goofysmilegirl

Hello all!

My sister is 12 years old and I think that she may have autism. She has a very hard time relating to me and other family members and it is hard for her to have conversations with me. When I try to talk to her she is very quiet, won't look at me or will only answer in short sentences. She sometimes tells me that she doesn't want to talk and has gotten angry if I try to hug her or speak to her. She can speak fluently but she does have a speech impedement.

She can't take care of her self. At 12 years old me and my other sister could easily get ourselves dressed and groomed properly before school. We could organize ourselves. My sister tries very hard to look "cool". She tries hard to look pretty but for some reason her hair is always messy and her clothes are often wrinkled. She will put things on backward and will get stains on her shirt after eating.She is made fun of for being different. She tries to make friends and loves people but it seems to be very difficult for her to have friends. She also can't take care of other things. She got a pet turtle and she loved it very much. She spent a lot of time taking pictures of it and bragging about it. However, she could not keep it's water clean. She would forget to feed it and would not put on it's heating light sometimes. It hurts me to know that she is trying so hard but can't seem to do what she wants to.

She has trouble at school and it is hell trying to help her with homework. She gets very frustrated when you tell her she did something wrong on her worksheet. She has finally begun to get B's after getting failing grades. However, I believe her teachers are giving her less work than the other students. They have had her in special classes for math only. And they have had special teachers come and help her with certain things. However, the school says that she is not learning disabled and say she is too bright to be in a special education class. (My sister's intelligence is above average)

My sister is very violent at times as well. She has hit me, spit at me, and has thrown objects at me simply because I have told her she needed to help do the dishes or help me with something. She often yells and slams her door. Everyday their is some sort of tantrum.

She stays in her room alone a lot and preoccupies herself with random objects around her room and house. We will tell her to clean her room and an hour later, nothing will be done and she will be sitting down glued to the tv or observing a piece of paper or clothing item. She will just sit thier seemingly in her own world.

I have just found out that as a small child she had developmental issues. She learned to speak much later than me and my sister. Her social skills were very delayed.

My mother feels like she won't get any help with my sister. We feel very scared that my sister will never live a normal life. She has been diagnosed with ADD in the past but I believe that her social issues are much worse than any thing else. And what with her developmental problems early as a child, it may be more than just ADD. I told my mother that we should take her to the doctor and maybe even see a child development specialist. Yet, my mother feels that it wouldn't help.

Any suggestions are welcomed. If you have experience with autism or know a teen/older child with autism please respond. I would like to know if these problems are similar to yours.

Thank you very much