How do you know if your child has mild autism??

[LadyGooGoo]

I'm not sure if I'm being too PFB and when other 2 children behave this way I'll wave my hand, saying "It's just a phase"

BUT...How do you know?

DS1 4 is a bright boy with a good sense of humour, is active and affectionate:

However, he also

Used to be v unaffectionate.

Hates loud noises or crowds of people (since birth really), way more than any other child I know.

He started forming sentences at 18 months but has regressed to baby talk almost, over past 6 months

Cannot stand the feeling of seams in his clothes.

Regularly walks around on tip-toe, making birdie-like hand movements and squealing.

Very fussy eater - just started havingg to leave the room if onion type cooking smells because it "hurts his nose"

If routine is upset or we're in a strange place, he will change avoids eye contact, is clingy and very naughty (SupperNanny proportions) and does not care if he upsets me. Even though usually he would be quite sensitive to moods "are you happy Mummy?" etc. and want to please.

Sorry for loooong post, but parts of his behaviour have always given me pause. Has come to a head since he started in Nursery in January and still hasn't settled, will pick isolating tasks like drawing everyday and holding teachers hand in playground rather than interact with any children.

Today mentioned they have to sing and he hates it (always puts hands over ears if I tried to take him to library rhyme times)

Sorry, sorry will stop now. Just feel Like I'm being an hysterical mother.

Please tell me I'm being hysterical!

TIA

ro be honest you could be describing my ds he has been dx with HFA and has made such huge progress since being dx at 3
a lot of his actions that you ahve written do sound like there may be need for further investigation i took ds to gp with list of concerns and we were forwarded on to the relevant people

also does nursery have a senco [special education needs co-ordinator]have they given you cause to be concerned by his behaviour as they can also push forward for further help to be provided

but if i was you i would look into this so you have all help ready for when he starts school there will be alot needing doing to help with settling in making transition from nursery to school etc

good luck

Thank you for the reply

Am frantically googling HFA now...guessing it's not halal food authority ;)

Good idea about the senco...just want to be sure I'm not describing a normal highly strung boy (if there is such a thing)

Dh doesn't see a problem - says he was the same as a child (but think he was a bit sensitive too TBH!)

HFA is high functioning autism not saying your ds has this but the fact he sounds with some of his behaviour he may be on the spectrum the tip toes the hand flapping and squealing this can be quite common ,

the hands over ears my ds does this the sensitivities to clothing smells etc

i would personally put your mind at rest speak to nursery as they should be able to provide adequate care and if there unable to do this for his needs etc then they need to ask for extra resources and outside help

go to gp with your concerns and get referred to paed and take it from there to me i see need for further investigation from what you write im not saying your ds has autism but he is displaying some common signs there it wont hurt to go get it ruled out you know where you stand then

Hello LadyGooGoo - I wish I could tell you you were being hysterical.

I think if you have concerns addressing them now will be the best way forward. Your ds might not get a dx, but it will give you peace of mind, and early intervention is really important - just raising concerns with the school, a nice G.P or HV might be helpful.

My ds (he'll be 6yrs in May), has no diagnosis, but has had one to one support at nursery since he was 3, started school last year, late August. (Scotland, so he was 5.3yrs)

He has had language delay/disorder - has been seeing SALT since he was 2.8 yrs. Speech and social communication problems - he is much better now, but he did not interact well with his peers at nursery, was very noise sensitive - did not like nursery singing, hand drier, hair driers, hoover etc. (he has nearly grown out of this now). His tantrums were hard to deal with, we avoided large supermarkets for 2 yrs. He was late to toilet train too.

Eye contact can be patchy, but he does make it, he is loving, full of fun, loves humour, tickling and being with people, and is very affectionate - but he is also incredibly stubborn.

agree with bubblagirl, you are the mother and have concerns that should be investigated.
Go to GP and ask for referral to pead who can assess your DS and refer on to CAHMS or put your mind at rest.

My DS was Dxed with atypical autism and ODD in Sept 2008 although it took 2 years to get a formal dx.

Nothing will be lost by asking for further assessments, speak with SENCO also and see if they will back request to GP for referral to Pead. IME referrals only happen if child is displaying behaviours in both home and school.

also i think you do need to ask for senco anyway so they can help him with his interaction with other children my ds was set individual education plan [iep] to help with this so he would do a task with 1 child and use there name etc he would also have visual chart you can do this at home to so he knows what is coming next what is expected etc

my ds would at pre school go straight to his chart see that he had a task of pre schools choice then he would be able to choose one of his own

the nursery really need to be on top of this as he needs to be prepared for starting school etc ask if they have any previous dealings with a child with autism do they feel there is need for concern if they haven't then you need to go to gp and get outside help in place to educate nursery on his needs to

again not saying he is autistic but he still appears to need more support for his needs in nursery to help him function fully with his peers and for his own well being to learn how to function in different settings

i have to say my ds didnt function well at nursery frightened me terribly for starting school but the routine of school seems to be what he needed and functions with near on no help at all

maybe request the visual chart and get some tasks set at nursery now and see how he copes with that

the chart can be downloaded it hink or i bought mine on ebay now and next chart worked wonders my ds is very much more a visual learner and he could clearly see what was expected again as he had atypical speech sounds and delayed speech and would get so frustrated

good luck

Thank you all for taking the time to scare me silly help ;)

Think you are right, need to speak to someone, worst that happens is I look like a PFB mother.

