Aa
Does my 3 yr old have Autism?
My daughter is going to get tested this week for Autim. She has jacobsens syndrome. here is a list i made of some of the behaviors that she shows:
-hitting for no reason
-biting
-pulling hair
-grabbing faces
-tormenting kids just to do it and thinks its funny
-will look at me and know she is doing wrong and still does it
-will do things she is not supposed to do and look at me and laugh
-takes toys all the time from others just to be mean
-doesnt play with toys
-wants to hang on me the whole time
- she has to constantly grab my neck when sitting next to me. If she is not able to grab my neck then she takes her toes and digs into my side or takes her heals and kicks me.
-screams in stores for over an hour ( when she wants to get out of cart and walk) Yet if you let her out she will run away from you while laughing
-will not sit at a table to eat she always wants me to hold her
-she tells me she wants one thing but when you do it or get it she screams that she doesnt want it ( if you ask her what she wants she will just keep screaming and doesnt give you an answer)
-scared of the strangest things all of a sudden that she use to love (elmo, cartoons, toys and books...) will tell me she is tired when she is scared and holds on to me with a death grip
-will scream the say thing over and over for 10 mins+
-if we yell at her for something she is doing wrong she thinks its funny and laughs
-if we put her in a time out she screams
-self-abusive or abusive to others (bites herself, pulls her hair out, pinches herself or does to other)
-gets easily frustrated
-frequently hurts other children or pets while playing
-pulls the cats tail and pins the cats down til they cry and laughswhile doing it, if you tell her to let go or stop she will continue to do or do it harder
-mouths objects excessively, licks shoes and various objects
-in constant motion even in sleep since born
-frequent tantrums
-plays with baby dolls and is mean to them (tells them to shut up, and throws them on the floor)
-few times noticed that high noise (daycare kid crying) she will start to cry and run away from it.
- very stubborn
-needs to be asked for eye contact from certain people
-will not finish games, crafts
-shuts down after she has had enough
-doesnt like change (if you buy a different brand of diapers she wont want to wear them)
-durls even though shes not teething anymore
-OCD (has to have the doors shut, if the phone rings she HAS to get......)
-started to potty train then stopped but now if she pees even once in her diaper she wants you to change her
Im not sure what to think. thanks
-hitting for no reason
-biting
-pulling hair
-grabbing faces
-tormenting kids just to do it and thinks its funny
-will look at me and know she is doing wrong and still does it
-will do things she is not supposed to do and look at me and laugh
-takes toys all the time from others just to be mean
-doesnt play with toys
-wants to hang on me the whole time
- she has to constantly grab my neck when sitting next to me. If she is not able to grab my neck then she takes her toes and digs into my side or takes her heals and kicks me.
-screams in stores for over an hour ( when she wants to get out of cart and walk) Yet if you let her out she will run away from you while laughing
-will not sit at a table to eat she always wants me to hold her
-she tells me she wants one thing but when you do it or get it she screams that she doesnt want it ( if you ask her what she wants she will just keep screaming and doesnt give you an answer)
-scared of the strangest things all of a sudden that she use to love (elmo, cartoons, toys and books...) will tell me she is tired when she is scared and holds on to me with a death grip
-will scream the say thing over and over for 10 mins+
-if we yell at her for something she is doing wrong she thinks its funny and laughs
-if we put her in a time out she screams
-self-abusive or abusive to others (bites herself, pulls her hair out, pinches herself or does to other)
-gets easily frustrated
-frequently hurts other children or pets while playing
-pulls the cats tail and pins the cats down til they cry and laughswhile doing it, if you tell her to let go or stop she will continue to do or do it harder
-mouths objects excessively, licks shoes and various objects
-in constant motion even in sleep since born
-frequent tantrums
-plays with baby dolls and is mean to them (tells them to shut up, and throws them on the floor)
-few times noticed that high noise (daycare kid crying) she will start to cry and run away from it.
