Ball Rolling For Austism Diagnosis

pastry2010

We've recently just come to the realisation that our little guy (2 years 2 weeks) is showing signs of Autism. I made a lot of excuses the last few months but as a baby he was a real smiler, loads of giggles, loads of eye contact, great eater, great sleeper so I'm reckoning after he learned to walk (15.5 months) things didn't progress like pointing, talking etc. During the Summer he started to line cars and blocks up and although he always slept with a blanket he wanted to bring it around the house with him, he uses it to put on the radiator and runs up and down touching his face off it and rubbing the label. In the last month we've moved house back to my parents to save for our own house and I couldn't ignore the odd behaviour anymore, he was using the corner of his eyes to look at things and he has unusual hand movements, he's still very affectionate to us but he still isn't comfortable with hugs from grandparents, godparents etc and he gets upset. Devastated isn't the word I've cried everyday since, just terrified for him and his future and what it holds for him. We are starting to inform ourselves of everything we need to do but it's so overwhelming. I believe a hearing test is first and I'll need to go private as the waiting list is 20 months!!! Then a recognised private assessment to find out where on the spectrum he is. Can anyone outline what is in place support wise? I'm not working at the moment so money is really tight and I'm panicking about how we will cover the cost of private treatment. Also does anyone know if there is any support for housing for families with children with Autism? I really would love him in a stable home and not moving around rental properties as I've read that helps with their ongoing development. Tia

Speedwell

A reasonably successful 50-year-old with Aspergers here to say don't panic too much about the future, sweetie. If he's open to affection from you then he isn't grossly impaired like the kids we used to read about in magazines. They know a lot more about what to do with kids who experience things differently now then they did when I was a child. Something you can do RIGHT NOW is just make your son feel safe and loved so he can feel more secure and avoid having so much of the anxiety that is so crippling to someone with autism. I know you can do that.

Another thing you can do RIGHT NOW is not blame yourself or look for ways that things went "wrong". That's unhealthy and counterproductive thinking and doesn't make anything at all better. Don't get negative and be ashamed of your precious child or your wonderful family, or think of him as "damaged". Don't waste time blaming vaccines, diet, your parenting skills, or any of the other kooky things that people run around in little circles to try to explain things to them. Remember you are not trying to understand autism so much as you are trying to understand your child. And the best thing to do is just to love him and make him feel safe. (Do you feel loved and safe? You will need to have support from family and/or friends and/or professionals. Make sure you take every opportunity to support yourself.)

I'll be thinking about you

Speedwell

My husband reminded me that one of his nephews was diagnosed with autism a few years ago when he was six, and the child had his diagnosis withdrawn a couple months ago. I'm not trying to give you false hope, but it is possible for kids to learn to cope and function, or even for the behavior to be situational or just anxiety-related. I personally think the little boy shows strong signs of Aspergers tendencies (I'm the favorite aunt, after all, and the rest of the family ooh and ahh over how well I relate to him), and time will tell, but for now we're just enjoying him being a little boy in development.

LegacyUser

I'm no expert as we are in the process of figuring out whats going on with our own son. There are others who may have better advice for you. The first thing to do is to visit your gp to discuss your concerns, then apply for assesment of need (AON). There are legal time lines (not always adhered to) which your child should be seen by specialists. From my experience if you do not apply through AON, then you would be waiting at least two years for public appointments. Look into AON, you can download a form and refer your child yourself. This is a free service as all appointments are public. I spoke to a psychologist and he said it can be better for a child to be closer to age 3 for diagnosis. So if you apply now that would be good timing. Again I am no expert and am just speaking from my own experiences. But be prepared to follow up with all referrals made, you'll get to know the secretaries very well, and hopefully get a cancellation here or there. Best of luck, it takes some time to come to terms with your child having a potential diagnosis, but at least if you know there is something going on for him then you can get him the help he needs.

mohawk

When my son was 2 we took him to PHN and she referred him for speech and language therapy. They felt there was more then speech delay going on so he was referred to early intervention team. He got the diagnosis two months before he turned 4. He has been seeing speech therapist and occupational therapist since he was two and a half. My son is in HSE system but I know in some areas charities such as enable Ireland are running services for ASD kids.

I remember crying about it at the time. If I knew then what I know now I wouldn't of lost sleep worried about it.

He was four before he started talking. He is making up for it now! He is in first class now and is doing great. It really isn't the end of the world. His psychologist told us that a good bond with us his parents was an excellent indicator for his ability to form relationships in the future with friends etc.

Best of luck OP