Confused need answers please!!!!

My son was diagnosed at the age of 2 with Autism. He was not put on the spectrum due to his age. They said it would be best to wait till he was 5yrs old. He just turned 5 and I have him in Pre-School Special Ed. Recently I had a meeting with his Teachers and they posed several things: First they think he is tongue tied. He doesn't move his tongue hardly at all. He doesn't have really good speech only about 10 audiable words. Second they said they really don't think he has Autism at all. He doesn't show the familiar signs. He is very social, says hi and bye at appropriate times, but due to lack of communication can't play with peers well. He also has Global Developmental Delay in all skills. So here are some things I've noticed and would love some help on maybe he has been miss diagnosed. He was 6wks premature, apgars were 9 and 9. Did not need oxygen and went home on time. Medical symptoms lots of hair growth on boby, very fine black hairs on back, chest, legs, feet, very foul smelling urine, sometimes gritty stool and lots of yeast rashes on bottom and feet. One of his eyes wonders especialy if he is tired. Also he is said to have low muscle tone.  Severly delayed in Developement. We have seen a geneticist and she came up with nothing, but he was a year old. Any ideas would be great.

[Rachel Thompson, Ph.D., BCBA]

An accurate diagnosis can only be assigned based on a thorough in-person evaluation. So, I recommend that you seek out an evaluation be a qualified professional. It will be important to provide information based on your knowledge of your child and the information gathered by his school, but his teachers are not qualified to provide a diagnosis. In the meantime, you and your son's school have identified delays in a number of areas, and it you can be begin working on those even without an understanding of the underlying diagnosis. Clearly, your son needs some speech, special education, and physical therapy services. In many cases, it takes a strong parent advocate to obtain services at a level that will allow a child to make progress. In some cases, diagnosis can help to build a case for the need for services.

[gavinsmom03]

Thank you. He has been in therapies since he was 10mnts of age.  He is in pre-school special ed. He gets O.T. and Speech. I have taken him to many specialists and leave confused and with no answers. Because of this his Pediatrician is not willing to help me much further. I was just hoping to get some ideas and take those to him. I have advocated for him since he was little. I hate seeing him like this. Unexplained rashes, not sleeping through the night, and difficulty communicating with others. Very frustrating. He even avoids foods and liquids that he knows will make him feel worse. He can't tell me what they do to him he just refuses them when presented to him. I have an apointment with an ENT next week and hopefully get the tongue issue looked at. Again thank you for responding.

[Sally44]

This is just a shot in the dark, but someone on another post mentioned a condition called mitocondrial dysfunction that can have some characteristics of autism.  I believe this is a genetic problem, and you have already mentioned that he has had genetic testing.  But google it and see what you think.
It might be that your son has developmental delay, along with another disorder or parts of another disorder.  It is quite possible to have traits of autism, but not enough of them to get a full diagnosis.  
And you need someone to get to the bottom of the speaking and socialising difficulties.  Does he have speech difficulties that make it hard for him to communicate, or even if he could communicate would he still have communication and social interaction difficulties that would still mean he was on the autistic spectrum.
But it also sounds like you have some other stuff going on as well, especially the problems with his urine and stools.
Does he have any other health problems eg. breathing.  Does he tire easily.  What is his balance and walking like.

[gavinsmom03]

I did some research on the MD you mentioned above. I made an apointment with his Ped. No breathing problems, but gets upper respitory problems all the time. We have to use a nebulizer all winter long. As far as tireing he gets red faced very easily and we keep him hydrated. He eats constantly and never gains alot of weight. He used to trip all the time, but is better. Still falls every so often for no reason. Still searching for answers though....Thank you for yours definately going to try that route even to just rule it out.