asd or not? help for ds 2.4

[hungryhippo21]

hi, new here my ds1 is 2.4 we have seen paed who said yes he has asd traits and some not blah, blah,blah.
Anyway he advised 1-2-1 speech therapy which we are waiting list for anyway. Hearing test although we all know nothing is wrong with hearing - can hear pringles tube open in next room and as a baby would wake up at car door slamming 3 streets away,
But he also said ds would benefit from being with other kids and the local council would have to pay for this as his listening skills are very poor and he will be disadvantaged when starting school. Has anyone else had a nursery place paid for their lo - do we have to contribute? Am waiting for various people to get back to me but I am sure you all know what this is like so thought I would ask you lovely ladies for opinions.
Many thanks

in some areas they have pilot schemes where 2 year olds are entitled to free nursery sessions in certain circumstances - delayed language would count as one of those circumstances.

more details of the scheme here:-

www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/earlyyears/lapractice/pilots/.

so if you live in one of the pilot areas then I
imagine it would be straightforward. If you don't, I would as a starting point contact your
local Parent partnership and explain what your paed has recommended and ask how this can be arranged.

hearing test is a bogstandard precaution for all kids with language problems, just to exclude a simple physical cause.

btw I would recommend being very choosy about the nursery you send him to - make sure they've got plenty of experience of kids with language problems - I sent DS to private nursery (paid loads too) because he had similar language problems to your DS and they were useless tbh.

hi my ds was assessed at 3 and dx with HFA -ASD was observed from 2 had several hearing tests needs to be done to rule out certain pitch sounds that may not be heard which could contribute with speech

my ds was placed into pre school early to have him interacting

regardless of the dx you may receive early intervention is always best when it comes to this as my ds has improved hugely and this is because he was dx early and we had all the help available to us

i had to pay for his pre school but thats standard round here before 3 so not sure about your nursery but i would second the make sure they have good experience and understanding for children with language problems as he wont benefit from going otherwise as wont have the specialist care given on 1-1 basis

at 2.4 my ds was displaying some traits but it was mainly language by 3 he was showing enough to be dx its just good they are acting on it as we were actually given no help from 2-3 and was really hard he didn't make progress until dx and given help so its really good all this is on offer now for you

wow thanks for the quick replies. just had a look on the link ours is one of the areas so hopefully it will be straight forward. paed says not classic autism as ds asks for help (pulls hand)gives eye contact kisses etc. DS skills like building blocks he had to stack 10 he easily does 12 and can building 2 towers at same time on with right hand one with left. Paed did not believe me when I said ds knows his numbers 1-10 and most letters which he taught himself I had been trying to teach him ball etc for ages poor sod he knew it he just didnt know how to tell me he did and shut up mum, anyway ranbling/ Paed said he would write to council and they have to provide it or he would be disadvantaged - anyway thanks what I think he said ds was trying to steal him brief case with all the toys in at the time.
Anyway thanks for help as it is good to know what you are entitled to when they try to fob you off and as said the earlier the better.

Sounds like you're really on to it hungryhippo. We're waiting to see if ds turns out to have a language disorder or high functioning autism - at the moment they're leaning towards the language side but he has some very mild autistic traits so it hasn't been clear cut.

We got him into preschool at 2.6 and that has brought his language and social skills on so much. He has a one to one for 9 hours a week, and she practises his speech and language homework with him. This has been great and we really didn't have to fight for the funding either - I just asked our regional SENCO.

We also had him in a Child development centre for a few months. While it wasn't right for ds (for various reasons mainly due to some individuals there) he did receive weekly speech therapy there so it might be worth seeing if there is one in your area and requesting a referral. You won't have to pay, and could receive help with transport too.

Good luck!

hi kettlechip it sounds as if our 2 are quite similar. Does tour son speak if so what age did he start?
The problem with trying to dx ds is he some autistic traits but not others in the same areas. e.g will give eye contact but not if within arms reach of him. Very coordinated at building blocks and doing puzzles but clumsy when feeding himself or copying movements. Will give kisses but has been taught to.
Also ds2 is 6 months and if I have to take ds1 to various places and stay (ds1 has meltdown if I go anywhere) what do I do with ds2 there is no family to look after him and we cant afford nursery for him also ds1 has meltdown if ds2 cries so I dont know what to do. (sorry gone into worry mode again)

hi hippo, ds had a few words from about 16 months, a couple seemed to then go, and by 24 months he had about 20 words, including things like "oh dear" "see ya" and so on. He's 3yrs 5 months now and has about 700 words and speaks in disjointed sentences. His autistic traits have faded right back but included limited joint attention social interaction, patchy eye contact, limited imaginative play etc. Joint attention is vastly improved now.

He's never had sensory issues (but did go through a brief period of covering his ears when being told no to something) He's never had obsessions or rigidities and isn't fazed by changes to his routine. He's always been quite co ordinated.

It's more his language development and social skills now tbh but often someone on here will describe something their ASD child has done and I'll think that it sounds familiar. I think there is a grey area between language disorder and ASD and he probably falls somewhere in there.

