Autism

**Mrs.L.C** · 10-12-2008, 12:05 PM

Just wanted to pick some brains really.

I have a child in my care who has just turned 2 and the health visitors have just refered him as they think he has autism.

I personaly dont agree at this stage and think hes just taking his time. He has started playing with toys (rather than throwing them) and has his favourites, he will do creative activities but only for a short time. Hes becoming quite social with other children by playing along side them going upto them and playing with the same toy but he doesnt say alot. He uses a few words but thats its.

He has a short attention span but this seems to be improving slowly.

he only comes to me twice a week and goes to grans the other days

Mums getting very stressed about it all

What do you think? Any advice would be much appreciated

LOOPYLISA · 10-12-2008, 12:19 PM

My step son is autistic he is 14, all his symptoms started as soon as he had had the mmr but thats another story

He is in a special needs school did go to mainstream and again another very long story, his symptoms are mainly his outbursts he is a very angry little boy, everything is either black or white there is no middle ground with him, he hits his sister something we are desparatly banging our heads against a brick wall with, hes a very strong boy and taller than me

He will only eat certain foods, weekends when he comes are a nightmere!, he doesnt sleep all that well and we are sure he is dislecsic(sp?)
Sorry have gone on a bit there but all i can say is its very hard work well in our case anyway, good luck x

**Pedagog** · 10-12-2008, 12:28 PM

My youngest two are both on the spectrum and I work with other autistic children.

My youngest was playing with toys at two, just not in the same way as other children.

He would play alongside other children, and would appear to be very social, only if you watched you could see that he just wasn't the same as them.

He wouldn't do anything creative due to his sensory issues.

His attention span varied hugely depending on what he was doing, and it still does.

My daughter how ever, was very social or at least appeared to be, with loads of "friends", very chatty and very creative. Its only as she has got older that her "symptoms" have become more obvious.

I would say an assessment is not a diagnosis and it is not something to worry about, just advise mum to relax, get through the assessment and take it from there, once she has some answers.

Personally I love working with autistic children, even when they kick off.

**gemmcd** · 10-12-2008, 12:42 PM

What is their main concern - lack of speech/ lack of interaction/ lack of playing with toys appropriateky?

If lack of speech - you say he has a few words - does he point? Nod/ shake his head to mean yes or no? It is the non verbal communiaction that is more important at this age if he has just turned 2.

As for playing - lots of 2 yr olds play alongside - but how does he play eg - does he pretend toy cars are really cars and drives them along or does he spin the wheels. It's hard to say about his imaginitive play until he can speak.

Is he repetitive at all or have sensory issues - these are alos key signs to watch for.

It is just a referal and it may just be a speech therapist he needs - it is good that he gets early intervention but I personally believe two is too yiung to diagnose unless very obvious.

Autism is such a hard thing to diagnose as it is a spectrum and it can depend on who the paediatrician is as to what your diagnosis is. My own son was diagnosed 'autistic' unofficially by his paed at age 3 - I say unofficially as we were not convinced and refused a formal diagnosis - she told us what she thought though. He is now 8 - when he was 6 he got a new paediatrician. He is still 'different' very clever, can be very social when he wants, very affectionate but I guess you could call him quirky...my husband asked the new paediatrican if she thought he should be diagnosed, she said no! I personally think that as the spectrum is so wide- being quirky probably means you are on the spectrum but with that view quite alot of people are!

Not really sure what I am trying to say - just be wary of early diagnosis I guess!

LOOPYLISA · 10-12-2008, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by gemmcd

What is their main concern - lack of speech/ lack of interaction/ lack of playing with toys appropriateky?

If lack of speech - you say he has a few words - does he point? Nod/ shake his head to mean yes or no? It is the non verbal communiaction that is more important at this age if he has just turned 2.

As for playing - lots of 2 yr olds play alongside - but how does he play eg - does he pretend toy cars are really cars and drives them along or does he spin the wheels. It's hard to say about his imaginitive play until he can speak.

Is he repetitive at all or have sensory issues - these are alos key signs to watch for.

It is just a referal and it may just be a speech therapist he needs - it is good that he gets early intervention but I personally believe two is too yiung to diagnose unless very obvious.

Autism is such a hard thing to diagnose as it is a spectrum and it can depend on who the paediatrician is as to what your diagnosis is. My own son was diagnosed 'autistic' unofficially by his paed at age 3 - I say unofficially as we were not convinced and refused a formal diagnosis - she told us what she thought though. He is now 8 - when he was 6 he got a new paediatrician. He is still 'different' very clever, can be very social when he wants, very affectionate but I guess you could call him quirky...my husband asked the new paediatrican if she thought he should be diagnosed, she said no! I personally think that as the spectrum is so wide- being quirky probably means you are on the spectrum but with that view quite alot of people are!

Not really sure what I am trying to say - just be wary of early diagnosis I guess!

My stepson is very affectionate, i don.t know a 14 year old nearly 15 to hold his dads hand and kisses him when were out

**berkschick** · 10-12-2008, 12:55 PM

The test here is a very long (3 hour) appointment. It is very in depth and involves 5 highly trained specialists. If it were me, I would go along for the test as they will not diagnose him unless they are 110% sure.

