Does this sound like autism to you?? - Autism Spectrum Message Board

keljrich · 06-16-2007, 10:17 PM

Hi, I am a new member as my son was just diagnosed with autism last week. He is 4 1/2. I am still confused though & wonder if this is right. I have suspected it since he was young..never rolling over, walking at 20 months and basically just oblivious to everyone..'cruisy' with no separation anxiety. His speech came along slowly and he uses alot of sounds instead of words..though he can speak pefectly if you ask him to copy you..He has a massive phobia of haircuts to the point where he burst a blood vessell and was fetal and shaking after wards for 1/2 an hour. I cannot dry my hands under the hand dryer in the bathroom and he is terrified of powertools, etc due to the noise. He makes eye contact when he wants to and has a lovely smile most of time (a factor in the reason it has taken so long to get a dx) It is hard for him to understand more than one step instructions and he gets very confused.
He likes to play with young kids and copies..does not initiate this.
He has a moderate delay in his physical with clumsiness. He dribbled excessively until he was 3 1/2. He laughs alot in the night when he wakes??
He is attached to a particular bear to the point of obsession. And he also is a very fussy eater..and obsessed with chocolate cake..fixated on it.
Personal care is a huge issue and he cannot dress himself, flatly refuses to brush his teeth, etc. He acts up big time in public places and screams and carries on and often i dont even know why. I cannot take him to a street parade. He flaps and spins around in a tantrum when he is upset but cannot tell me why.
He does not seem to understand other peoples emotions and does not seem to feel pain if he falls over, etc.
At preschool though he is a perfect angel..maybe the routine?
I am feeling like I might have done him some injustice by pushing for this dx and what if its not right or am I just in denial??
Please be honest with me about what you think because I think once I can accept this and get past it I will be able to help him more effectively.
Sorry this is so long. Would gr8ly appreciate any feed back. Cheers

jeffreys mom · 06-17-2007, 06:00 AM

Alot of what you describe sounds like things my son has done and overcome much of it. He received a diagnosis of PDD-NOS at 27 months and I had a difficult time accepting the diagnosis although I was looking for an explanation and some validation in my thoughts that he was different.

I quickly changed my thought process to learning as much as I could about Autism intervention strategies and today he is in a really good place. It's alot of work for the family and the child in particular but with the right therapies in place kids on the spectrum can do very well.

It sounds like your son has some nice verbal skills. I would recommend for you to contact the school district immediately and get a plan in place to address his individual needs. I have found ABA to be the most effective for which the school has provided some therapy but alot of it came at our expense. It also sounds like your son has some sensory issues when you describe the haircuts and public outings. This is something that a good ABA therapist can really help with.

Good Luck