RE: Is my son autistic ???

[Guest guest]

Hi Maureen,

It sounds like your son has autistic like symptoms. Regardless of the

diagnosis the problem behaviors need to be addressed and at this point

social skills seem to be critical. There was a post on the list not

too long ago regarding social skill groups run by behavior therapists

in Broward. I would certainly explore that avenue. You should consider

putting him on omega fatty acids as a supplement for the

impulsive/aggressive like behavior and the personal space issue. My

son had the same behaviors and it seemed to help. I would also

consider homeopathic treatment for the same issues. There is a

Levi that works in Miami out of a pediatricians office that does

homeopathic medicine.

If you want an official score you should get him evaluated by a

psychologist or a behavioral analyst. In Boca there is reaching

Potentials and they are great. Its a clinic that specielizes in

behavioral analysis.

Shirly

-- In sList , " MAUREEN " wrote:

>

>

> I am the mom of a 3 1/2 year old little boy . We have been back and

> forth with him since August of last year when we finally decided it

> was time to figure out what was going on . My son has been to Early

> Steps , Seen by Dr Resnick ( Neurologist ) and evaluated by the

> public school system . Dr Resnick asked him a few questions (5 min

> consultation) and told me he was NOT autistic but prescribed OT and

> speech . His Occupational Therapist evaluated him and found him to

> have Sensory issues ( hypersensitive) , weak muscle tone and delayed

> fine and gross motor skills . The Speech Therapist found him to be 1

> year delayed in expressive and receptive language and now feels that

> his biggest problem is pragmatics . His speech therapist recently sat

> me down and asked me if I have ever had him evaluated for autism .

> After beating around the bush for a while she told me she feels he

> would be on the spectrum . I have felt since he was about 2 months

> old that something was wrong . I always felt like he and I were not

> bonding when he was a baby and I constantly felt guilty and wanted to

> know what I was doing wrong . He cried A LOT . He was a late crawler

> and walker ( walked at 16 months ). As he got older he became more

> affectionate and is very affectionate ( to us ) now . At 2 1/2 we

> placed him in daycare and that's where he started really isolating

> himself . At this point he was echolalic, echoing was probably the

> only speech he had , yet we potty trained him easily . He developed

> eczema and many respiratory issues we contributed to allergies . He

> was tested for allergies and was negative to everything but continues

> with the allergies. He was very repetative , had difficulty making

> eye contact and was having meltdowns . He also had repetative

> behaviors like opening and closing doors , pushing buttons and

> switching lights on and off . He never played with the other children

> and was not even ever around them . I would watch him through a hole

> in the fence at his school and he was always alone playing with

> leaves in a corner . I eventually pulled him out of school and he got

> better . His language increased and many of his repetative behaviors

> became better . Now almost 1 year later he has a lot of words in his

> vocabulary but no social reciprocity , inverts pronouns etc. He can

> ride a tricycle and a little bike with training wheels . He can jump

> with both legs and sometimes even plays pretend . He still has some

> repetative behavior and lacks social skills with kids his age but is

> very chatty with adults ( even though most people dont understand

> him) . Recently he actually approached a little boy that said hello

> to him by grabbing his arm very hard ( which he does to everyone) and

> got in his face and yelled " what are you doing in the car!!! " the

> boy got scared and walked away .He was not being aggresive he was

> just being himself , he does not understand personal space and his

> tone of voice changes when he gets nervous or excited. This was a

> long one and I am sorry but can anyone tell me what they think .

>

[Guest guest]

I am not a doctor, I'm just a mom of a 2 1/2 year old girl. It sounds like your son has some very specific behaviors, like my daughter does. However anyone that meets my daughter says there is nothing wrong with her. You have to follow your instinct as a mother. Regardless of a diagnosis do what you need to do to get your son where he should be on all levels. My daughter is in ABA 4 days a week and is doing great, I really believe she will be totally mainstream in the near future. I get as much therapy as we can possibly afford, because I do see her changing before my eyes. Hope this helps and good luck!