I had ds2 when ds1 had just turned 2, and we'd just started to worry about him. It was very hard to look after them both and manage the worry, get to the appointments etc. Get as much help as you can, could a friend help at all? Is there a family centre near you? Sometimes they offer free childcare for a couple of hours a week. I have none of my family around either (and at the time PIL's weren't sympathetic, much better now) so do understand how difficult it can be.

Ask the paed or SALT to refer you to the local Educational Psychologist. It can take ages so get on the waiting list now. They will assess his needs for pre-school and maybe get him an inclusive place (ie extra staff paid for wherever he goes.) This is from the term after he turns 3 but as I say the process can take months.

In the meantime, toddler groups or a childminder who has SN experience might be better than a nursery (other kids to interact with but less chaotic and noisy than a nursery).

I think available services vary so much from area to area - here my HV referred DS1 to the development nursery prior to diagnosis. Its run in the local clinic and he has a 6 week stint there 2 hrs x 2 mornings a week and its free of charge. DS1 is 3.3 but I know at least one of the other children who goes is 2.6. Its a small group of children with specialist staff and DS1 really enjoys it although I must admit to a couple of things that have made me

I put DS1 in preschool when he was 2.6 (had to pay for this) and his language and social skills really exploded. I did have him the wrong place for him to begin with and I wish I had researched it more thoroughly first given his communication difficulties.

I also have a DS2 who is now 18 months old and none of my family live near me by some 300 miles LOL and the in-laws work full-time, plus DP is self-employed so I know how tricky it can be. Until DS2 got mobile appts were o.k and thankfully with the exception of the first assessment, the SALT visits have either been here or them going in to his preschool. Now I will either pre-warn the person that I have a rather unruly 18 month old or try and get DP to shift work around.

Just thought i would say hi, My dd2 (2.10) was refered to a paed 6 months ago as her speech was nil and she showed signs of ASD, she was sent to a SALT who managed to get us a place in a special needs nursery/play-group. We have to pay for her to go to nursery but its no higher than any other nursery/play-group, now they wan't her to go to mainstream also (for 1 day a week) she will have a 1 on 1 with her which will be funded (i still have to pay nursery fee's) As from April this will be free as she will be fully funded when she is 3.

Dd2 has done reely well since going to nursery (she started 5 months ago), her speech is still way behind but her eye contact and resposivness has improved hugely.

We have been told that it may take 2 years to get a dx as she is still young. Dd1 was diognosed with AS just before christmas which took us 2.5 years.

back again, thanx for all the replies. Just waiting for the letter from the paed so can see exactly what it says and what he is entitled too. Really thick when it comes to these things like what is the difference between nursery and pre-school. Do they have sn in mainstream ones. Do I stay with ds at either. Also alot of you have said your lo speech has really come on - did they just start saying words or did it build up with sounding like words and then actual words?
Also how do you keep your los entertained during the day he is getting bored but doesnt follow instruction - tried painting today that ended up in everything being thrown. going to find out where local toy library is as he loves puzzles but need other ideas.

Dd2 loves puzzles too, she can complete a 50 piece now , she also likes wooden stacking toys, painting (when i have time to cover everything up) and she loves play-doh but needs to be watched as she eats it and puts it up her nose .

Dd has only just started sounding out 'mum' and 'dad', she mumbles a lot and has started screeching when happy.

Pre-school / playgroup / nursery class is 2.5-3hrs a day up to 5days a week, mums not invited, all known officially as Early Years Settings. It is free from the term after their 3rd birthday. If you want to send them before that you will have to pay. If your child needs a 1-to-1 person that is paid for the council but that is decided by the Early Years Panel (this is where meeting the Ed Psych helps.)
If your child's name isn't on a waiting list for any local pre-schools/playgroups yet, I would phone round quick as the best ones fill up. Also, you can ask what special needs experience they have. Contact your local Childrens Information Service for a list of local Early Years Settings.
HTH

Forgot to add the 1-to-1 funding (aka an inclusive place) follows the child so a mainstream place should be fine but might be hassle if they've not had inclusive kids and staff before.

My DS had big probs with adult direction til he started his inclusive pre-school place, he is so much better after just one term. At home I've always been happy to let him do his own thing, usually to do with rockets, robots or tv. Save messy play for toddler group! New places are always difficult but once he's been allowed 'off the lead' to explore properly, he is fine. I let him charge about normal libraries, no matter how noisy he is (cheerful noise) or what looks I get, because there are signs everywhere that say 'Libraries love babies' so why not him?
If he's got excess energy to burn, I've heard trampolines are good or softplay at leisure centre. My DS just climbs up and down on the sofa repreatedly til he's worn out.

If you make your own playdough out of flour, salt and water, it's pretty harmless! And if they flatten it into a pancake you can dry-fry it and eat it spread with butter and jam.

Thing that really kept my DD quiet at that age (now 4.5 - language disorder, ASD traits but much like kettlechip's DS, no formal dx) was a big box of lots of different things that would take her ages to sort through - playmobil (if your lo sticks stuff in his mouth, stick to the larger stuff) lego...she had a huge collection of toy plastic bears which came from a magazine. Also wooden trains (ikea / tesco / thomas) and lots of track. Definitely playdoh.