Early signs more severe ASD?

[ruth2010]

Hi,
Can anyone help me with this question?
If ASD signs are present early on (my son is nine months)does this predict more severe ASD in the future (rather than if symptoms become apparent aged 2/3)?
It feels to me that this may be the case, and if so, whats the next best step for me to get help for my son?

ruth2010
Have a look at
[[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/120/5/1183.full Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS]]
which includes a table of the groups of the criteria considered to diagnose autism
Diagnostic Criteria for 299.00: AD (autism) you need a minimum of 6 out of 12 criteria for a diagnosis.
There is a similar table for Aspergers
Diagnostic Criteria for 299.80: Asperger's Disorder (Referred to as AS in This Report)
and
Management of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS
You could also have a look at
Autism Spectrum Disorders

All the articles explain in great detail the scientific issues regarding autism and the diagnosis of autism from a research perspective.

You could also look at Floortime ( Stanley Greenspans book 'The Special Needs Child' is a good place to start). It is based on the theory that a child goes through emotional developmental stages, from infancy onwards, which are like building blocks - a child needs a firm foundation in one before he/she can move onto the next. We found it very useful when DS2 was 2 - he wasnt diagnosed until he was three, but had already come a long way in terms of his social engagement as a result of this intervention. In fact it threw up a smoke screen for the professionals, some of whom were sure he was only mildly autistic because his engagement with us was good. He is now ( at 8) classified as severe, but this is much more to do with his learning difficulties than his autism, if that makes sense.

@Eloise73

I have just been reading your comment as I have the same concerns regarding my son. I read about you saying to contact RGO on Mumsnet to help. Can you point me in the right direction for this please? As I'm not quite sure what you mean by it? Really desperate for help so would be amazing to get a response even though it's been years since this thread!

P.s hope your children are still doing well, your post has really given me a boost of positivity xx

Hi bpr187

RGO is the name of the person we worked with - Ruth Glynne Owen. She is in Scotland now and has a clinic up there I think. If you google her you will find her details.

Cannot recommend those books enough even if it was almost 10 years ago. My daughter is doing brilliantly - she goes to a mainstream secondary and I could not be prouder of the beautiful kind funny young lady she is :-)

Don’t wait to see if things get better. Do what you can now while your child is young. I have a 2 year old now and she is most definitely not on the spectrum and the differences are so glaring but If it’s your first child you really don’t have a frame of reference and we second guess ourselves.

Good luck, follow your gut and you will not do any damage if you start following exercises and play routines described in the books I mentioned and they will hopefully help your child.

Take care x

Sorry should mention I updated my mumsnet name as I hadn’t used the other one in years but it’s me :-)

@ECN73

Thank you so much for your response. I will get in contact with her.

That's amazing news about your daughter... so glad she's doing well. It's lovely to read positive stories at such a worrying time for me and my husband. I am literally breaking my heart of it but also trying my best to focus and do my best for him.

What (if any) concerns did you have when your daughter was 6-7 months old? I have many concerns about my son but the main one being his lack of social smiling. He will laugh sometimes when I tickle him but he will not look at you and if you go in his eye line when he's laughing he stops straight away. I just think babies are usually wanting in interact especially with their mother or father but he is not interested in the slightest. Xx

At 6 months she did smile but it wasn’t a social smile - she smiled if she found things funny but not so much if she saw someone she recognised. And her eye contact was not good - when I gave her milk for instance she would look at my nose or forehead but avoid eye contact.

You are doing great to be noticing these things already! The more you start doing now the better and honestly there is so much more help now than there was 10-12 years ago. I found the first 2-3 years were a lonely time for me and very hard. I couldn’t take her to softplay as she hated being around other kids etc so I’d say surround yourself with people if you can - family and friends - and join online support groups especially any local ones where you can meet up. I live in the southeast and there are 2 very good ones here and I’m sure there are more dotted around the country. Facebook would be a good place to look x

@ECN73

Yes that's exactly what my son is like. He is breastfed and he will glimpse up and me now and again but I don't know if he actually looking at my eyes or my hair line or just gazing past me. He also still wakes every 2-3 hours during the night (mainly for comfort feed I think). Although I know that can be common with any baby.

