Advice needed on Possible Autism

mariano rivera

Hi All
Myself and my Wife have been working in New York for the last 3 years
We have 2 boys. The older one has just turned 2 years and the other is 4 months

As part of the early intervention programme the 2 year old has been getting 10 hours ABA a week and 2 and a half hours a week

To be honest, I had the typical Irishman’s attitude to all this. “Yerra he is fine, he will alright”, where as my wife was more concerned


We have no diagnoses as yet and obviously are very worried about where he will end up. Is he on the Autism spectrum? where he wil go to school etc. The therapists who cannot do diagnoses do think he is on the Autism spectrum.
One told us last week that he probably would not be up to going to Kindergarten next year which was a real heartbreaker


I am coming to terms now with the fact that he could have an issue



About 6 months ago, he had no words. In the last few months there has some good progress

We went home for 2 weeks and there was huge improvement. He seemed to be in a lot of new environments/ situations HOWEVER we are concerned he has gone backwards since then

PROS:
The therapists said there is huge difference since he came back from Ireland
His eye contact is way better
He loves playing. Football, climbing , running etc.)Is out going with other kids although he can’t communicate with them (Cant or wont say Hi or Bye)
He is nodding YES. (Huge help as less tantrums etc.)
More active (jumping etc.)
Can give you five
He can imitate all the sounds that you make. Mamama, dadada, wowowow, lalalal, sasaa etc.

CONS:
He still very no words
Doesn’t say Mam or dada
While he can imitate sounds he does not use them in a practical sense
Doesn’t or Cant point
Tendency to Zone Out. You might have to call his name 5 or 10 times (This is the most frightening thing as he can be completely in his own world)

Going forward we plan on getting him more playdates and not having the TV on, as he completely disappears when looking at TV.

So, does anyone have thoughts, ideas or Advice on our situation. All comments would be greatly appreciated

Thank you

mmalaka

My daughter is autistic...we where shocked when it was confirmed..the early intervention programme help alot...she is in ASD unit in the school...and she is seeing speech & Occupational therapists.
we went home for a vacation last summer and it was very good for her...
her speech is still not very good but she is improving...
dealing with autistic kids is a long process...
but acceptance and understanding is very important...it is not like this is the end of the child...try to find the strength points of the child and focus on it.

ziggy23

I started a thread a few days ago on speech therapy. My son just went 2 earlier this month. He has very few words does not point and rarely waves when u want him too. He usually responds when I call his name but sometimes can just completely ignore me. I have been advised to take him to speech therapy but Autism has never been mentioned. What are the other signs? Could this be kinda an american way of over-reacting (hope I don't offend anyone by saying that) or should I be worried?

mariano rivera

ziggy23 wrote: »

I started a thread a few days ago on speech therapy. My son just went 2 earlier this month. He has very few words does not point and rarely waves when u want him too. He usually responds when I call his name but sometimes can just completely ignore me. I have been advised to take him to speech therapy but Autism has never been mentioned. What are the other signs? Could this be kinda an american way of over-reacting (hope I don't offend anyone by saying that) or should I be worried?

Ziggy,

My son just turned two last week.

He pretty much does the same as what your son does. It can take 5 on 10 times for him to react to his name especially if he is doing something else

I suppose, we are hopeful that it is American overreaction.


For what its worth, the speech therapy has been great. It cant do your child any harm. Our lad is now able to make all the word phonics after only 2 months.

We just don't know at the moment if he is on the spectrum. Some days are better than others. Like yesterday when he was with the speech therapist, he said "Bye"

This was HUGE

I am sure your boy is fine. I suppose to be aware of these things is good too. He might even enjoy the speech classes. Our fella loves them


Mmalaka,



At the moment, everyday is new challenge for us, which are taking on with great gusto. Our son is improving in lots of aspects which we are taking great heart in.

Thank you for your comments.

cynder

My boy will be 5 at xmas, autism was a concern for us, he got the all clear back in may even though his has been with the early intervention services since he was 2.


His diagnoses, severe speech and language disorder (1st percentile (99% of kids will do better than my fella in receptive, expressive and phonological speech), sensory issues (seeks movement), possible adhd/add., poor attention span, hyperactivity, poor fine motor skills.


At 2 my boy had 5 words his progress was very slow (poor social skills, tantrums, meltdowns and so on) he first said moma when he was around 2 and a half however he didnt say dada until he was 3 and a half. He didnt react to his name being called until he was almost 4. He couldnt clap or point until he was nearly 3.

There is hope at he end of the tunnel, my guy is in main stream with a part time sna and is doing great, in fact the teacher said in some areas he is more advanced than his peers. He has an IEP. He has speech therapy, group early intervention educator, one to one early intervention educator, psychology and occupational therapy. He hates speech therapy and many sessions have been abandoned because of his behavior, hour long temper tantrums and so on.

ziggy23

mariano rivera wrote: »

Ziggy,

My son just turned two last week.

He pretty much does the same as what your son does. It can take 5 on 10 times for him to react to his name especially if he is doing something else

I suppose, we are hopeful that it is American overreaction.


For what its worth, the speech therapy has been great. It cant do your child any harm. Our lad is now able to make all the word phonics after only 2 months.

We just don't know at the moment if he is on the spectrum. Some days are better than others. Like yesterday when he was with the speech therapist, he said "Bye"

This was HUGE

I am sure your boy is fine. I suppose to be aware of these things is good too. He might even enjoy the speech classes. Our fella loves them


Mmalaka,



At the moment, everyday is new challenge for us, which are taking on with great gusto. Our son is improving in lots of aspects which we are taking great heart in.