My daughter has Aspergers. I knew from an early age, I would say about 1 that she was different to other children. She never played with any toys. She would draw lots but was no good at shape sorters, jigsaws, etc. She had no imaginary play, would not play dollies or dressing up etc. When she was 3 she started playschool and that was when I realised she was on the spectrum. She did not interact with other children and would move away if another child approached her.

It took me 8 YEARS to get her diagnosed! Honest, it was a nightmare. We were pushed from pillar to post. Alice has many other health issues and her Autistic traits were always blamed on these. But I got there in the end.

**Mrs.L.C** · 10-12-2008, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by gemmcd

What is their main concern - lack of speech/ lack of interaction/ lack of playing with toys appropriateky?

If lack of speech - you say he has a few words - does he point? Nod/ shake his head to mean yes or no? It is the non verbal communiaction that is more important at this age if he has just turned 2.

As for playing - lots of 2 yr olds play alongside - but how does he play eg - does he pretend toy cars are really cars and drives them along or does he spin the wheels. It's hard to say about his imaginitive play until he can speak.

Is he repetitive at all or have sensory issues - these are alos key signs to watch for.

It is just a referal and it may just be a speech therapist he needs - it is good that he gets early intervention but I personally believe two is too yiung to diagnose unless very obvious.

Autism is such a hard thing to diagnose as it is a spectrum and it can depend on who the paediatrician is as to what your diagnosis is. My own son was diagnosed 'autistic' unofficially by his paed at age 3 - I say unofficially as we were not convinced and refused a formal diagnosis - she told us what she thought though. He is now 8 - when he was 6 he got a new paediatrician. He is still 'different' very clever, can be very social when he wants, very affectionate but I guess you could call him quirky...my husband asked the new paediatrican if she thought he should be diagnosed, she said no! I personally think that as the spectrum is so wide- being quirky probably means you are on the spectrum but with that view quite alot of people are!

Not really sure what I am trying to say - just be wary of early diagnosis I guess!

The main concern is lack of speech and its seems that his concentration at home isnt as much as here. He rarely points or nods but he does hand gestures like waving and saying goodbye and blowing kisses, peek a boo. I think il watch out to see if he does point to what he wants but its very hard here as everything is laid out so the children can choose what they want but il ask mum about that one.

When he plays with cars he pushs them along and the same with the pushchair. he tries to pedal the bikes, looks at books opening the pages right to left etc

Im the same and vary wary of this being diagnosed at such a young age and to me they are following the average child who is a head of the table anyway. I think il give my evidence book of the child to mum to take with her. It may help.

I know this is something we will need to look out for over the coming year but its just heart breaking seeing the parents upset/confused when it should be a happy time

**jeanybeany** · 10-12-2008, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by Newbie

My youngest two are both on the spectrum and I work with other autistic children.

My youngest was playing with toys at two, just not in the same way as other children.

He would play alongside other children, and would appear to be very social, only if you watched you could see that he just wasn't the same as them.

He wouldn't do anything creative due to his sensory issues.

His attention span varied hugely depending on what he was doing, and it still does.

My daughter how ever, was very social or at least appeared to be, with loads of "friends", very chatty and very creative. Its only as she has got older that her "symptoms" have become more obvious.

I would say an assessment is not a diagnosis and it is not something to worry about, just advise mum to relax, get through the assessment and take it from there, once she has some answers.

Personally I love working with autistic children, even when they kick off.

Hi Charlotte

Was wondering if you know where I can find out more info about autism. I have an 8 yr old starting with me after christmas who has this and I would like to find out more. At mo I don't know that much about the child's condition and would like ideas as to what I should be asking mum. All I know is that the child attends a special school and does not communicate too well. I have met the child once. Feeling a bit worried now as to whether I will beable to deal with everything, but believe you should atleast try and see how we get on. It's only before/after school and older brother will be here and mum says he will help until I get to know signs etc better. Any help/advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

**angeldelight** · 10-12-2008, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by jeanybeany

Hi Charlotte

Was wondering if you know where I can find out more info about autism. I have an 8 yr old starting with me after christmas who has this and I would like to find out more. At mo I don't know that much about the child's condition and would like ideas as to what I should be asking mum. All I know is that the child attends a special school and does not communicate too well. I have met the child once. Feeling a bit worried now as to whether I will beable to deal with everything, but believe you should atleast try and see how we get on. It's only before/after school and older brother will be here and mum says he will help until I get to know signs etc better. Any help/advice would be much appreciated. Thanks

Message me if you want more information I mind 2 children with autism and I have done so for years

They really are great to mind so I would not worry to much at this stage

Angel xx

**Hebs** · 10-12-2008, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by LOOPYLISA

My step son is autistic he is 14, all his symptoms started as soon as he had had the mmr but thats another story

My sons problems all started after his MMR

Big hugs to the mum she must be worried xx

**childmind04** · 11-12-2008, 07:40 AM

My first ever mindee had autism, the local nursey where i was doing a course at told me not to take him on as he was a total handful

He was a angel most of the time and i loved him to bits and still see his mum and dad, he had a lot of problems and hated change but did not take long to settle, used to love having him as i never had any washing as the first thing he had to do was put my washer on, so it was full and ready every morning, i even done my neighbours stuff just so i had washing

The moment i actually got him to do a hand print picture was just fab as he had really been so against touching it!!

Susan