- very stubborn
-needs to be asked for eye contact from certain people
-will not finish games, crafts
-shuts down after she has had enough
-doesnt like change (if you buy a different brand of diapers she wont want to wear them)
-durls even though shes not teething anymore
-OCD (has to have the doors shut, if the phone rings she HAS to get......)
-started to potty train then stopped but now if she pees even once in her diaper she wants you to change her
Im not sure what to think. thanks
It sounds like you know alot about her diagnosis of JS and you do have the right professionals involved. However the assessments for autism should be carried out by professionals who are experienced in diagnosing ASDs and Aspergers - which I presume is the case.
What you seem to be having difficulties with is understanding what is the root problem behind the behavours or difficulties. It is hard to get education or health officials to do that type of specific assessments because the more they find the more they have to fund.
The first professionals to be involved are usually the Speech Therapist - who should be experienced in speech disorders, developmental disorders such as autism. They should assess her receptive and expressive speech, auditory processing and auditory memory and working memory. They should assess her ability to comprehend and infer information. When she is older she should be assessed for Semantic Pragmatic Speech Disorder.
The speech therapist also assesses social interaction and play skills and should put together a programme.
The Psychologist should assess for cognitive ability. A child on the spectrum will do poorly on verbal assessments. However that is not a good indication of cognitive level as my son scores on a percentile of around 2 for receptive language and following instructions - yet his cognitive ability is above average on non verbal assessments. So don't assume low IQ due to poor language or social skills.
Also have a look at Executive Function Disorder as many times there are aspects of that as well.
Does your daughter have any sensory issues. Your post does mention some eg. auditory sensitivity, tactile sensitivity, mouthing and licking = tactile under sensitivity.
Sensory Integration Disorder can affect any or all of the senses and it fluctuates day by day or throughout the day and may range from oversensitive covering ears etc to appearing deaf and zoning out. Mouthing and licking is touch, smell or taste hypo sensitivity. Does she appear not to feel pain or also be hyper sensitive to pain.
I found a very good book was called Sensory and Perceptual Differences in Autism and Aspergers by Olga Bogdashina. It has a questionnaire in it that you can complete to get a sensory profile of your child. Every child is different.
Does your child repeat words or phrases that you say or that she hears on TV or DVDs?
Being mean to dolls. She might have heard the phrase 'shut up' on TV, or she might be demonstrating how she feels when people talk to her. My son frequently tells me to "shut up", "that's enough now", "stop talking". If she has problems processing speech there will be too much talk and chatter for her to process and understand.
She is 3 years old, and at the moment she may think other experience things like in cartoons. Tom and Jerry kick seven bells out of eachother and it is funny - why is real life different?? These difficulties are typical for children on the spectrum - but they can and do pick up some of these skills - but not to the level of their peers. My son had no understanding between reality and fantasy at that age.
She may also not be taking toys of others to be mean. To be mean you have to understand the other child's needs and wants and to ignore them. At 3 my son also couldn't share or take turns or join in. But he can now.
I hope you get some answers.
What you seem to be having difficulties with is understanding what is the root problem behind the behavours or difficulties. It is hard to get education or health officials to do that type of specific assessments because the more they find the more they have to fund.
The first professionals to be involved are usually the Speech Therapist - who should be experienced in speech disorders, developmental disorders such as autism. They should assess her receptive and expressive speech, auditory processing and auditory memory and working memory. They should assess her ability to comprehend and infer information. When she is older she should be assessed for Semantic Pragmatic Speech Disorder.
The speech therapist also assesses social interaction and play skills and should put together a programme.
The Psychologist should assess for cognitive ability. A child on the spectrum will do poorly on verbal assessments. However that is not a good indication of cognitive level as my son scores on a percentile of around 2 for receptive language and following instructions - yet his cognitive ability is above average on non verbal assessments. So don't assume low IQ due to poor language or social skills.
