For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.
Parenting
Autistic toddler!
Sumy · 17/03/2023 17:38
My son is 2.7 years and I have just found out he is autistic, typical symptoms, no pointing, waving, flapping arms, no speech and understanding. Plays with wheels of toys and runs from other children. I don’t know how to deal with this. I’m finding it hard to accept, can anyone with a toddler with similar symptoms give me some positive stories please.
posyituvity: he is a lovely smiley, cheeky little boy, great eating and sleeping. Loves going for drives as he is fixated on vechicles, very mischievous, blabbers, if it wasn’t for delayed speech and not following instructions we wouldn’t have figured it out.
emotional mum!
MyopicBunny · 19/03/2023 10:52
Hopefully @ppure isn't talking about chelation because that can be very dangerous.
Two of my 4 children are diagnosed autistic and I also am. I was diagnosed at 37. My oldest daughter has very high care needs. One thing that I would change if I could is to have put her into residential school earlier than 14. She was much, much happier in residential school. But everyone's story is different.
The whole thing is a very big learning curve. It would have helped me to understand how stressful the world was for my autistic children.
As it also had been for me as a child.
OP, have you applied for your son to have an ECHP?
MistyFrequencies · 19/03/2023 13:50
LittleBlueBrioTrain · 18/03/2023 20:02
Is it worth a read for parents of verbal children? Mine has a great vocabulary (metamorphosis blew me away today!) but struggles with some pronunciation and speech is limited to requests, observations and echolalia. There's no conversational speech, he's unable to express his feelings etc. Is it still worth adding to my ever growing reading list?
TheFormidableMrsC · 18/03/2023 19:52
Can I just add to those, including me, who have recommended "More Than Words". I was the only parent on that course that didn't have a non-verbal child. Mine was verbal but struggling with communicating. Everybody else had children who had not uttered a word. I did that course in 2015. The non verbal children are now all VERY verbal. All bar one go to mainstream schools. All are thriving. I do know full well that for some parents, this progress doesn't happen and I am more aware than most of that. However, it's really early days. An early diagnosis is absolutely key and you have a chance to guide your child and make the best of the situation you find yourself in. Please don't be disheartened. You will make it through. 
I think from memory their were pieces about using echolalia to develop language e.g. if he struggles to express his feelings you might name them for him so he can use echolalia. For example if you can see he is really excited about a parade instead of saying "oh you are very excited" you might say "I am so excited about the parade" so he can echo you....if your child is very echolalic then looking up Gestalt Language Processing might help too. My boy is definitetly a Gestalt language learner and understanding that really helps.
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.