Autism

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My lovely boy is 4 and a half and on the ASD pathway. He was completely non verbal until he was nearly 3, then picked up some labelling words. Now, he has hundreds of labelling words and also uses speech to tell me what he wants, for ex, points at the tap and says water when he is thirsty, drags me to the swings and says, swings, higher, when he wants to be pushed. He's absolutely beautiful and I adore him, but he is hard work. Very hyper, can be a flight risk, struggles with transition which causes big tantrums, doesn't really follow instructions, not toilet trained. He's not interested in other children and acts like they are invisible. He does enjoy being with his sister, though. I should add that he is a good sleeper, no physical problems, has fun at nursery, plays well with toys and enjoys acting out scenes. Loves pirates, pretending to be a pirate, cars, monsters. 😊 I know that nobody can really say, but I wish I could know what level of autism my son has. It is so hard. Any positive stories greatly appreciated. Thanks, R. X

My DS is 4 (nearly 5) and like your DS had very no speech up until around 3-4 months ago. Now he can speak in small sentences and tell us what he wants and needs. He is toilet trained in number 1’s (a few accidents here and there) but still has number 2’s in his pants. Your DS will eventually get there, if he’s like mine he’ll just do it one day and carry it on. There was a time I couldn’t take him to the shop as the meltdown was just too extreme. Now depending on his mood will go into a shop. We use ALOT of now and next. It honestly is the one thing that works for us the best. He even uses it himself, for example ‘now, teeth, next bedtime’ so he knows exactly what we do now and what we do next

Hi, thanks for your response 😊 I will definitely look in to the now and next boards as that could be really helpful for my son. Can I also ask if your boy is/was delayed in receptive language? Will be be attending mainstream/specialist school? I've managed to defer L for a year as we are in Scotland x

Sorry it is me again, I was logged in under a different email address.

The now and next board has been an absolute god send and I shout about it from the roof tops! I really hope it works for him.

He was diagnosed with global delay as well as autism. His understanding for a long time was terrible. It’s only been in recent months that I can ask him to get his coat, grab the tv remote etc and he will.

He has been accepted into a mainstream school with an ehcp in place. If you had asked me last year, I would 100% of deferred him a year. But he’s come on leaps and bounds. He is also a September child so would be 6 if I held him back

Hi OP you might find some positivity and helpful ideas on ASMU_Sendplight Twitter feed. Sending you good vibes.

It may not be ASD potentially.

A friend's daughter was non verbal until 5, not toilet trained at school, meltdowns etc...

They diagnosed ASD at 5. She now attends mainstream, doing well academically with no apparent issues remaining. Friend was then told it was actually language disorder and it was the communication difficulties that caused the other behaviours. As she matured her language caught up and she grew out of it.

Thanks everyone x

Autistic giels mask really well :)