Thank you for your comments.

Thanks for the reply:)

Your son sounds like he is exactly like mine! Does he have a good understanding of what you are saying to him? Sean (my boy) can understand everything I say to him. Instead at pointing at the door to go out he will take my hand and bring me to the door. The health nurse said he is just lazy why would he be bothered talking when he knows he can get his his point across in other ways! She did give me some leaflets about how to make him talk more I'm trying to incorporate more into our daily routine but it's hard! Actually come to think of it he is pointing more for example I was tucking him in last night and I said lets tuck you up with your Thomas The Tank Engine duvet and he started smiling and pointing at Thomas's face He is in the creche some days which I think is doing wonders for him and they are not at all concerned about his speech there. I do think some american websites and forums are a bit hysterical I've seen things written like 'my son is 14 months and not speaking much so I'm bringing him to speech therapy' :eek: I've stopped reading these!

ziggy23

grindelwald wrote: »

My boy will be 5 at xmas, autism was a concern for us, he got the all clear back in may even though his has been with the early intervention services since he was 2.


His diagnoses, severe speech and language disorder (1st percentile (99% of kids will do better than my fella in receptive, expressive and phonological speech), sensory issues (seeks movement), possible adhd/add., poor attention span, hyperactivity, poor fine motor skills.


At 2 my boy had 5 words his progress was very slow (poor social skills, tantrums, meltdowns and so on) he first said moma when he was around 2 and a half however he didnt say dada until he was 3 and a half. He didnt react to his name being called until he was almost 4. He couldnt clap or point until he was nearly 3.

There is hope at he end of the tunnel, my guy is in main stream with a part time sna and is doing great, in fact the teacher said in some areas he is more advanced than his peers. He has an IEP. He has speech therapy, group early intervention educator, one to one early intervention educator, psychology and occupational therapy. He hates speech therapy and many sessions have been abandoned because of his behavior, hour long temper tantrums and so on.

Yea I've heard temper tantrums can be a sign? Sean went through a stage a while back were I couldn't bring him anywhere he would just throw himself on the ground and scream if he did not get his own way. He is fine now he still has the odd one but sure they all do! Also spinning I was convinced he was Autistic after reading on the net that spinning was a sign I brought it up at his 18 month check up were the health nurse said nonsense I'm sure you liked spinning when you were a child

cynder

My fella would throw tantrums due to loud noise and a place being full of people , he. Also hated confined spaces, although he loves squeezing himself into tight spaces. It's all sensory.

There are lots of signs for autism but they also cross over onto other areas , add, ADHD and speech and language disorders. That's why it took 2 and a half years to get a diagnoses, he ticked so many different boxes in so many different areas, early intervention is the key. My fella also had pika eating unedible items, like blue blocks, air freshness, dishwasher tablets and so on. He also would run away and keep running and won't come back ( he still does that), he would also cover his ears all the time, he had very very poor social and play skills, he had no imaginary play. He was also very violent, his given his brother bloody nose and fat lips. He couldnt point so he got my hand stood there and screamed until I found what he wanted.

He had and still has a low attention span.

I could go on, they have a 3 inch folder on him at the early intervention services. His transition to school has been helped with an Sna, without her he would not be as good at school as he is, he might not even need her next year. Preschool worked wonders all the ground work was done at preschool, his improved so much and his words have really come on ( even though his still in the first percentile).

cynder

@ ziggy


If you worried about autism the only way to find out is to ask the phn to refer you to the early intervention services under the assessment of need 2005.

Don't take no for an answer, tell her you are concerned and she is not qualified to say whether or not your son has autism.

Under the assessment of need your son will be seen within 6 months and his needs identified.

mmalaka

Life with Autism tonight on RTE1 @ 8.30

http://www.rte.ie/tv/programmes/life_with.html

ziggy23

grindelwald wrote: »

@ ziggy


If you worried about autism the only way to find out is to ask the phn to refer you to the early intervention services under the assessment of need 2005.

Don't take no for an answer, tell her you are concerned and she is not qualified to say whether or not your son has autism.

Under the assessment of need your son will be seen within 6 months and his needs identified.

grindelwald thanks so much for all your info and advice.
I have a speech therapist calling out to the house next Saturday. I'm going to see what she says first, then if I still feel unsure then I will take the next step.
thanks again

orlaeryn

Hi ,

I have a daughter with autism too. She was diagnosed at 2 and now aged 4 is doing really well. Initially she has severe receptive and expressive language delay but now her language is near normal level. It was, and is , hard work but so worth it to see the difference it makes.

There are many flag signs for Autism, from language delay which can lead to severe temper tantrums, self harming, lack of interest in others and the world around them, not responding to name, lack of eye contact, lack of fear/ danger, especially high pain threshold..the list goes on and on. not every child will have every symptom, some will have little signs and may be diagnosed later as a result.

Here in Ireland there are a few routes for Diagnosis. Going Private is obviously the quickest way to find out one way or another. You can also go through the HSE. You can apply for Assessment of Need, you don't need a referral from any profesional for this, you simply call HSE helpline and they post you the forms, from there you will meet with an assessment officer and together you will decide what assessments are needed, usually it's speech, occupational therapy and psychology.they also do hearing tests and other basic tests. In theory this is all meant to be completed within6 months of your application, but the reality is in most parts of the country the wait is much longer. It can be done on time but will take a lot of harrassment from you to the HSE. sad but true. You can apply for this process if you think your child has ANY difficulty, it's not just for Autism diagnosis.

I would say to act on any concerns you have asap, early intervention is key. Wishing you all the best for the future