Cranreuch: Your description of your son sounds lovely. Think I have the typical stereotype of autistic spectrum children, all very Rain Man-esque. So helpful to hear that they can be just like my ds!

Bonkerz: Its the home/school thing that concerns me actually. Have always seen ds as a confident (sometimes quite bossy) boy who would have no socialisation issues. It has thrown me that he is being so introverted at school. Usually the first to un around madly!

Bubblagirl: The chart thing sounds like a good idea, ds always wants to know "what's the plan". He is king of negociating(sp?) too, so the chart would definatley appeal.

Sorry about missing letters and spellings!!

will google visual chart now...

lol don't mean to scare you at all its just early intervention is always best and as i had a child similar sounding at home i knew something wasn't right but it was when i saw him at pre school that he was so different to how he is at home with his interaction or lack of and other traits were more apparent it was so obvious to me then that i was right about my worries

i had so many people saying his just a boy being lazy nothing wrong etc im so pleased i went with my fears if all was ok then great but if it wasn't i knew he needed the help asap

so again not trying to frighten you i would rather someone seek the help now and be told all ok or not than wait and then find they should have done something sooner xx

Thank you, have phoned the HV to make an appointment for her to assess ds1. Probably shoud speak to nursery in first instance but drop-off/collection times always so fraught with ds2 and ds3 in tow too.

Wish me luck!

i wish you luck if you are not happy with what hv says go see your gp my hv was rubbish in all honesty had no idea and dismissed all my concerns the referral form gp to paed was much better

LadyGooGoo, yup, it might be. But it might not be. A good diagnostic team will soon know, as people have said.
Either way it's not often a reason for panic. I'm on the autism spectrum, and so are a fair few of the mums on here, and at an early age good intervention and support can make a big difference to the outcomes for our children. It's a different brain design, so you can't 'cure' it, but you can certainly teach many of us enough for us to have good and happy lives.

Good luck LadyGooGoo - this is a great board for help, support and advice.

I think it is hard not to focus on the whole autism/not autism issue, but really the important issue is to make sure your ds gets the support he needs.

There is no way my ds's nursery weren't aware that he had problems - he was a screamer when he started, the difference in 2 + yrs (nearly three) is incredible. That doesn't mean he doesn't still need a lot of support. If someone had told me two years ago, how ds was going to be in a few years time, I would have worried and cried a lot less - the change is that good - he has matured so much and become able to articulate most of the time what he needs/thinks. He is learning to read!! and started writing too. He is slowly learning to play and interact with his peers and is lucky to have a very good big sister(his resident imaginary play therapist) and some close cousins to play with regularly at home - where he feels safe!

Every child is different, school is overwhelming/noisy and unpredictable - so it can be hard for any child to deal with, never mind children with sensitivities iykwim.

Don't be hard on yourself, it is not easy going through this, remember and see all the good things about your ds, because all the concerned professionals will generally focus on the negatives and that can really hurt - but that is how they learn to help each child individually. (If you get good help!).

There is a poster on here, lingle used to be her name, she wasn't looking for a dx for her child iirc, but was good at finding strategies that worked for her child, that generally might be applied to children with ASD and sensory issues.

Moondog is good for SALT advice, and there are so many good people with loads of experience - that always have some useful advice.

I hear what your DH is saying, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, he's a chip off the old block" and all that. There's nothing wrong with what he says, he's identifying with his son, that's a great thing, don't let anyone attack him for it: it's just that sometimes the child gets stronger and more persistent traits/challenges than the father/mother and needs more help. I've two sons and one hasn't needed any help - he just learnt everything in an upside-down way and it righted itself by about 5 - but the other one has needed lots and lots of hard thinking and helping from me and his nursery and it's been a big life experience for the whole family. And my brother took so long to outgrow his difficulties that it was just too late for him to experience some of life's really important lessons..... thank goodness it isn't too late for my son. So you can respect and even agree with your DH's viewpoint but at the same time believe that your son needs more help than DH had and that there is some degree of urgency in getting that help. That's all your DH needs to accept - oh, and that he may have to put in half an hour's dedicated playtime with his son every day for the next few years and to prioritise this above pretty much everything else .

I'm sure you'll be taken seriously because all these things would be dismissed in a two-year-old but they are persisting to 4 so he may need extra help.

oh and lol about halal food authority by the way