Autism/aspergers/adhd In 2 Year Old

[hammerman]

This is going to ramble on a bit so please bear with me. Im not sure what im going to be asking for...maybe its just someone with children with similar problems, i don't know.

My step daughter has 3 kids aged 7 months, 2 and 3. he's happily married, has nice home and tries to do a bit of part time work too.

However, there is some serious issues with her 2 year old son. She has been to many different consultants, specialists, health workers etc etc and it looks like he has some kind of autism or aspergers or ADHD.

Now he can't speak but is learning sign language from someone who comes round once a week...he's a very intelligent child, he can count with his fingers and does many other things.

But this child has a nature that has been spawned from satan !!! If you can imagine the cartoon Tazmanian devil that used to tear round destroying everything, well this is no exageration. He has no concept of what's right or wrong despite being told off and given a kind of "naughty step" for him to calm down a bit.

When he starts like this, it is unbelievable. he will go to just about everything...doors, ornaments, curtains, fish tank, coffee table, fire guard etc and either hit it, slam it, punch it, pull it or turn it over. Im very lucky that my dog loves kids but i also know that all dogs have a threshold and we watch him like a hawk. He thinks it's all funny and no amount of shouting or telling off makes any difference.

Ok, so we've got a 2 year old i hear you cry....well this is just incessant and can continue for hours. My step daughter won't take him round anyone's house any more (exept ours !!!) and she's devoting so much time to him that her poor little 3 year old daughter...who's a real sweetheart, is getting left out.

So she's at the end of her tether. She can't afford to go private so she's just on a lot of waiting lists. She has no one in the same situation to talk to so there's no advice from those who have similar problems.

As i said, i don't really know what im asking for....someone for my step daughter to talk to in a similar position maybe....a forum to go on i don't know.

All i need is she needs help. Thanks for reading.

[cazzz1975]

Has he had a diagnosis? the process of diagnosing anything on the autistic spectrum can take around a year, its not as simple as having a few traits, The symptoms above are more like hyperactivity, My brother used to become uncontrollable if he had eaten anything with e-numbers, what is his diet like?

[humbersloop]

hi hammer, for initial advice and support you could start here

http://www.autism.org.uk/

and although I've got no direct experience, I understand the netmums website is also a source of information and some local support forums too

All the best

[hammerman]

This is one thing we were talking about Cazzz, firstly they won't diagnose him until he's at least 3. However, my step daughter said that there is a possible treatment if it can be given before the age of 3.

Also, we were talking about diet last night and she has noticed that it could possibly be after eating food.

I think it's something she needs to monitor.

Thank you

[cazzz1975]

firstly they won't diagnose him until he's at least 3. However, my step daughter said that there is a possible treatment if it can be given before the age of 3.

My son had his diagnosis aged 2, what is this possible treatment? Autism is a life long condition.

I would go with the elimination diet for his hyperactivity

[Arabesque]

My 7 year old grandson has autism and his mum has found great support and help from the National Autistic Society. I'm sure if you Google you will find their website. Hope this helps. Jan

[DTCwordfan]

Gosh hammerman, I feel for you - I too would start with the Autism Society as sloopy suggests.....It isn't easy and though my kids are fine, one of them has a closest friend who is two years older than her - and she has a twin brother who is mildly autistic - (very fragile emotionally). Explaining Tommy's condition to her when she was young was most difficult, even though she is highly intelligent.

By chance I have just posted a story on what happens to Christmas Trees after the festivities are over - if the 3 year old is a bright young thing, she may appreciate it..... perhaps the only other constructive suggestion that I have is taking the 3 year old out for treats etc but I bet that you are doing that already.......

[lilacben]

We have a 15 year old granddaughter with ADHD and on the boarder for Autism. But was not properly diagnosed until she was 12. By then it was really too late to help her. She is a stunning looking girl but it is so sad to see the other side of her. We have all tried everything for her to take her tablets for it but she refuses and will not take them. She says they give her a stomach ache and she doesnt need them. Oh but she does......she really does.! She is tiny framed but so strong..once she is off on one there is no way to control her. Just like a ticking bomb the whole time. Has been expelled from school now and going to a part of Scat that do a one to one with others like her. Silly thing is they say she doenst have to go in if she doesnt want to. So she doesnt go half the time. And when she does she is only there for two half days.It is so stupid.! It worried us what will happen to her next july when she leaves school. Noone will employ someone like this. Please tell your stepdaughter to keep pushing to get something done.Don;t leave it if the doctor says there is nothing wrong. Go online and read about it. There are forms there that you can tick question off and if it should be saying he needs help then print it off and take it to the doctors again. Until he sends him to see someone else. My daughters doctor didnt like to 'Label' my granddaughter and say there was something wrong. Even the psychiatrist she saw at 12 said he had never seen a girl of that age so bad and something should have been done years before. Keep on and on at them.!
There are a lot of people out there that take one look at a child like this and say ' that child needs a good smack' or something similar but they have never had any dealings with it in their lives or they wouldn't say that.
Get reading, and good luck.
Brenda x

[lilacben]

opps sorry me again. Just one thing write a diary of him every day, as proof again for the doctor. And also do they same with his food. Note down the things he eats everyday and see if there is a pattern.
Brenda x

[askyourgran]

A friend of ours had a very young daughter with autism (undiagnosed at the time). They tried to keep her quiet and deal with her themselves but gradually they stopped coming to see us. He eventually told us that her tantrums seemed to be linked to what she ate, no chocolate for starters. I don't know how the girl is now, we've lost touch with them.

[TheHangman]

My son was labled as the most complex case our local child support had ever seen. He was never violent or never had any outbursts as such. At the time we got no help whatsoever and was left to cope. Colourants in food was a factor, smarties were lethal and could keep him awake for 24hrs. He often became frustrated with very minor problems and would go off crying and inconsolable.
I eventually found that if I could determine what the problem was I could help fix the problem sometimes with the stupidest of answers, zebra crossings are black white black white til you come across one that,s white black white black, so the guy who painted them wasn't paying attention and opened the wrong tin of paint. Sounds simple but my son needed a reason for something that wasn't as it normally would be. Typical example is: question if 5r can be written as rrrrr how can you also write gggggggggg? he could not answer this. The reason was: no one would know what 10g meant so how could it be an answer. You have to first identify the problem then find some answer that they are willing to accept, its not easy. having said that he copes far better now and has been to college passed NVQ's despite not going to school. School couldn't cope. Its hard but there are moments that make it worthwhile.