Also have a look at Executive Function Disorder as many times there are aspects of that as well.
Does your daughter have any sensory issues. Your post does mention some eg. auditory sensitivity, tactile sensitivity, mouthing and licking = tactile under sensitivity.
Sensory Integration Disorder can affect any or all of the senses and it fluctuates day by day or throughout the day and may range from oversensitive covering ears etc to appearing deaf and zoning out. Mouthing and licking is touch, smell or taste hypo sensitivity. Does she appear not to feel pain or also be hyper sensitive to pain.
I found a very good book was called Sensory and Perceptual Differences in Autism and Aspergers by Olga Bogdashina. It has a questionnaire in it that you can complete to get a sensory profile of your child. Every child is different.
Does your child repeat words or phrases that you say or that she hears on TV or DVDs?
Being mean to dolls. She might have heard the phrase 'shut up' on TV, or she might be demonstrating how she feels when people talk to her. My son frequently tells me to "shut up", "that's enough now", "stop talking". If she has problems processing speech there will be too much talk and chatter for her to process and understand.
She is 3 years old, and at the moment she may think other experience things like in cartoons. Tom and Jerry kick seven bells out of eachother and it is funny - why is real life different?? These difficulties are typical for children on the spectrum - but they can and do pick up some of these skills - but not to the level of their peers. My son had no understanding between reality and fantasy at that age.
She may also not be taking toys of others to be mean. To be mean you have to understand the other child's needs and wants and to ignore them. At 3 my son also couldn't share or take turns or join in. But he can now.
I hope you get some answers.
Yes she currently has a teacher that comes out to the house and she is in speech 2 times a week. She has had PT,OT and teachers at the house since she was born. JS kids are known for having autisic traits or even autism. I do daycare at home and she is with me all day. She will be starting school in the fall. Tomorrow is her appt for the psycologist.
Oh, just saw you said at the beginning she was getting tested this week. Ask the doctor about the school system and see if he can help point you in the right direction to get her either in a developmental preschool or to go see a private therapist(s).
Uh, you should try to find a specialist doctor where you are... which I guess if she has a diagnosis of Jacobsen's Syndrome it sounds like you've found a specialist. I had to google it and then found a brief description on Wikipedia. The specialist who diagnosed her with the syndrome might be able to tell you if Jacobsen's can appear to have autistic characteristics.
the telling the baby dolls to shut up sounds strange. Is she learning vocabularly like "shut up" in daycare? I'd be concerned about the daycare. Are the daycare providers providing a good environment for your child? Or maybe it's another kid who is using shut up? Emotions are very hard for kids on the autism spectrum to understand. Maybe they are for kids with Jacobsens too? Or maybe your daughter might have both things to deal with. Our daughter sometimes laughs at inappropriate times. That is a characteristic of being on teh spectrum of inappropriate facial expressions. She may not think it's funny. "Neurotypical" people laugh sometimes when they are nervous which can seem inappropriate. I hate going to funerals for that reason. I'm always afraid I'll be like smiling when I'm sad or laugh at something that is just inappropriate. Anyways, I'm digressing... emotions are hard for kids to figure out even if they are developing normally. But if a child has developmental issues on top of that, it would probably take therapy or work with you and her one on one to help her to understand emotions.
The hanging on you thing sounds like she's got some sensory cravings. Some kids have sensory aversions (don't like touch) and other people have sensory cravings where they want constant touch. You don't have to have autism to have sensory processing dysfunctions, though people with autism tend to have sensory issues. But also people with OCD and ADD I am told may have sensory processing disorders. There are physical therapists who do sensory integration therapy. It does help over time. Sometimes it also just helps to understand why your child is craving one particular thing and averting another.
