I don't think he is autistic but somethings not right and nobody is listening

[yesmynameisigglepiggle]

I have posted before about Ds. He is 2.5. My concerns are
-speech, a few words, probably about ten clear ones and others where I know what he means
-his obsessions- this drives me mad at the moment, he has to have 5 cars he takes everywhere, every morning he has to put them in a line sand has a major paddy if anyone moves them
-his limited interest-only plays with football and cars
-he sings the same tune over and over again -in perfect tune may I add!!!
-very shy with other adults and children but will share and follow etc
-he refuses to even sit on the potty

He is on the waiting list for speech therapy.

But he is so sociable, I know what he means most of the time and he plays imaginatively with his cars and ball and will 'make me a cup of tea'. Good eye contact, understands everything and communicates despite delayed speech.

I am sorry I am just at my wits end, had a n awful few days with huge tantrums all because I have moved something or he hasn't got a certain car. I know some of this is normal toddler behaviour but I am concerned at the obsessions and lack of language and he is driving me insane! I have other children and I don't think DS is 'normal'!

Has he had his ears checked fully?

Not all children with autism are antisocial. otoh, not all developmental delays or differences are autism. I think you need to push for a paed to see him. Who has refused to listen to you? HV? GP? go with a big list of areas of concern, with examples - he regularly does X, he cannot do Y, he did such and such on this occasion...have a LOT of specific info to back you up.

Have you seen the online screening test at

www.childbrain.com/pddassess.html

It can't diagnose anything but thinking through the questions might help to clarify your thoughts.

Thank you.

My GP was disgraceful, totally patronised me so I have changed GP. I am just nervous to go again. he did put him on the list for Speech Therapy though. His behaviour, as in obsessions, seems to be getting worse each day. Have not seen the HV though she MAY be useful-can they get a referal for you??
His ears were checked as a baby and were fine, I know he can hear but I could ask for them to be checked, and i guess when an appointment for Speech Therapy comes throught that may help. Not sure how long that will be though. I don't know if my little boy is just quirky and neurotic, has third child syndrome or if there is something wrong. I do know his speech is delayed though.

I just did the PDD very honestly and got a score of 138 which siad Moderate PDD. I don't really understand this though? Thanks for the link by the way!

in my city the HV can do all the referrals. It's always worth having a hearing test for any language problem to rule out an obvious physical cause for it. Phone up Speech Therapy to find out how soon the appointment is likely to be. It is immensely frustrating waiting around on a waiting list and feeling completely ignored whilst on the list. Obviously it's best to have professional input and assessment, but there is still work you can do on his communication/language at home in the meantime.

useful books/sites

www.hanen.org
www.ican.org.uk
www.teachmetotalk.com

It Takes Two to Talk by Ayola Manolson
You Make the Difference by Ayola Manolson
Baby Talk by Sally Ward
Playing Laughing and Learning with Children on the Autism Spectrum by Julia Moor (IMO great for kids with language problems not just those with ASD).

My son has very severe ASD and yet is very sociable and friendly, he hugs us a lot and says I love you and he has a very cheeky sense of humour.

Thankyou. Pagwatch, do you mind me asking what it was that led you to suspect autism and get a diagnosis or was it obvious becasue it is severe?

ooo, I got 195 on that PDD quiz (severe). Not surprising, really...
But I'm friendly and can cope with hugs if I know they're about to happen and it's someone I trust.

I was told at this age that the characteristics you describe are characteristics of autistic children - but they are also characteristics of a sizeable minority of non-autistic 2-year-olds.
I felt this put it fairly and also explains why you probably won't get much further with a verbal child until he's three or so.

In the meantime however it's driving you insane.....so I think that self-help as recommended by Totalchaos whilst you sit on these waiting lists is in order.

good luck.

lingle, he is not very verbal. He says
mama
dada
all (ball)
uh all (football)
mine (lol)
er....
eets (sweets)

Amber you made me laugh.

YMNIIP, a few of the things you have mentioned about your son are very similar to my own ds2, who was dx with autism last year. I can't believe your doctor dismissed your concerns

I was refered to the paed and childrens developement centre by my HV, so it might be worth you going to see your HV to get referred.

Good luck.

YMNIIP, just wanted to send you some kind thoughts as it sounds like you have alot of worries and concerns with your son. My advice to you is to write down all your concerns for your son and get a referal to a paediatrician. If your son is on the Autistic Spectrum the sooner he is diagnosed the sooner you can both get the support you need. You say you have other children so you know "typical development" so act on your gut response as we are often right us mums with what we suspect. Wishing you and your son all the best.

hi
we got a diagnosis and got it very quickly because he was developing 'normally' and then suddenly regressed very quickly and lost all skills, including speech and bowel control.
Many of the skills he has now are ones that he has regained

just did that for dd and it came out at moderate pdd,so that has bouyed me up to fight the next battle of the nhs who say dd isnt on the spectrum.

DD was like this at your DS,s age,she had speech therapy and she had grommits,tonsils and adenoids out and her speech and hearing has really come on.

pester pester pester your HV or your GP,dont be fobbed off YOU know your child better than anyone else.

You could ask your new GP for a referral to a community paed? My ds was referred to a community paed. via his first SALT and the community paed. then referred ds onto a developmental paed. at the hospital.

Although my ds has SLD and is low functioning, he still didn't get a dx until he was 3yrs 5mths. I know some dc are dx when they are younger than 3yrs but I think the professionals err on the side of caution between the ages of 2yrs-3yrs in case the child is just a late developer (my friend's ds was almost non-verbal at 3yrs old but he is still NT - he was a classic late developer).

Time will tell with your ds - it's a worrying time in the meantime though. Good luck with getting access to a SALT soon.

The PDD test is quite good although having tried a few times over the years, I know how to tweak the answers to get higher/lower scores ! Also, we used to get lower scores when DS1 was non verbal as we could answer 'no' to any of the 'odd speech' questions. Now that he is verbal, we have to say the speech is echolalic and repetitive which means a higher score !

Thankyou all for your support.

Well I got an appointment with Speech and Language therapy for the end of April, which seems ages away but should come around soon. I also got a questionaire on which I can record my concerns (hooray)

I know for sure ghis speech is delayed and the bigger he gets the more apparant it is so I guess now I have the appointment I just have to wait .

sounds very like my ds at this age.

great to hear that you have an appointment. be prepared though, that you are very likely to get a "wait and see" response from your speech therapist. they are more likely to give you some useful, practical tasks to help you improve your ds's communication than to give you any clearer idea of what dx may be given.

we started this process when ds was around 2.4. he is now 3.2 and we are still asking the same questions that you are now. happily, ds's language and behaviour have all improved, though his langauge is still delayed and his behaviour is still often different.

he did his first pee in a potty last night {grin]!!!!

have you had any thoughts on whether his diet could be affecting him? this is the route that we are about to go down.