Health vistr thinks he's autistic what now?

[dukester]

My ds is 3 years old and the nusery staff have been concerned over his devlopment, the nuserys senco even agreed with me when i said I think hes autistic. So yesterday we went to see the health vistor and she said unoffically that she thinks hes on the spectrum too. So we have been reffered to see the peaditrican. So what now That appointment will take a while to come through, so in the mean time what should I be doing for him my friend said dont try and stop him spiining thimgs because it calms him down. where as the health vistor says distract him. What do you guys think. I would be gratefull for any help or advice with this because I havent a clue.

[ladygrinningsoul]

This is a useful book of ideas for engaging him in play, wherever on the spectrum he is (not clear from your post).

[dukester]

Hi he can talk only says two words at a time though, he has no eye contact, hand flaps spins and does some tip toe walking,cant voluntarily interact with other children either.

[ladygrinningsoul]

Is he on the waiting list for speech therapy? My DS (now 3.10), who has high functioning autism and was barely stringing two words together this time last year, got a referral via the senco at his nursery involving the district senco. It's worth pushing for that ASAP. We got on a free course for parents where we learned strategies to encourage him to talk - it was called "More Than Words". There is a very expensive but very worthwhile book which covers the same material - look at www.hanen.org and follow the links for parents and resources.

[aloha]

I recently watched a video made by a fabulous autistic teenager Rory Hoy, who was a non verbal toddler,. He is now very articulate and interesting and he asks parents not to prevent their child from 'stimming' (doing repetitive calming actions) as it is so important to autistic children. This is the boy www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2006/02/08/roryandautism_feature.shtml

[aloha]

Fascinating article abou Rory. My own ds is five with Aspergers btw.
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=105&ArticleID=1732161

[TotalChaos]

the NAS website has useful info about encouraging communication with kids with ASD (if you look under information shortcuts for parents). the info seems to be taken from the Hanen books. I agree with LGS about trying to find a Hanen course or book. Surestart centres often run some sort of Hanen course (not usually one that is ASD specific though).

in terms of language - make your speech simple and very repetitive, if he's at two word level, try to feed him sentences at three word level, to give him something realistic to aim for - so if he says "throw ball" you say "mummy throw ball" etc.

My DS is 3.5, sounds rather similar to yours.

[TotalChaos]

if SALT waiting list is very long, might be worth getting private SALT advice (full assessment and report with recommendations for work for you to do at home with him is likely to cost about £150)

[TotalChaos]

my gut feeling about stimming - if it's not harming anyone, then let him spend some time doing it, but obviously it's best if he's not doing it for absolutely hours every day. you will know better than us or your HV how feasible distraction can be.

[aloha]

ABA programmes have been shown to be very helpful for young autistic children - try doing a search on ABA in Special Needs. I don't really know anything about it, but there are experts on MN.

[aloha]

HVs & other health professionals always say things like 'distract him' or 'encourage him to do X', which makes me think they have never met an autistic person!

[TotalChaos]

the other stock HV cure all is "go to more toddler groups" they seem to think it's the best remedy for PND, ASD and speech problems /cynic.

[TotalChaos]

www.nas.org.uk/nas/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1070

link to the NAS page with lots of useful info for parents

[coppertop]

I'm sure the HV meant well but I'm not sure that telling you to distract ds will be all that useful to you.

I have 2 boys with autism (now aged 4yrs and 7yrs). Generally the things that have helped most have been:

• Keep your language very simple (as TC suggested). Things like " go park" rather than "We're going to the park". My 2 would either ignore longer sentences, not understand them at all, or just latch on to the words that they understood. You'll feel a bit self-conscious at first but it will soon pass.
  
  
• Get a trampoline. We have one of those small ones with a handle on it. I found that they really helped to calm my boys down.
  
  
• Use anything that interests him. Somewhere in the MN archives is a thread I started about how ds2 had communicated with me for the very first time, thanks to a home-made 'spinner' made from a circle of card with a spiral drawn on it. Ds2 loved watching it spin and one day said "Round!", meaning spin it round. If your ds has anything he particularly likes then you might be able to use it to your advantage.
  
