new to the board

[dreco]

Hello everyone, my name is Dave. I'm new to this site. My son Jake, who is 3 yrs old, has scored a 34 on his C.A.R.S. So I have come here for some guidence on the subject of Autism. He has some symptoms of having Autism, although very mild. He does make eye contact with my wife and I all the time, just not to strangers very much. He does "stim" every once in awhile although not as obsessive as some of the examples I've read about it. If I stop him from doing this behavior, he moves on to something else(does not get upset). He is a picky eater, but with bribes and being stern he does eat. I've been told by his day care that he does not bond with the other kids, but I think it's because of his lack of comunication skills. He does talk in 3 to 4 word sentances. The biggest behavior problem he has is "transition".. Basically, I'm wondering if since he has a mild case (or so it seems), if it's feesable to assume that with some outside assistance, he will be able to have a "normal" life, and not need assistance for the rest of his life.

sincerley,
Worried Sick

[shue]

Originally Posted by dreco

Basically, I'm wondering if since he has a mild case (or so it seems), if it's feesable to assume that with some outside assistance, he will be able to have a "normal" life, and not need assistance for the rest of his life.

I totally believe that kids can recover. That's certainly our goal for our daughter. What have you looked into so far? What have you read? And welcome!

[princessputter]

welcome dreco.. even if ur son turns out to be autistic.. the point is we cant predict our kids future.. and i think that what scares us most about being parents... so my advise would be see a developmental ped... put some of ur fears to rest .. and enjoy ur son day by day and best wishes

[dreco]

Thanks for the replies. Just this past week, my son has done a lot of things that I have read that autistic children do not do. Point at things and tell me to look at them. He makes eye contact with people when he says hi to them. He pretends. Allthough he does these things on a real limited level, it has made me pretty optomistic about his condition. We have turned in his C.A.R.S. assesment, and hopefully we will get an apointment soon.

[kitswan]

Hi Dave,

Your son sounds like mine. Riley is 29 months, speaks in single words, or combination jibberish + actual word sentences. He has great eye contact with family, but doesn't always look at others. Plays well, but mostly next to, not together with, other children. Riley always points (because he couldn't speak), and doesn't have any repetitive behaviors other than acting out Wiggles/Blues Clues skits and dance sets. I don't know his exact diagnosis yet--the Ped. Neur said it would be about two weeks before we received it. That should mean I'll have it any day now. For now, he is just saying that Riley shows signs of ASD.

We are in the process of getting him signed up for a combination ABA/Floor Time in-home therapy program, aproximately 3 hours a day for 5 days a week, to start out with. Luckily, in Massachusetts (where we are) this is a free program. I saw the family on Primetime Thursday, and felt so badly that they have to pay such huge amounts of money for what we will be receiving at no cost.

I have just finished reading "Let Me Hear Your Voice", by Cathering Maurice. It came so highly recommended, I couldn't NOT read it! It was a tremendous book, and such an easy read. One of the things that really struck me was that a lot of the principals of ABA can be applied to all of my children--it's a great learning program! Definately read this book.

Good luck to you and your family, stop in here with questions! I have found this board very helpful in the past two weeks, and I'm sure that you will too.

Kit