt know any colours, he cannot focus on a task, he can still only follow one step commands they want him following 2, hes still obsessive over cleaning, he smells everything, he can get into anything such as child locks and safety caps on medicine,we have to be careful, hes been to the ER for swallowing bleach and he likes to eat prescription cream if he gets his hands on it. He gets over emotional to silly or what i think is silly,things like thomas tank engine derailing. His heart races and he panics if he hears tornado sirens, or smoke detector or fire alarms. He repeats things over and over again that he has seen in a movie or in a book. He can memorise things very well, such as the teacher said rhys can recognise all the kids name tags at school along with a few other things. And he comes out with words or phrases out of the blue almost like he cant control himself, like right now he is stuck on saying "cows go moo" yes he is correct and thats a great thing but hes stuck on it. He doesnt like change to routine either, if something gets moved around he will get very upset.

So my question is, do you think this sounds like autisum, after reading up children dont have to be anti-social to be autistic. I was wondering if i should get our PCP to refer him for another medical observation and see if this time round we could get a medical diagnosis before he starts school again in the fall. Im am so confused and frustrated over all the different ideas the drs have came up with and blood test after blood test for him. I just want to get a diagnosis, so we know what we are working with and then we to can read up and learn more so we can try to help him progress.

Well sorry its so long and thanx in advance for any info or insight you can offer me

Take care Donna
I am new here myself, after reading your question I can tell you a little about what is happening to our 3 year old grand daughter. Presently she is attending special ed classes which she finally qualified for starting this January. After discussing her type of behaviors we were directed to a pediatric specialist for autism. Now we are set up for another specialist in the field which is a neurologist specializing in autism. Before her appointment which is due on July 12th, they had her get an EEG done and later they told us a possible MRI. From what I understand, it takes several specialists to really make a good diagnoses and to keep up with the child incase of changes. Many prayers go out to you and your child.