2 year 10 month old Diagnosed with Autism (That needs a High level of Support)

[Humph2479]

My Son had his diagnosis of Autism and was told needs a high level of support.

Could the diagnosis be wrong? Only reason I say that is because grand parents ect insist he is just slow ?

My son does not say one word, just does alot of eeee and ooooo sounds , he slaps his legs, flaps his hands, shakes his head. And grinds his teeth.

Does not respond to his name.
Plays with toys Unusually he seems to inspect every part of the toy.. and then just spins wheels on them ect.

I see him picking books up and really inspecting them also like he is reading every page which can't be possible.

He doesn't point or communicate in any way.
Unless he wants something opened he will throw that item at me.

He doesn't eat any normal food and still drinks baby milk ( he will only eat cake)

He does not copy any of my actions

He doesn't line his toys up but he has a large electronic car in which he likes to stack anything on the floor into his car...

His eye contact is minimal.
Doesn't understand simple instructions
Watches the same tv programme consistently
He don't like playing peek a boo .. but has smiled once or twice but think it was a coincidence.

He seems to be really attached to his mum.. whenever she leaves the room he throws a tantrum.

Could he just he late or are these things all autistic traits

Unless the grandparents are experts there’s no reason to think that they know more than the doctors who have diagnosed your son. I’m sure they just don’t want to believe it, it’s not an uncommon reaction. The things that you have listed are much more than just ‘slow’ development.

When was he diagnosed? It does take a while for it to sink in as it’s not an easy thing to hear.

I agree that the doctors are likely to be correct as they are experts. In my experience grandparents can find it hard to accept, especially as they don't usually spend as much time with the child and know them so intimately. Your description sounds like my son who was diagnosed when he was 2.

It's hard to hear your child is autistic but having a diagnosis can help with access to support and DLA etc.

The most important thing to do is get help in place for things like Speech & Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and anything else you need. You will have to implement most things yourself so read up - I found 'More Than Words' by Hanen really useful.

My son just turned 3 and has come on massively since his diagnosis. He just started to love peek a boo and has learned to wave goodbye. He has learned some words and can communicate with us in various ways and will feed himself. Tiny things that most people take for granted but are so cool when they finally happen! Most importantly we learned how to work with his interests to get him to engage with us.

Please listen to the experts.

Right at this moment he does need high levels of support, whether this will remain or to what extent is still pretty early. The balance of being realistic and still remaining optimistic is difficult and not helped by well meaning but in denial relatives. Them wanting does not change the reality, usually in young diagnosis the child has obvious signs to the medical professionals.

My son was diagnosed 3 days ago, yeah I'm fine with him having autism the diagnosis for me came as a relief as I had suspected it since he was 6months olds it's just so hard when people say things like..

Ohh look he's doing this or look his doing that or I'm sure I heard him say this..

I don't know why it annoys me but it does..

while he was going through the ADOS -2 the professional actually could tell near enough straight away

It just feels like I always have the justify that he is actually autistic to people ? Is this normal or

I also have 2 other children

This is my first with autism.. that's why at 6 months the signs were just there

And easily noticeable . Having seen both my other children develop

No such thing as just slow.

did they check his hearing, eye sight, etc?
sorry not much knowledgeable in this area.

Yeah his hearing, eye sight ect is brilliant.

I questioned his hearing before so got it tested

He covers his ears when the hoover is on
And any loud screaming or too much people talking at once

TBH it didn’t get better with some family till he started special school. They just didn’t want to see what was in front of them. You will stop feeling the need to justify as it becomes tedious. You already know, don’t waste time on others opinions/hopes, get as much early interventions that you can.

They don’t know much about autism, which is very common. Many people don’t until it touches their lives and their eyes are opened. Your son will do lots of things, he may talk. He will grow and develop like all children do but it doesn’t mean he’s not autistic, as you know.

It’s still quite soon after the diagnosis. Maybe once it’s settled down you can point them in the way of some books or websites that will help them understand and be more supportive. Or have a frank conversation with them if you are able to.

You could get him some ear defenders if he’s particularly noise sensitive. The Edz Kidz ones are popular. My ds tended to cover his ears when he was unsure about something as well as noise sometimes. He rarely does it now.