Did you have any other concerns? (Sorry for the questions, although you undoubtedly understand the worry and anxiety I'm feeling as I've stated to notice these things).

He's not meeting his milestones, he does really play he just sorts of stares at his toys, doesn't really hold them to his mouth much, doesn't roll over. Although he is strong when I hold him in a standing position. If I'm trying to feed him food he hits both his arms against the side of his bumbo. He use to enjoy being fed when I first started him on porridge at 4.5-5 months but as he's got older he's got more and more agitated and doesn't really enjoy it anymore. He's very wingey and so hard to please. He's only quiet if he's on the boob, sleeping or in the carrier.

I found RGO and I've emailed her so fingers crossed she can help me. I have also just ordered that book. Thank you so much and Sorry for the long message. Xx

@ECN73

I just read that message back and noticed about 20 typos lol! That's what you get for trying to type whilst holding your baby for a feed haha! I meant to say he doesn't** play. Xx

Its ok - it is difficult when we don’t see our kids reaching the same milestones as the other kids. Although all kids are different so don’t be too worried about milestones. My youngest was walking at 7 months, running well at 9 months and didn’t really start talking properly until she was 2. Now she never shuts up :-) I’d keep things simple - very little tv/gadgets - none at all really at this stage. Keep language simple, play with him on the floor by mimicking him. If he’s just sitting there playing with his hand just sit with him and do the same thing . Maybe keep a toy next to him like a ball or a small stuffed animal. Wait for him to grab it. It may not happen at first. That’s ok. At this point you just want to be close to him and interact with him in a way that doesn’t overload his senses. Speaking in one or two words instead of sentences.

Good luck with everything - you are a great mum and will do everything you can for your child. And although asd comes with a lot of challenges it also comes with many gifts. My daughter is the coolest kid I’ve ever known and she amazes me every day :-)

@ECN73

That's one thing I find very different to most of the babies I've read about on here. He is very highly strung he doesn't sit quietly he moans constantly unless I'm carrying him around. I engage with him as much as I can when he's laying down for changing or laying on the floor. I do the same games with him even though I get no reaction I'm hoping with repetition he will eventually get it. He loves in the night garden so when he's had enough of me playing with him I put him in his rocking chair to watch it but only for half hour per day. I find it calms him down a bit.

RGO has responded already, I'm so pleased about that and hoping she can help us. Thank you so much for that!!

Last question, I know every child is different but just for a bit of hope, at what age did your daughter start to change and interact/smile with you more xx

My daughter really didn’t start to Songhai stuff regularly until she started nursery - we were lucky and she went to a brilliant nursery and primary school. So I’d say she was 3-4. She’s amazing now at playing with her baby sister :-) it all takes time, this is a marathon for sure, not a sprint. Am glad she got in touch, wishing you all the best!

Songhai?! Silly autocorrect lol I meant play

@ECN73

Awww bless her! That's so nice to hear! Thank you again for your help and the chat I really appreciate it xx

Try the Nurturing Neurodiversity Facebook Group and YouTube channel for support too. It has lots of parents in who are worried but pre-diagnosis, so they really "get" that limbo phase and why it is so hard. But it's also a really positive space!

One of mine appeared quite severe up to 3/4. Unsettled baby, no eye contact. No crawling, reaching etc. At 3.5 no signs of understanding language, repetitive behaviour like tongue clicking. Never said mama. Diagnosed at 3. Every red flag going really, from routines to melt downs. Even her smile as a tiny baby was hugely delayed and her muscle tone asymmetrical. So many things to list, nursery couldn’t cope and it was a fat mess. Co morbid epilepsy developed

It can go both ways. At 5 she spoke. She’s now a quirky happy child, seizures subsided. She’s different, but actually very functional. At 7 learning to read and has joined brownies. She needs support with some things, but is a happy person with potential and not the outcome I thought I saw at all. She’s exceeded everything, and importantly I see her being happy and academically being functional. She has friends.

She’s now certainly not the picture of autism many have.

No, I think if your son presents with a language delay, in his early years, this would be more noticeable... when you notice a language delay you then become attuned to watching other areas of his development that may be concerning.