autism?

[sarah79]

This post is for people who know of a child with autism.

My child as a speech delay. At the speech pathologists the other day He through a huge tantrum over nothing. The speech pathologist then started asking me questions re his tantrums. She then went on to say that when she types up his report to send me she will include a referral for a developmental assessment. It wasn't until after this visit that I started watching my son closely and noticed some of his behaviors weren’t normal. If he lines things up only he can touch it, once his food is on the table no one can touch it (even to help him eat), he walks on his toes a lot, he hits his older sister in an aggressive way for no apparent reason, and if I don't put the toothpaste on his tooth brush properly he has a tantrum. It does make eye contact but not a lot. However, he is very loving and loves to give hugs and kisses. He also doesn’t mind if there is a change in routine.

I am wondering if you could tell me what made you (or the child’s parents) decide to get the child tested for autism.

[k&Hmum]

my 5 year old daughter has autism.

we got her diagnosed because my sister who works in childcare said she was delayed in a few things. she was diagnosed at 2.5 years by a gp then the paed said that she shows autistic tendencies.

the reasons it was suspected are

#delayed language (she could talk at a normal level then at 2 years of age went backwards and lost all language but has regained it all now)

# used to avoid eye contact a fair bit but does that no longer

# has tantrums if things dont happen the way she expects them to for example if i turn on the bath taps before she gets undressed.

# she had strange fears over little things like she would never look at nathan on high 5.

# she did this weird moving of her fingers that progressed into a hand flapping. she likes to flap things and look at them.

i cant think of any more then that.

she is a very loving child that loves to be around other kids, loves to laugh and kisses and cuddles.

she never lined things up, never had any sensory issues or sensitivities like some autistic children do.

hope this helps. will add more if i think of anything.

please dont think its the end of the world if your child does indeed have autism, there is a lot of support out there and you cope.

hugs to you i know this must be a scary time.

[sam's mum]

My DD1 has Asperger's, which is a type of autism.

she has trouble controlling her temper.
hand flapping and eye blinking when excited.
difficulty with changes in activity with no warning.
low tolerance for other people.
very affectionate
social inabilities

can't think of everything right now, but I know that you don't have to check everything off the list. there are different places on the autism spectrum, lack of affection is a symptom of 'classic' autism, not always true.

One thing I do know, the earlier you get a diagnosis, the sooner you can start treatments and the better the outcome in terms of socialisation etc.

[mum2peanut]

My nearly 3yo niece was diagnosed with autism about 6months ago.
Behaviours she displayed
- rocking
- didn't actual play with toys
- repetitive use of a toy, eg. continually pushing the one button for long periods of time
- hardly any speech, and loss of the few words she did have
- short spans of eye contact
- high sound sensory issues
- no social skills with other children or strange adults
and many more things, but we knew that there was definately a delay.

It's been a long 6 months for my sister, but DN is making some progress with the use of the many facilities available out there.
ETA: she is affectionate at times to close family members

[MyFourCubs]

Hi there:)

My 2 year old was diagnosed with autism a month ago, although I have known that he was for about 6 mths. (A mothers instinct!) I smiled when I read your post, not because it was funny but because it sounds a lot like my beautiful boy. He lines everything up as well and I had grown to find this endearing! I took him to the occupational therapist the other day and she wanted him to put these coloured blocks in a container. Instead he lined them all up and counted them: "one, two, thre,, four..." I know it's obsessive compulsive but I also think it's kind of cute.:)

However, I know there are many times when it's not cute, it's outright annoying. Alex will line up his trains or cars and if somebody, (for instance his little sister,) knocks one or interferes in any way he will lose it. He also spends a lot of time lying on the floor with his head on the side, just pushing things back and forth. This is typical autistic behaviour. He doesn't walk on his toes but I have heard that this is also prevalent in many autistic children. He has major sensory issues, mainly with sound and visuals. He often doesn't cope in a crowded or noisy environment and will just scream until you remove him. His eye contact is variable. His speechy was one of the first to say that she thought he was autistic. She commented that when he walks into the room he doesn't look at her, he looks around the room at what is in it but will not meet her eyes. However, some times his eye contact is great! He is also very affectionate and loves cuddles. Usually I am the one to initiate this, though.

I am only new to autism but something I have found is that there is no "stereotypical," autistic children. They have different issues and different traits and you cannot say "that child can't be autistic because he does this or that", because they are all different. Alex is progressing well with his speech and he is quite social for an autistic child, but he is still autistic it's just at the milder end of the spectrum.

I think the development check is a great idea, it will help you find some answers one way or the other.:)

sara