Autism

[QueenBhannae]

Hello all, I don't get much time on here these days but would greatly appreciate any feedback on my situation and will reply as soon as possible

My son had his developmental check last week referred by his usual paed to a specalist paed.Concerns were raised by Nursery and my family regarding his development.
During the consultation it was said that Autism (mid spectrum) was most likely and they set in motion the tools fr him to get one on one help at nursery (he is 2years 9mths) and to return for a consult in 6mths.

Is he autistic or might they change their minds seeing as it did not feel like a formal diagnosis? What 'evidence' should I be collating for my next consultation?

I have asked nursery to do frequent evaluations of him,which I will file, until he gets his help in place and have written down all the things I have noticed.

Typical examples of what are on my list are

lining up cars,
own language,
smelling and licking of cars,
follows lines/paths/gravel etc to completion and becomes distressed if interrupted(his little legs went round a full size football pitch tracing all the lines the other week ,
wants same dvd at bedtime,
injures self accidentally and does not react to it,
follows other children round but does not initiate or join in with group play,
very loud,
gets very distressed if cannot relay his needs eg:drink /snack,
drools and gazes past you,
ignores his name being called,
no solid bowel movements,
does not care if he is soiled/wet and does not alert anyone to this,
puts jigsaws and sorters back in boxes rather than play with them,
hardly cries except for tantrums,
does not tolerate being naked well,
started talking at 18mths then lost the words he knew and only began again at 2yrs,
repeats anything that is said loudly/shouted,
if he is unsure of something/someone he puts his thumb up like a defence mechanism almost,
is petrified of things on people that are 'different' like my mums mole and my dads finger that is missing its tip,
has hardly any speech and one word/two words together max...

He is however quite affectionate to immediate family and will maintain eye contact.

I could probably go on abut my mind is a bitnumb atm.
These things individually I can equate to being NT behaviour but together?But how long is it until a formal diagnosis is made? Does anyone with more firtshand experience think autism is not a possibility in this case?

If he is diagnosed what kind of things should I be doing to help him and what help will he recieve?

Thanks

[PeachyWontLieToYou]

hi

firstly hugs- it hurts when they asd, bt you do adjust.

yes diagnosis can change, my son's (ds3, ds1 diagnosed for several years now) diagnosis has been removed and reinbnstated a few times. and a diagnosois that stays can improve massively- at 2 it's fairly impossible to make much in the way of long term predictions, though yurt on here is the expert, i'm a sort of semi educated also ran lol.

a lot of what you say is asd typical, that means nothing for someone who doesnt know him like me. its down to you and the paed.

as for help, theres lots you can do. confidence is important so extra love and praise i think. also exposure to social situations, there is also the option of therapy- eg www.bibic.org.uk, and your paed may be able to refer to portage etc. have a look at the national autistc society webpahe for info.

also, for 1-1 look at the webpage for ipsea. what you need is a formal document called a statement.

[PeachyWontLieToYou]

ps sorry for typing, feeding ds4 as well.

[fannysparkle]

IME when i first saw Pead and she mentioned ASD i didn't take it for granted she was right or that it was a dx. But i waited for the CDC assessment which you should be offered, if you are in uk.
I wouldn't dismiss it however as she wouldn't mention it if she wasn't fairly sure, have they not told you what the next step for you is?

Your list does seem to point to ASD but i am not an expert so you need to get an assessment sorted for your ds. As for what you should do to help him, i can't really comment as i'm just at the beginning, only dx last week but i can tell you that you seem to be doing fine, you have noticed and voiced your concerns.

I'm sure someone else more qualified will answer you soon. HTH

[QueenBhannae]

Thanks to both of you for replying.
What is a CDc assessment please? I was told I would see the paed who I saw this last time who made the semi diagnosis in 6 mths. He specialises in development.
Sorry if that did not make sense lol I think I need my bed

[PeachyWontLieToYou]

it depends where you live- here its just paed, she will look at eg salt reports, but we dont have a cdc (child development centre i think). we're near newport in s. wales.

[QueenBhannae]

Oh I see , thanks peachy.
Yes the appointment I had with the paed was through our child delelopment centre then as I was referred to them from the hospital paed.
I cannot bear waiting 6mths as I feel a bit on hold if that makes sense?
Im off for a bath and bed but thanks again for your replies.

[fannysparkle]

Yes that's right Child Development Centre but it seems not everywhere offers it. I do know that only a Pead can dx but did she actually say she was giving you a dx? Ds pead didn't first time she mentioned it, you should check on that. Good luck

[PeachyWontLieToYou]

tbh 6 months is good going, here and many places salt aone can take over a year

[amber32002]

Can't tell you whether he is or isn't - that's very much up to a specialist to say.

Things that help: Read all you can about autism, from a very reliable source, like the National Autistic Society. Assume that your child is very sensitive to changes, flickering lights, sudden noises, particular smells, tastes and textures. If you're going to change a routine, find some way to tell them first. If there's not enough language to do that, use pictures to say what will happen next (there's good picture sticker books that can help with this).

Forget about lots of socialisation. It doesn't cure autism. Even as adults we find it impossible to do social things automatically, and it's very, very stressful, as people are continually moving (body language, facial expressions, eye contact etc) and being entirely unpredictable in what they say. We can get good at it, but it takes a very long time. You may find your child is better and more relaxed playing alongside another child rather than 'with' them, or may prefer very routine play rather than improvised play.

Find what they do well. Most children with an ASD have one or more very good abilities, but people get so focused on what they can't do/do differently that they may never realise it. We're specialists, highly sensitive to particular things, but we can't express those things whilst we're worn out with trying to be "just like everyone else" and trying to cope with a world that is way, way too loud, bright and scary.

[PeachyWontLieToYou]

nothing cures asd amber, but for children gigher on the scale especially exposure can help them learn the tricks to deal with social situations- indeed, for those able, learning is the key, even if step by step through social stories etc. if you have a checklist in your head saying 'enter room, make eye contact with familiar person(another thing some hfa kids can learn to fake, and some asd kids have), approach said person, smile, say hello...' it can really help

[CreativeJo]

Hiya

My son was flagged up as potentially ASD soem months ago because initially he has no language skil (he is almost 3)

I have fought long and hard to prove that he is eccentris and not Autistic and cannot beleive how hard I have had to work to prove I am mum to an unnusual toddler and not an autistic child.

My kid is grat at play but does all the lining up, spooked out stuff and is NOT autistic (and has no language)Have a read of the Einstein Theory and see if it fits!

[cyberseraphim]

From the list you've given, I can understand why concerns were raised. However the only point that really stands out as being a strong indicator of ASD is ignoring his name. Is this pervasive? When my son was being assessed for autism, we had to fill out a (2 hour long!) questionnaire on a computer. The questions focussed mainly on areas you've mentioned, the secondary characteristics of autism and almost none on the 3 core deficits (language,social interaction and imagination). The result according to the questionnaire was that he was 100% not autistic. However he was diagnosed autistic a month later on the basis that he has impairments in the 3 core areas. Are your son's few words communicative? Does he understand waving hello/bye bye? Does he spontaneously copy your actions - if you clap hands, will he copy?