Is your daughter in therapy currently? Do you live in the U.S.? Or somewhere else? If you are in the U.S., your daughter could qualify for developmental preschool or therapy of some sort. The school system should do a free evaluation. Social communication (how she interacts with other kids) is one category your child might qualify for free public preschool help. I think it also depends on the state. Your daughter's regular pediatrician might be able to point you in some helpful directions or if she doesn't know can help you find out who does know. If the pediatrician won't help you out at all, in my opinion I'd get my daughter another pediatrician. Doctors are supposed to help and not say everything is fine.
In my opinion, if your daughter is even moving in her sleep, if she's not getting enough of the right type of sleep, maybe she's just overtired most of the day. Seeing a specialist about that issue also might be important.
I don't know what health insurance covers. It's hard if you don't have it or have bad insurance that makes you pay a lot of out of pocket. But look into what you can do. If you haven't already, look into your local school system and see what therapy they can provide for your daughter. My daughter goes twice per week for half a day and it is helping a lot. Many developmental preschools are trained in all these behavioral issues and know how to teach our children. I don't have a degree in that, so I have to remember I'm not a bad mom. Sometimes I feel like a bad parent since I can't teach my daughter all these things on my own. But there are people out there. Don't feel that you have to do this all on your own. Try to get the school system to help you out or if you can qualify for a therapist that is covered by your state or local government.
the telling the baby dolls to shut up sounds strange. Is she learning vocabularly like "shut up" in daycare? I'd be concerned about the daycare. Are the daycare providers providing a good environment for your child? Or maybe it's another kid who is using shut up? Emotions are very hard for kids on the autism spectrum to understand. Maybe they are for kids with Jacobsens too? Or maybe your daughter might have both things to deal with. Our daughter sometimes laughs at inappropriate times. That is a characteristic of being on teh spectrum of inappropriate facial expressions. She may not think it's funny. "Neurotypical" people laugh sometimes when they are nervous which can seem inappropriate. I hate going to funerals for that reason. I'm always afraid I'll be like smiling when I'm sad or laugh at something that is just inappropriate. Anyways, I'm digressing... emotions are hard for kids to figure out even if they are developing normally. But if a child has developmental issues on top of that, it would probably take therapy or work with you and her one on one to help her to understand emotions.
The hanging on you thing sounds like she's got some sensory cravings. Some kids have sensory aversions (don't like touch) and other people have sensory cravings where they want constant touch. You don't have to have autism to have sensory processing dysfunctions, though people with autism tend to have sensory issues. But also people with OCD and ADD I am told may have sensory processing disorders. There are physical therapists who do sensory integration therapy. It does help over time. Sometimes it also just helps to understand why your child is craving one particular thing and averting another.
Is your daughter in therapy currently? Do you live in the U.S.? Or somewhere else? If you are in the U.S., your daughter could qualify for developmental preschool or therapy of some sort. The school system should do a free evaluation. Social communication (how she interacts with other kids) is one category your child might qualify for free public preschool help. I think it also depends on the state. Your daughter's regular pediatrician might be able to point you in some helpful directions or if she doesn't know can help you find out who does know. If the pediatrician won't help you out at all, in my opinion I'd get my daughter another pediatrician. Doctors are supposed to help and not say everything is fine.
In my opinion, if your daughter is even moving in her sleep, if she's not getting enough of the right type of sleep, maybe she's just overtired most of the day. Seeing a specialist about that issue also might be important.
I don't know what health insurance covers. It's hard if you don't have it or have bad insurance that makes you pay a lot of out of pocket. But look into what you can do. If you haven't already, look into your local school system and see what therapy they can provide for your daughter. My daughter goes twice per week for half a day and it is helping a lot. Many developmental preschools are trained in all these behavioral issues and know how to teach our children. I don't have a degree in that, so I have to remember I'm not a bad mom. Sometimes I feel like a bad parent since I can't teach my daughter all these things on my own. But there are people out there. Don't feel that you have to do this all on your own. Try to get the school system to help you out or if you can qualify for a therapist that is covered by your state or local government.
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