Some one please help re: autism 2 year old

[staryeyed]

My son has just turned 2 and me and my partner think he may be autistic.

He doesn't talk and although he has learned some words (maybe 35),he never uses them. When we try to get him to say something or ask him "what's that ?"he gets annoyed and walks away. He does babble away though.
He has pointed, and if asked to chose between two things he is shown, he will point at one. But he doesn't follow a point or point generally for things he wants- he will go and stand by it or use his own made up sign that means he wants something.
He still mouths things in fact he will eat a crayon rather than draw with it.
He very often prefers to play by himself although he does also play with us.
He ignores other children.
He has no imaginative play although I think he was pretending to eat something once.
He does give eye contact to me and my partner I'm not sure about other people.
He very often ignores me when I call him
but he can follow instructions.
He has no sleep problems, eating problems or behavioural problems. Its just really the social aspect.

I am so concerned for him that I cant sleep. We have been to the GP to tell him our concerns and he has referred us to the Developmental paediatrician. I received a letter to say that we will receive an appointment with Speech therapy. I just don't know the processes of these things. Who can diagnose autism? Can the speech therapist diagnose it? Who else should he be referred to? what are the next steps? What should I be doing to help him?

[AxolotlAxolittle]

I found your 2007 post while searching the internet for reassurance about my little boy. He has just turned two and a lot of how you describe your child is very similar. We are waiting for an appointment with the child development team and SALT. Really what I want to know is how is your son doing now? The uncertainty of how are lives will look is so difficult. Was there anything that helped him that I could be doing while we wait for appointments and diagnosis. Thank you

[maggiems]

Staryeyed - although you seem to have been expecting his diagnosis I imagine its still a big shock to hear it. I dont have any advice but if you post on the special needs board there are lots of Mums with autistic children who have tons of advice as well as some Mums in the same situation as you with children who have recently been diagnosed. Everyone says that the waiting for answers is the worst bit and that when you know what you have to deal with, it gets easier.

[staryeyed]

So at the paediatricians office she confirmed what we already knew. He is autistic. She said she wont give a diagnosis just yet but basically that he fits the criteria.

Hopefully that will speed up the Speech and Language therapy.

He has made some improvements since being on the fish oils. I'm not saying it is down to them but it may be.

He now pays much more attention to things
Today he watch me play tea party with dolly and teddy although I think he thought I was nuts. Before he never watched me do anything.

He also watches me while I sing head shoulders knees and toes and even touches his head sometimes.

He has been much more interactive and notices other children sometimes, although he has good days and bad days for that.

He also followed my point as I sang a song to him. I nearly cried - he's never done that before.

Despite these good signs his language seems to be getting worse.

I'm considering the biomed route. Im sure something isn't right with his digestion.

[Chugnuts]

Good luck with the appointment.

[staryeyed]

Going to paediatrician today. I don't really know what to expect. Wish me luck.

[staryeyed]

gess- I would love to know more about ABA. Do you feel you child is really improving? What differences have you seen with it? Is that the only intervention you are using know except SALT?

by the way, Got that chatter matters dvd- was very useful.

[gess]

Have a look on ebay etc as well- often the books etc are sold 2nd hand.

[gess]

I;m glad you have the hearing test referral. That's great


These things do cost a lot- but you get used to sussing out which are worth the money which aren't. We waited 6 years for my son to get hands on free SALT- and he only gets that because he's in a special school, and he doesn't get enough. DS2 waited a year for an assessment (and he should have been highlighted as high risk having an autistic brother). It is generally far far easier to get SALT provision if your child is not autistic. "Complex" children like ds1 are now actually not prioritised for SALT at all locally (as they make progress too slowly).

ABA etc doesn't have to be done expensively- the cost put me off for years- by the time I found out I could do it part time and much more cheaply I had wasted 3 years. Now we run it with social services paying for the therapists via direct payments (we pay for any supervision- although I will probably run it alone/with a lead therapist for the next 6 months- i.e it will be free). I've paid for my own training, but I don't mind that- it's useful skills to have anyway. Others have got local authorities to pay for it (usually that requires a trip to tribunal).

Good luck with the assessments etc, but I would say don't expect to be provided with much from your local authority. Some areas are getting better- ours is about to introduce 15 hours a week of ABA as a pilot for selected children- it remains to be seen what the quality of the provision is like (I have some doubts- but hope they do get it right).

[staryeyed]

Thanks clazzer that would be great if you could pass on her details. Hopefully the NHS one wont take too long.

[clazzer]

Hi I'm in a similar position to you with my ds2. Although I don't think his problem is ASD I have serious concerns about his behaviour and he also has a speech and comprehension delay. We have speech therapy through the NHS weekly and that was arranged within about 6 weeks of my first seeing my health visitor to voice my concerns. I have a lot of confidence in the SALT we see and he is making some progress albeit slowly. I just wanted to reassure you that it is possible to get the interventions your son needs through the NHS and you may not have to wait very long at all. I also live in North London and have been told of an excellent private SALT in the Finchley area if you decide to go down that road. I'll get her details tomorrow and post them. Good luck

[staryeyed]

Well went to health visitor today. She has same concerns as we do. Couldn't get him to engage at all, let alone speak.

