Autism Signs - Autism Spectrum Message Board

mama-d · 02-10-2005, 09:13 PM

What were the first signs that made you think Autism? Was it a delay in speech, repetion of activities, or behavioral problems, or other? TIA.

Al & Matt's Mom · 02-11-2005, 05:36 AM

First real sign was speech loss, although we didn't realize it was that at the time. We just thought he stopped progressing and it wasn't until after the evaluation that we realized how much speech had disappeared. Also, he had pica since he could walk, but then so did my neighbor's NT son.

sarahrose · 02-11-2005, 07:47 AM

Delayed speech, hand flapping, hitting himself, very poor eye contact, pacing back and forth, screaming constantly, the EEEEEE thing, he still does that too, lol. As soon as we realized something was very wrong the school system came in to help us figure it out, we then got him diagnosed by a shrink. there are many signs and they all vary according to the child, but those were just some of my sons. good luck to you!!

jeffreys mom · 02-11-2005, 06:28 PM

My son is not diagnosed but I suspect he will be with PDD/NOS after his appointment with Developmental Medicine at Childrens Hospital. He cried a lot as an infant and was inconsoleable. It crossed my mind briefly in his infancy because he rarely smiled when you spoke to him and wasn't much of a cooer. He also never looked at you when you called his name and did some finger flicking. At 12 mos. he got one ear infection after another so I wasn't sure if he was just unhappy because he was not feeling well and maybe not hearing me. At 15 months when language wasn't progressing either I was finally willing to think there may be a problem and mentioned my concerns to his pediatrician. He went for hearing test ( abr sedated ) and passed so it was clear that he could hear me. I got involved with early intervention and researched the internet for info. When he was assessed by early intervention the Occupational Therapist said she wouldn't be surprised if he is diagnosed PDD/NOS. I had researched about the GF/CF diet and decided to try it. He is currently off all dairy and has improved tremendously. He still shows some charactaristics : he is just 2 though.... He flaps, his eye contact is improved but could be better, his receptive language is behind which worries me, his expressive is coming along but he is delayed, and he has low muscle tone. Obviously I don't want him to be diagnosed, but if it is actually the case, I want to know for sure and just look ahead. This teetering back and forth is driving me crazy. Thanks for listening and good luck to you.

sarahrose · 02-11-2005, 06:59 PM

Come to think of it, Sammy cried alot as an infant as well, we used to call him the town cryer. We later figured out it was a milk allergy causing all the excess crying and bowel problems, he also had TERRIBLE eczema. It's funny when you look back on it all now, all the signs were there, but we were new parents, and though we were overreacting.