Aa
autism/severe delay
my son just turned 2 last month,he has alot of autistic behavior ,some of his symptons are,he seems really confused he walks back and forth like he dosent know what to do,frequent staring at the ceiling,does not know any words,lots of flapping,lots of crying spells,dosent respond to anything and dosent understand what is being said to him,he use to give kisses but no longer knows how,he use to love the park now when he sees it he starts screaming,he goes to therapy but it really is no help at all, he use to like it but now right when we walk in he starts his screaming for the whole 2 hour session and all they are doing the whole session is trying to comfort him,can not get him on no sleeping pattern no matter what i try,sometimes he will stay up till 4 am and other times it will be 11pm,he has real bad eating habits sometimes i have to really force him to eat,he really hates me brushing his hair will scream the whole time,his neurologist said it is to early to diagnose him but with all this going on i dont think it should be that hard,i seen a genetics specialist and she said she thinks he is just severly delayed with autistic characteristics and they can not figure out why,he also was diagnosed with hypothyroid at birth and has been taking his medication for that since a week old and his endocrine says this does not have anything to do with his thyroid disorder,i really do not know what else to do i just sit amd watch him and theres not a day go by that i dont cry it just hurts me so bad that hes so lost and in his own world.i cant take him out of the house much because everywhere we go he will seem to go through one of his screaming spells.my son just started these weird hand movements in his face like something is bothering him,also he just started clapping alot he never even knew how to a month ago,i read something where it said kids with retts syndrome do this.i dont know what else to do.
I am not sure where you live in CA. You need to ask your doctor for a full evaluation for your child, not just from neurology. The sooner you help your son with speech, OT and other therapies, the better for him. If you are in Northern California, ask for a referral to the MIND Institute at UC Davis. You can Google and find out more about them. If you do not want to drive to Davis and you are in the Bay area, try Oakland Chidren's Hospital. Also read about dairy free and gluten free diets to see if any of these diets are something that you are willing to try. These diets are not scientific, but some moms think that they improve their kids development. Did you have his hearing tested? There is much that a full eveluation by a team of specialists will do to look at all the different aspects of the child that could be creating his lack of developement. You need a full evaluation by a child development doctor, Occupatonal Therapist, Speech therapist and even genetic doctor. Good luck.
thank you very much for your response,no my son dosent say a word at all,he use to say ma but i dont even hear that anymore,his balance and cordination seem to be ok,it seems like some days are better than others ,he will be real alert one day than the next he will seem like hes real lost again,i have noticed lately when i do give him a cracker he will smell it before he puts it in his mouth.what seems to be getting worse is the staring at the ceiling constantly and eye fluttering,i have an appointment with his neurologist thursday im going to try to push for a diagnosis.
you really should take him to a professional if you have these concerns. I know you took him already to a neurologist who said it is too early to diagnose...there are some doctors who wont diagnose so early however my son was diagnosed PDD-NOS at 2 1/2 so we are able to get him a lot of help and he is doing great. I also know several others who's children were diagnosed. I woould seek a second opinion with another pediatric neurologist and I would also take your son to a developmental and behavioral pediatrician...both of them can give you a clinical diagnosis... once you know for sure you can really start working with him and probably getting him into more therapies...
Your son's walking up and down is something alot of children on the spectrum do. They also tend to like to follow lines on the floor or are very interested in patterns or colours on the floor. Many also like to spin. My son is now 8, and at school during playtime if he is not helped to join in and play with other children he too would spend the time walking up and down the fence line. So he may need some structure to help him with this. Many children respond to visual schedules. Again the SALT or an Ed Psychologist should be able to show you how to do this. These children tend to like routine, so once you get a schedule in place it is alot easier for both of you.
I think the earlier he is diagosed and begins therapies, the better the prognosis.
Things that you need to be able to do is to communicate with him. If he has difficulties understanding language a SALT will be able to show you symbol communication which he can use to communicate with you and which you can use to reinforce/explain what you are saying. Keep all language simple ie. 3-4 word sentences. If he has problems processing language he won't be able to understand you saying "can you come over here and sit at the table and eat your dinner". So you can rephrase it eg. "John come now", "sit down and eat". It sounds very cold and clinical, but it works. Imagine how you would speak to someone who didn't understand your language.