Good news is she is booking him in for a hearing test -urgently and also trying to push him up in the queue for Speech and language therapy.

I'm getting really fed up with how much all the resources cost. Speech and Language therapy, ABA/ RDI DVDs, and RDI course. Its enough to break the bank. Some of the prices are shocking I knew that these things are expensive but I couldn't pay some of them with out feeling ripped off. I just feeling like there are vultures ready to play on your fear and take your money. No offence intended to some SALTS because I know you are qualified and charge reasonable rates. Just feeling annoyed by it all.

[staryeyed]

Thanks gess you are a star!!


Justaboutmanaging.-I really hope that you are right but I just feel like I should get things started incase it is. I cant do nothing.

[gess]

here's the PLAY project . The CD is really worth getting- it kind of teaches Floortime, which is probably the easiest thing to do at home without supervision. It won't do any harm if your child is completely normally developing either- just gives ways to play with a hard to engage child. There's nothing more soul destroying than struggling to hold a child's attention.

Did you do the CHAT test btw, it's only a screening tool, not diagnostic, but it's quite good. If you son "passes" you can relax considerably, still worth checking concerns out, but it's a big sign that language development is on course, and if he fails areas then you can use that to push for an early appointment. Before moving we tried to see a paediatrician in Bromley and the waiting list was over 2 years. Once we moved we were able to queue jump as we came into the new system as there was a lot of concern iyswim. But I made sure they knew that he was failing CHAT. There's a link to it on my website- the link is in my first reply to you.

I've just found this website with more play ideas- ones that will help with sensory development (might use some with my entirely "normal" yet oversensitive ds2 they look good).

And here's peach lots of ideas and help there about ABA/getting a diagnosis etc etc.

[gess]

You need to stick to ASLTIP really for SALTS as they're registered etc. For ABA programmes you could look at peach (will google later if you can't find it) they're the place for all the UK info- and are London based.

There's a really good floortime DVD somewhere as well (!!) Shows you how to do floortime with young children- give me a chance later and I'll search for it and post a link.

You're doing all the right things. Don't worry about feeling panicked into doing everything at once, you haven't had an assessment yet, and you're still very early anyway- your son is still very little. Has your ds had a hearing test, if not I'd advise getting that lined up as they'll want to do one (in our case it just delayed things) and if hearing is the problem then of course that takes you down a whole different route. Even deafness in just one ear can affect language learning etc.

I'd get BabyTalk as well.

[staryeyed]

Looking for a private speech therapist using that SALT website but having trouble finding one that specialises in my area N London. Id there any way I can find a SALT a different way?

I feel so confused at the moment I don't know whether I'm coming or going.

The things I'm doing now is

1. trying to book appointment with dev paed.got referral letter yesterday.
   edit : just made an appointment while typing.
   
2. trying to find a private SALT in my area.
   
3. trying to make sense of the ABA / RDI programmes.
   
4. finding out about resources in my area
   Is there something else I should be doing?
   
   Usually I'm so organised but I feel all over the place right now.I'm trying so hard to get my son engaging that I feel knackered a the end of each day. I really feel lost like I don't know what to expect if he's getting worse or better. He's saying some words although they are unclear he seems to be saying "daddy go" but more like "daddy daddy daddy go go go" I haven't worked out if he wants daddy to go out with him or if he is saying he has gone, but that's good right? He also seems to be saying words that he hasn't said before but whether he will continue to say them ,I don't know.
   
   It freaks me out when I look at other kids or hear what other kids can do- it just emphasises the gap between their development and my son. No painting, no drawing, No singing, No imaginative play are these also traits of autism?. Don't get me wrong I love him just as he is he is so great he's funny and cheeky and I love being with him I'm just concerned for his future. I know many kids are fine and have a happy life but I worry that he may get withdrawn completely. Can anyone reassure me?

[gess]

Max and Friends is good if you're running an ABA program- to kind of support it. Bit pricey otherwise.

[staryeyed]

Has anyone tried Max and friends dvd? It looks good but pricey though. Got a feeling I'm gonna be broke before long. Is there any sort of forum or community where people might be selling second hand resources? Also would like to try that transporters dvd but cant find that anywhere.

[gess]

TBH I think BabyTalk is a good one to start with, it gives the basic dos and don'ts. It obviously aimed at normally developing children but you can look at the correct developmental stage, and use it as a SALT resource. It gives the sorts of activities a basic SALT session would give. It's cheap as well.

Have a look at the Hanen website as well as there are some free resources/ideas on there.

I'll try to do a free resources entry soon.

[staryeyed]

wow thanks gess you have been so helpful. What book do you recommend I get to help communication? You mentioned a few. Which do you think would be most appropriate to my sons situation?

[gess]

the free dvd's look worth getting.

[gess]

staryeyed- I've written about SALT today here