Autism

[ummmm]

I have had quite a few people ask me if my son is autistic. I have taken him to the doctors who have referred him. It's upsetting me that people can see things I can't see in my own child. He is a bit 'odd' but to me it makes him even more loveable. Does anyone believe that other people can see something we (as parents) can't

[petes_dragon]

I'm sorry to say - but probably, yes!

Sometimes we are just too close to the situation to see things objectively and also we tend to make excuses for certain types of things. For instance, poor speech - we can understand as we hear it every day and have learned to 'interpret' etc.

Just to put your mind at rest, I would make an appt with your HV but keep an open mind.

Also there are a wide variety of degrees/types of autism etc - so please don't fear the worst

Hope these links help....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/autism.cfm

http://www.nas.org.uk/

http://www.autismuk.com/

A xXx

[ummmm]

Thank you. I haven't checked out the links yet, but I will. He had some classic symtoms but they seem to have stopped. Or I could be kidding myself.

[sandyg2244]

You didn't say what age he was.Yes i know what you mean, my son was quite shy etc and went through phases.However, although people compare all kids, they are all different.I can only assume that if he is your first child you might not have anything to compare his behaviour with.Autism and other conditions are usually picked up pre-school but even after that.There are tell-tale signs that i know are picked up sometimes by health professionals when kids have just started school at their first assessment.I actually sat in on one of these assessments and when the parent decribed her son's behaviour, one part of it pointed towards autism.Nothing unusual apart from the fact he woke up in the morning and sat playing with his hands for a while.I guess this was a classic sign of autism according to their assessment criteria , but he had to be referred to a paediatrician of course.i dont know the outcome.At the end of the day, all kids are different and I guess if other people are saying this to you,at least you are putting your mind at rest by referring on.best of luck whatever happens.

[ummmm]

He's my third child. He's 7 now but the first ever comment I had about him was in nursery (pre School). I thought they didn't like him because he was hard work. I still stand by that.
He flapped his hands, wouldn't leave the house unless he was wearing clothes pegs in his hair (i know) He used to spin, line things up and would only interact with me (I didn't know this until someone pointed it out) but I'm starting to think that maybe he has grown out of it. Or am I being a t**t??

[noxlumos]

Well my ex girlfriend's four year old lad who lives with us (long story) is a very unusual wee mite and I see absolutely nothing wrong with that, he's merely his own man and yes, he does demonstrate odd and unusual behaviour ( like his obsessive love of cogs, insisting on having 3 knives and forks, and lying his clothes in a human shape on the floor, speaking only through my 8 year old daughter unless he absolutely has to) but does that necessarily mean he's "autistic" or anything else with a label attached to it? I don't necessarily think so. I've had a lot of people say we shouldn't "indulge" his unusual behaviour, but why not? He's perfectly intelligent,in fact more so than lots of kids his age, and can interact when he so chooses and yes slowly he is becoming more "normal" ( hate that word) so maybe your lad too is growing out of simple eccentricity which I believe applies to our lad, so I wouldn't panic too much yet.
Lonnie has an autistic daughter and is a mine of info on this subject so with luck he'll be along to advise you, but for myself I think sometimes we're very keen to label people prematurely.

[sandyg2244]

Where autism and related conditions are concerned, there is often a high degree of intelligence.Even children who dont suffer from these conditions display different types of compulsive behaviour, needing routines, comforters etc.Like the other poster said, every child is different-labelling is not the way to go, and is thankfully dying out within the health profession these days.Aspergers syndrome is another condition often associated with autism and many people with this condition lead normal lives, some undiagnosed until adulthood.Even where certain 'learning disabilties' are diagnosed, for instance, the proposal nowadays is to refrain from labelling and integrate all children into mainstream schooling as far as possible.

[Pippa68]

My first child (a daughter) has an ASD..she has Aspergers Syndrome & funnily enough I was the only one who thought she was 'odd'! everyone else said she is just 'her'..she had/has funny ways, habits, tics & obsessions and they just thought it was part of her charm :o) I first noticed it at around 2 years old.

I know some people don't like labelling children, but I found once she was diagnosed (aged 10) I could move on, accept her & more importantly learn to understand her. I was relieved. Before she was labelled I was beside myself most of the time ~ this was obviously my problem & not hers.

I am finding it hard to type what I mean here, but just wanted to say that it sometimes works the other way round..and that 'labelling' children quite often has a positive effect for some :o)

[Lore]

Hi ummmm, from what you've said re: signs & symptoms.. it sounds an awful lot like Asperger's syndrome to me, which is part of the autistic spectrum. The fact that he has now been referred will help a great deal in terms of finding strategies to support his behaviour and work towards him gaining confidence in others in both school and home life.

I've supported a few children with this condition over the years and with the correct strategies put into place you will find he will become a lot more settled.

Have a read of 'The curious incident of the dog in the night time' - see if anything rings a bell.

[Beanmistriss]

People are always going on about not giving people labels but with autistic spectrum disorders the earlier the child gets any specialist input they need the better. It's a frightening thing for you to face but if he has got autism then the best thing is for him to be diagnosed so he can recive any help he may need.

Good luck, wish you and the wee man all the best, Bean x

[freak_unique]

aw bless him he sounds adorable :) they tried to say something was wrong with my 4 year old brother because he was late with his speach and is only interested in things he likes, hes obsessed with lining his toys up which no1 can even move and it annoys me that they try to say he could be autistic etc i just think all children have there own characteristics and speed of learning and it annoys me how people try and label everything nowadays - everything different / out of the ordinary has to be labelled as some kind of disorder

[wee-janine]

hi ummmm
for ASD there has to be a triad of impairment, which basically means he must be affect in three areas; in social skills, communication and imagination.
Also does your child empathise with other peoples feelings,or can he read facial expressions?
Also can he imagine different situations and time scales?
These are just very basic things to look for.
A last word is though even if your fears are found to be correct just remember it is not the end of the world. There is a lot of support available both in schools and out.
It has also reported that Bill Gates, of Micro soft fame, and Woody Allen are on the autistic spectrum. He is still the little boy you know and love diagnosis or not

[missyR]

so if a child has weird behaviour or playing patterns does that mean he/she is autistic?
r xxx

[sandyg2244]

pippa68,
when i said labelling i was only talking about society's views and attitudes towards anyone who is different, as in 'labelling' people.Getting a diagnosis and a name for your child's condition is different.I know that in this day and age your child's condition is being recognised, and having worked with children and adults with learning disabilities , I am glad that attitudes are changing across the board.

[Binky]

I used to know an autistic boy that lined things up, however, my husband (not autistic) used to do the same thing when he was small. The autistic spectrum is very wide. What will make you clear one way or another is whether he grows out of these behaviours or whether you are able to adapt them. For example, would he mind if you substituted the peg in his hair for a hat? Will he let you join in with the lining up?

[Somebody17]

I am autistic and I do strange things sometimes,so I guess the answer is yes.