  
• Use visual aids wherever possible. I could say the same thing over and over to my 2 and they wouldn't 'get' it. If I showed them a picture or symbol of it then it seemed to just click into place for them.
  
  Has the SENCO given you any suggestions or ideas? What will they be doing to help at nursery?

[dukester]

Thanks for all the advice. He is going on to the special needs action plus in september and the nusery will hopefully recieve funding for an extra memeber of staff, to support ds. I have already referred him to speech therapy and he has an appointment in september(Yay).Thanks for the advice regarding the stimming it did seem a bit mean to stop him from doing something he loves so much.They havent disscussed the strageys they are going to use yet. He dosent start back there till september.( And I was in denile till july that there was anything wrong with him)Has anyone tried these diets that I have seen on the net are they any good? Also what actually happens when he sees the paeditricain.

[dukester]

Cooppertop,ladygrinningsoul,aloha and total chaos Hope you dont mind me asking but do your children attend mainstream school or nurseries and what support did your children recieve?

[ladygrinningsoul]

My DS is at a Montessori where he gets a bit of extra attention. They have applied for funding for some 1 to 1 for him to support him in free play (prompt him in what to say/do to join in the group imaginative play, which he is keen to do). He's also having an IEP drawn up, in conjunction with the area senco. I decided not to send him to a state preschool, firstly because of the jump to the huge class size and secondly because of his very uneven development - he is way ahead with reading and maths. At the Montessori he gets the opportunity to pursue those interests. I am also very happy with the nursery because of the positive attitude of the staff to my DS.

I am not sure what we are going to do about school (he'll be going in September 2008). He has a place at a private boys' school (which has a reputation for being good with clever weirdos), but whether they will be able to cater for him properly depends on how he develops over the next few months. In January we have a meeting with the paed who did the diagnosis to discuss possibly applying for a statement, although she seemed to think he was too high functioning to need one. (The SALT thought he was too high functioning to qualify for one even though he would struggle without). I am very unhappy at the idea of sending him to a mainstream state school without a statement (heard too many horror stories).

[aloha]

My ds is in mainstream, but struggling atm. Have just been turned down for statutory assessment for a statement, but will be appealing. It's a total PIA.

[coppertop]

Ds1 is at a mainstream primary school. When he was in Reception he had 1:1 help for a few hours each week, but hasn't really needed an LSA since then. He is on School Action Plus and has an IEP each term. He also does exercises to help with sensory integration, up to 5 times a week. He's starting in Yr3 next month.

Ds2 has just finished his time at a mainstream pre-school. They were given extra funding to put towards providing another member of staff. He didn't need full 1:1 but it meant that if he needed time away from everything then someone was always available to take him and help calm him down. He also did some 1:1 activities as part of his IEP targets. He starts at ds1's school next month with no 1:1, due to funding changes. If the teachers follow the advice of the lovely SENCO and autism outreach teacher then things should work out well. If not then I suspect it could be an interesting time for them.

[Reallytired]

Health visitors and nursery nurses are not in a position to diagnose autism. Autism requires input from several health professionals to diagnose. We were in a similar situation when my son was three and it turned out he was deaf.

I would ask your health visitor to refer you to audiology as SALT. Its worth ruling out simple things like deafness or eye sight problems. My son's speech, behaviour and social improved dramatially once the hearing problems were sorted.

I hope your lo isn't autisic.

[dukester]

Really tired, he has worn glassess for the past 8 months and they have made no diffrence to his progress( he takes them off and spins them round lasso style) and I apprecate your tip about getting his hearing tested too I will get on to that first thing in the morning. I also realise that the hV and the senco arent qaulified to diagnose him. I am just terrified that if I don't act now it will really effect his development as paed appointments take a long time to come through .He has his first speech therapy screening in september, But I am tempted to get my friend who is SALT to meet him first as a second opinon wouldnt harm would it.

[TotalChaos]

Hi again Dukester. Agree that your DS should have a hearing test, to exclude that as a reason for speech problems.

