child neurodevelopmental delay

Posted By Patrick FU on August 18, 1997 at 10:27:54:









My son, Eugene, is about 4 1/2 years old now. He was found to be
developmentally delay in communication, speech and social skills,
and to have abnormal behavior (ADDH, echolalia, self-stimulation,
etc.) when he was 3 years old. The pediatrician then referred him
for the pediatrical and psycholigical assessment. The result was
"mild autistic behavior" and "developmental delay".  A series of
tests have done to excluded the possibility of genetic or metabolic
disorders. Eugene`s behavior is somewhat different from the typical
autistics, for instance, he`s quite sociable (prefer to play with
adults because his difficulty to develop peer relationships with
children in his age group), and have a precocious ability to read
words and numbers. For the latter reason, I thought he is "hyperlexic".
Recently, Eugene has undergone both CATscan and EEG. The CATscan
shows a normal picture, while the brain waves of the EEG are abnormal.
The new pediatrician then asked for Eugene`s history. Eugene was a
preterm baby (32 weeks) with the born weight of 2.11kg. He was sent
into the intensive care center, given the oxygen mask for 24 hours
and put into the incubator for one week. The pediatrician`s opinion
is that Eugene has problem with the neurodevelopment and that the
trouble might have been avoided should Eugene was on the oxygen mask
longer, say, for 36 hours, instead of 24 hours after birth, because
the nervous systems of the preterm babies are usually underdeveloped,
and sufficient supply of oxygen is critical for their catch-up in the
brain formation.
Now I would like to have some advise for the treatment which
Eugene needs, and the daily life care in the future. I guess it is
necessary for him to have high oxygenation in his brain to help the
brain cells to proliferate. I have read an article in SCIENCE which
says the the first three years are critical for the neurons, is it too
late for a 4 1/2 y-o child to catch up?

I am looking forward to your early reply.