Things you can do to help are make sure his food is nutricious and not junk food. If he is very hyper remove all E numbers and sugar from his diet. If he is really having serious sleep issues that are affecting all of you speak with his paediatrician. But at his age, my children were also still up and awake late into the night, and also waking in the night, and not even waking at the same time!
Exercise is also good for them. Get him crawling (good for brain development), you can use those fabric tubes for him to crawl through, swimming, bouncing etc. Get in touch with your OT department and ask them if they have any sensory toys you can borrow.
In the beginning it is hard because you don't know what is upsetting your child and you cannot communicate. But just take it as fact that things that don't phase you at all will upset him tremendously. And change things accordingly. If he screams in one supermarket chain, try another one. Sometimes it is just something really simple like the lighting in the building or the smell of the cleaner they use that upsets them.
When I went out with my son I used a pair of DIY ear defenders over a cap or clothing with a hood on and his Irlen glasses and it made a huge difference. Let him take a small toy with him to hold. See if he prefers a backwards facing buggy so that he can see you.
It will get easier and he will make progress and develop.
I think the earlier he is diagosed and begins therapies, the better the prognosis.
Things that you need to be able to do is to communicate with him. If he has difficulties understanding language a SALT will be able to show you symbol communication which he can use to communicate with you and which you can use to reinforce/explain what you are saying. Keep all language simple ie. 3-4 word sentences. If he has problems processing language he won't be able to understand you saying "can you come over here and sit at the table and eat your dinner". So you can rephrase it eg. "John come now", "sit down and eat". It sounds very cold and clinical, but it works. Imagine how you would speak to someone who didn't understand your language.
Things you can do to help are make sure his food is nutricious and not junk food. If he is very hyper remove all E numbers and sugar from his diet. If he is really having serious sleep issues that are affecting all of you speak with his paediatrician. But at his age, my children were also still up and awake late into the night, and also waking in the night, and not even waking at the same time!
Exercise is also good for them. Get him crawling (good for brain development), you can use those fabric tubes for him to crawl through, swimming, bouncing etc. Get in touch with your OT department and ask them if they have any sensory toys you can borrow.
In the beginning it is hard because you don't know what is upsetting your child and you cannot communicate. But just take it as fact that things that don't phase you at all will upset him tremendously. And change things accordingly. If he screams in one supermarket chain, try another one. Sometimes it is just something really simple like the lighting in the building or the smell of the cleaner they use that upsets them.
When I went out with my son I used a pair of DIY ear defenders over a cap or clothing with a hood on and his Irlen glasses and it made a huge difference. Let him take a small toy with him to hold. See if he prefers a backwards facing buggy so that he can see you.
It will get easier and he will make progress and develop.
Retts Syndrome is only in girls not boys.
Alot of the symptoms you describe could be down to sensory and perceptual problems called sensory integration disorder. Many/most children on the spectrum have difficulties with sensory processing although it can be a diagnosis in itself. It means that all of his senses are either over or under sensitive and they can fluctuate between the two. So he doesn't like his hair brushed because it hurts him, eventhough it doesn't hurt you or me. He is probably avoiding different environments because of how they look - he may have visual sensory issues and that is why he is moving his hands infront of his eyes, or how they sound - big open places sound different, or how they smell etc. An over sensitive smell and taste maybe why he is avoiding eating.
What is he like with clothing, does he have to have tags removed. What is his balance and co-ordination like.
Is your son talking or using words at all?
He needs to be assessed by a Speech and Language Therapist and also an Occupational therapist.
Also google Irlen Syndrome as many on the spectrum and with sensory issues also have this difficulty which is helped just by wearing the glasses.
Alot of the symptoms you describe could be down to sensory and perceptual problems called sensory integration disorder. Many/most children on the spectrum have difficulties with sensory processing although it can be a diagnosis in itself. It means that all of his senses are either over or under sensitive and they can fluctuate between the two. So he doesn't like his hair brushed because it hurts him, eventhough it doesn't hurt you or me. He is probably avoiding different environments because of how they look - he may have visual sensory issues and that is why he is moving his hands infront of his eyes, or how they sound - big open places sound different, or how they smell etc. An over sensitive smell and taste maybe why he is avoiding eating.
What is he like with clothing, does he have to have tags removed. What is his balance and co-ordination like.
Is your son talking or using words at all?
He needs to be assessed by a Speech and Language Therapist and also an Occupational therapist.
Also google Irlen Syndrome as many on the spectrum and with sensory issues also have this difficulty which is helped just by wearing the glasses.
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