Would say a wholehearted YES to collaring your SALT friend for advice - (assuming that she is used to dealing with young children with communication problems!), as she can advise on stuff to work on with him while you aqre on waiting list.

DS is at private but mainstream nursery- so gets more 1 to 1 than he would in state system. Staff are very kind and patient with him, but extremely laissez faire with paperwork/procedure. They did have the nous to get early years special needs adviser in, but that achieved squat - as private salt had provided some written instructions for working with S, the early years lady and nursery seemed to feel that nothing more was required of them. I am very worried about DS starting mainstream school - am hoping he can get into a language unit.

[spacegirl]

Dukester. Lots of empathy. My DS2 is 3.5 (prob ASD) and going to MS nursery in September. It is all still very new for me and a bit of a shock, lots to take in. In fact I am going to nab a lot of the advice that has been given to you as I am still feeling like a new girl.

DS got referred to paed by SALT. Saw him first in June. Don't know if it helps but... He asked me lots of questions about development and stuff he does , how he is with others. He also made an observation of him, didn't help that he was under my chair pressing a button repetitively on a baby toy. Said he would need 1-1 referred him to early years. Then did a home visit and did a Ruth Griffiths test to look at his non verbal abilities. I got letters and reports from both. I am getting referred to OT for sensory stuff, and still seeing SALT also he has recommended seeing a ASD specialist salt. Also am seeing the SN HV at end of month who hopefully is much more realistic than my scary hv. He is having assessments in nursery in Sep/oct.

All the best, grab what help you can. MN mums know loads of stuff, found it really supportive!

[dukester]

Hi toatl chaos My SALT friend is very expericened she currently works as part of a screening team that give diagnosis for children like my DS she was the one who pushed me when I expressed my concerns and said why didnt you come to me sooner.

By the way His sister who starts mainstream school in september, has some issues too( still undiagniosed seeing pead in september) and she is on the action plus register already.Well the nursery was awarded transition money to help DD make a smooth transition to school. Which invoved a meeting with the school,nursery and early years area senco and her teacher and the headmistress, Where we all sat around and disscussed her issues. Followed by lots of extra vists to the school and the teacher becoming of aware of the need for a wrist strap when they go to church Why don't you ask the early years senco about this its worth a try.

[dukester]

Hi spacegirl sounds like your getting some good help there. What does the ruth Griffens test involve.
When the health vistor watched my son he began to line up bricks and count them, Which he has never done before. What where the main symptons with your son.

[spacegirl]

Was a bit unclear about Ruth Griffiths before other than knowing from MN nothing scary and a tool for development particularly in non verbal areas. It was nothing stressful (minus meltdown at being unable to watch fave video) took about an 1 1/2 hr. The paed had a load of toys and bits and bobs and assesses development and asks a few questions. Looked at motor skills, personal and social, hearing and speech, performance, practical reasoning (ds not enough language for this. Also they have a chance to observe them. They then give a report with a score that is based in chronolgical months. For example my DS is a good 15 months behind on hearing, speech and personal social. I have heard that the test is based on verbal skills so harder for those that struggle with those skills.

Symptoms - I don't know lots of things really. Putting stuff in mouth, lots of extreme tantrums don't always know what they are for, a lot of difficulty with receptive language, poor speech, tunes out in his own world a lot, sensory issues, doesn't play with other children in nursery or acknowledge them, doesn't adapt well to change, doesn't respond to praise, doesn't like comfort, very limited imaginary play (copies). Does have really good eye contact sometimes and smiles and laughs a lot. Only lines stuff up at speech therapy or with medical professionals! He likes spinning but on swing in garden, seems to need to be upside down a lot - spends hours. At home and with close friends and family he does seem to have children and adults that he is really affectionate with. However, tends to scream at and prod them a lot. So not clear cut. In fact I don't know if he is ASD it is a suprise because of the positives I mentioned. Until recently I thought it was just poor speech and he would catch up. Also thought his sensory issues were just his way of compensating for that. Shows how much I know! Because it is not clear cut they are assessing him in lots of areas. State nursery will be a big test as he is in small private nursery at moment. took him months to settle in but now OK there just in his own world.