Autism evaluation soon - Autism Spectrum Message Board

Chases Mom · 10-11-2004, 11:07 PM

Hi..I'm new here, but I've been browsing through the messages.
I have a just turned 3 yr. old son who is on a waiting list for an autism evaluation. In the mean time we have him in a special education program through the school district and we take him to OT once a week. I just want to find a common ground with other parents out there going through this. I originally was worried he had hearing problems when he was about 2 1/2. When he babbled he sounded like a deaf child. No words, hollow sounding speech..I took him to a developmental pediatrician who suggested the "a" word. In my state, a psychologist has to give the diagnosis,and thats what we're on the waiting list for. Can anyone out there tell me what it's like with an older child with autism? I know like a lot of things in life, there are tons of variations, but all the information I can find is on toddlers and babies with it...not what these kids are like as they get older.
My son doesn't talk. He likes to line things up.(Which we stop when we catch him!) He drags chairs through the house to climb on to get what he wants instead of asking us.(Which we stop when we catch him!!) He recently started pointing at things that he wants which is a miacle...I'm sure some of you know the communication barriers with autism. Doesn't rock,spin in circles or throws tantrums. You can take him anywhere and put him in a new situation and he adapts. Eye contact is improving , and we're working on small sign language for "more","please", etc. He's not interacting with the other kids at school but he plays right next to them. He doesn't grab things away from others and is very gentle. He means the world to my husband and I. I want to give him every opportunity in life that he deserves!! Can anyone relate? Have any questions? Any feedback? Thanks!!!

lilmermaid · 10-12-2004, 09:37 AM

Hi Chases' Mom. I just started posting here myself. My son will be ten in a little over two months, and so much of what I read about your child reminds me of my son, and how I was feeling when he was 2-3. If you are interested about what my son is like now, check out my "new to this board but not new to Autism" post I made.

I really do understand what you are going through. Hang in there! Take care!

2cutekids · 10-12-2004, 01:08 PM

Your son is still young... I would say... start the gluten dairy free diet... and try DMG. A lot of times that will help with the speech. GO and see a DAN! dr. See what he thinks. I hear that a lot of non-verbal kids will eventually start to talk....(to some extent) as they get older. He may just not find a need to speak yet!

Chases Mom · 10-13-2004, 08:57 PM

What is a DAN! dr? And thank you for the reply!

jacob's mom · 10-14-2004, 12:04 AM

I am new to this website but wanted to hopefully give you some good news.
Your description of your son was similar to my son at that age. We thought he was speech delayed due to the numerous ear infections he had from 3 months to 2 years. At 2 1/2 years of age, he had 9 words and no two-word phrases. He would not ask for anything, he helped himself, and he moved many chairs to get what he was after.

The difference in my son and yours, was Jacob was extremely anxious in any setting that did not involve me, my husband, or my mother-in-law. He never got over separation anxiety the entire time he was in day care. Unfortunately, we did not know why, and his dr did not think anything was wrong. It took us until he was 9 years old, and many many misdiagnosis before we found a "label" that best fit him. At 9, he was dx with HFA with a language receptive and expressive disability. He is also ADHD. He will be 12 years old next month.

Now the good news. From 2nd grade to 5th grade, he was outsourced to a ld classroom for a portion of the day for language, reading and spelling. He was able to spell anything, but he wrote too slow which made it difficult to keep up during spelling tests. This year, he is not resourced. However, if he has trouble, his resource teacher comes to him in the regular classroom. He is making mostly b's, some a's and some c's. He still reads at a 3rd/4th grade level due to the language receptive disability. He has a number of good friends who think he is neat. He is a bit silly, and immature. He has friends spend the night. He spends the night with others. (This is new and great!!!!!) His speech is improving greatly and we are now amazed at some of the conversations he comes up with.

Each year, we see major improvements. So hang in there. Sorry my response was so long.