My Son's Behavioral Development

[Al_Farabi]

My son is 2yrs, 7 months, and 3 weeks now (born on Nov 01, 2006). He didn’t learn to speak at all so far. He understands only few instructions like (our native language) nao (take), asho (come), pani (water), khao (eat). He doesn’t understand or follow if we are pointing at anyting.

He used to express few words when he was about 1.25 yrs. He could say gari (car), hello (when heard any phone ring), tip diye ja (part of a native rhyme about moon) when he saw moon. For about a year now he prefers not to speak any word other than BABBI, MUM MUM which  are his all purpose words. Most of the time he expresses by silent actions but purposes are limited. When he wants to drink he takes someone by hand to the glass. To have his favorite biscuit, takes someone to the box (he can recognize the particular box even if a potion of it is visible).

He makes eye contact for as short duration as needed, not for long as other children do. He returns smile, enjoys riding piggy-back, swinging in arms but keeps his eyes elsewhere. Sometimes we find him staring at either of us but as soon as we look at him he turns away.

He can imitate things he likes to for example using a spoon as lever to open tin can lid as the way we do. He isn’t afraid of someone stranger to him but he can read the temper. He doesn’t quite like to play with toys. He used to love toy cars that he could move either of forward or backward (not the motorized or mechanicals). He also doesn’t quite play with other children, sometimes if he likes someone he wants to hug her/him, that’s all. But, he has no problem with sharing swing or anything.  

Sometimes he cries for some reason we suspect of gum ache from teething. His specialist rejects any possibility of pain from teething. The way he bites his teeth and indicates his cheeks we cannot think of any other mystery than gum ache. Sometimes he laughs for no reason.

Please explain his behavior, whether he’s suffering from any trouble, and what our actions should be to improve.

[DIANA_RIVERA]

HI , I HAVE A SON WHO IS 26 MONTHS. HE HAS ALL THE SAME CHARACTERISTICSAS YOUR CHILD HAS AND A FEW OTHER CHARACTERISTICS AS WELL OF AUTISM.. HE HAD EVALUATIONS DONE.. HE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH PDD-NOS  NOT AUTISM.. A CHILD CAN SHOW SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTISM BUT BECAUSE THEY DONT SHOW ALL CHARACTERISTICS THEY ARE NOT DIAGNOSED AS AUTISTIC.. BUT THEY MAY DIAGNOSE AS PDD-NOS AND SAY HE IS IN AN AUTISM SPECTRUM (MEANING HE ONLY SHOWS A FEW SINGS OF AUTISM BUT NOT ALL)...  WETHER IT BE PDD-NOS OR AUTISM THE CHILD WILL GET THE SAME SERVICES AS THE OTHER BUT THE SERVICES WILL BE MORE INTENCE FOR THE CHILD WHO IS FULL AUTISTIC..  I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE DOCTORS HAVE THE CHILD SEE A PED. NEUROLOGIST FIRST WHEN A DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICIAN WILL DEFINITLY TELL YOU IF THEY HAVE A CONDITION AND WHAT CONDITION THEY HAVE,, THEN FROM THERE IF THE DEV. PED. SUGGESTS A NEUROLOGIST THEN BY ALL MEANS,, BUT PLEASE DONT PUT A CHILD THROUGH NEUROLOGY FIRST BECAUSE THERE IS A VERY GOOD CHANCE HE MAY NOT NEED TO GO THROUGH THAT ...  I SUGGEST GETTING A REFERAL TO SEE A DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRITIAN FIRST AND FORMOST..  THE EARLIER THE BETTER SO  YOUR CHILD CAN GET ALL THE HELP THEY NEED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE  ,, IT DOES WONDERS AND YOU WIL BE SOO HAPPY WITH THE RESULTS AND HAPPY AT SEEING YOU CHILD ALSO HAPPY WITH THEIR OWN ACCOMPLISHMENTS..  GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.

[Geoffsdad]

Hello, My son Geoff is almost 5 now and was formally diagnosed as high functioning autistic when he was almost three. His development and behaviour sounds very similar to yours at the same age. Since learning of his condition, I have also discovered there are other characteristics assessed when a diagnosis of autism is confirmed.  As a three year old, Geoff's head was at the large end of the scale for his age, although he is now starting to "grow into it".   As part of the autism "traits" he also has a peculiar gait.  His right foot turns outwards as he walks and he holds his arms to his side and pointing slightly backwards when he runs (like pretending he's a plane when he runs).

His diet is very limited and he is very difficult to tempt with new flavours.  He is quite robust in build and is quite strong - he is still not toilet trained (unfortunately, we have not had a happy experience with our daycare support which was one of the reasons we withdrew him from daycare).  They would not take him through the process of toilet training, just change him when required.  This was undermining our attempts to teach him at home).  Fortunately, his progress is now accelerating again.

Certainly seek professional diagnosis.

Since Geoff was diagnosed, we have used "Makaton", a form of combination simple sign language used with normal (but simple) speech commands, occupational therapy to develop his motor skills and will shortly be commencing more formal speech therapy.  We also try to structure his day and create "task" schedules using simple diagrams to describe the next activity.

We had to remove him from his day care group about two months ago as his behaviour was becoming more aggressive and disruptive.  He obviously did not like it, as his behaviour began to improve once he understood he would not be going back.  

His behaviour at his special school and kindergarten (whilst less aggressive) was also becoming a concern, but at least they did not expel him.

In the last three weeks, he has commenced using "Risperdol".  The effect was almost immediate although the literature I have read says it takes about 4 - 6 weeks for effect.

He is calmer, more attentive, sleeps better and has become more vocal and beginning to repeat words he hears. His vocabulary is expanding and he seems more confident in attempting new words.  He is less disruptive, engaging in group activities and has a  longer attention span.  

He no longer runs away at any distraction and his destructive behaviour has almost stopped.  He has started to do as he is told and can follow simple instructions (and even remember them! - like take off your boots when you come inside).

We can even take him shopping now and enjoy the outing rather than dreading what new disaster he will create.

So I wonder what he will be like after four to six weeks of medication when it is supposed to take effect.

[timmysmom2005]

Hello. I have a 3 year old son with autism and although every child with autism is different, comparing your son to my son, I see a few similarities but nothing so severe as the behaviors my son had at that age. It could be that he has some developmental delays, or maybe some sensory processing delays. I would definitely speak to the pediatrician about all the things you have noticed. I'm frankly a little surprised that with no language at his age that your child's doctor hasn't suggested any evaluations. We began early intervention with my son when he was 14 months old, but he was not diagnosed with autism until 21 months. We began with speech therapy, occupational therapy, and special playgroups. My son has a lot of sensory difficulties in his mouth and head and then gets upset about being touched on the head, having his mouth or teeth cleaned and that sort of thing. We had to see a pediatric neurologist to get the diagnosis. I don't know if all insurances cover it, with ours it was covered as long as we got a referral from the doctor. It is good that he is finding other ways to communicate with you such as bringing you to the cookies. And it's good that he makes at least a little eye contact and shows affection. It took my son several years to act affectionate although he never did have the typical eye contact problem. One thing I can tell you is that when there was another child in my son's special autism playgroup who lived in a bi-lingual home, his mother was told by the therapists to choose one language to speak around the child and in the home until the child's speech was good with that language. The speech therapist said that it can be extremely confusing for a child who is trying to learn to speak to hear the 2 languages, and be able to learn and follow them both at once. Hope that helps a little and good luck pursuing a further diagnosis.