Subject: Is my son autistic ???To: sList Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008, 9:09 PM

I am the mom of a 3 1/2 year old little boy . We have been back and forth with him since August of last year when we finally decided it was time to figure out what was going on . My son has been to Early Steps , Seen by Dr Resnick ( Neurologist ) and evaluated by the public school system . Dr Resnick asked him a few questions (5 min consultation) and told me he was NOT autistic but prescribed OT and speech . His Occupational Therapist evaluated him and found him to have Sensory issues ( hypersensitive) , weak muscle tone and delayed fine and gross motor skills . The Speech Therapist found him to be 1 year delayed in expressive and receptive language and now feels that his biggest problem is pragmatics . His speech therapist recently sat me down and asked me if I have ever had him evaluated for autism . After beating around the bush for a while she told me she feels he would be on the spectrum . I

have felt since he was about 2 months old that something was wrong . I always felt like he and I were not bonding when he was a baby and I constantly felt guilty and wanted to know what I was doing wrong . He cried A LOT . He was a late crawler and walker ( walked at 16 months ). As he got older he became more affectionate and is very affectionate ( to us ) now . At 2 1/2 we placed him in daycare and that's where he started really isolating himself . At this point he was echolalic, echoing was probably the only speech he had , yet we potty trained him easily . He developed eczema and many respiratory issues we contributed to allergies . He was tested for allergies and was negative to everything but continues with the allergies. He was very repetative , had difficulty making eye contact and was having meltdowns . He also had repetative behaviors like opening and closing doors , pushing buttons and

switching lights on and off . He never played with the other children and was not even ever around them . I would watch him through a hole in the fence at his school and he was always alone playing with leaves in a corner . I eventually pulled him out of school and he got better . His language increased and many of his repetative behaviors became better . Now almost 1 year later he has a lot of words in his vocabulary but no social reciprocity , inverts pronouns etc. He can ride a tricycle and a little bike with training wheels . He can jump with both legs and sometimes even plays pretend . He still has some repetative behavior and lacks social skills with kids his age but is very chatty with adults ( even though most people dont understand him) . Recently he actually approached a little boy that said hello to him by grabbing his arm very hard ( which he does to everyone) and got in his face and

yelled "what are you doing in the car!!! " the boy got scared and walked away .He was not being aggresive he was just being himself , he does not understand personal space and his tone of voice changes when he gets nervous or excited. This was a long one and I am sorry but can anyone tell me what they think .

[Guest guest]

Good Morning....If I would be you.....i would go seek for another opinion with another neurologist.....Dan Marino Center is a very good place to diagnose children with autism...you might find your answer there....they have very good neurologists....there phone # ...most important follow your mom's intuition....no one knows your child better then you.....good luck

Nathalie

To: sList From: maureen8030@...Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 01:09:28 +0000Subject: Is my son autistic ???

I am the mom of a 3 1/2 year old little boy . We have been back and forth with him since August of last year when we finally decided it was time to figure out what was going on . My son has been to Early Steps , Seen by Dr Resnick ( Neurologist ) and evaluated by the public school system . Dr Resnick asked him a few questions (5 min consultation) and told me he was NOT autistic but prescribed OT and speech . His Occupational Therapist evaluated him and found him to have Sensory issues ( hypersensitive) , weak muscle tone and delayed fine and gross motor skills . The Speech Therapist found him to be 1 year delayed in expressive and receptive language and now feels that his biggest problem is pragmatics . His speech therapist recently sat me down and asked me if I have ever had him evaluated for autism . After beating around the bush for a while she told me she feels he would be on the spectrum . I have felt since he was about 2 months old that something was wrong . I always felt like he and I were not bonding when he was a baby and I constantly felt guilty and wanted to know what I was doing wrong . He cried A LOT . He was a late crawler and walker ( walked at 16 months ). As he got older he became more affectionate and is very affectionate ( to us ) now . At 2 1/2 we placed him in daycare and that's where he started really isolating himself . At this point he was echolalic, echoing was probably the only speech he had , yet we potty trained him easily . He developed eczema and many respiratory issues we contributed to allergies . He was tested for allergies and was negative to everything but continues with the allergies. He was very repetative , had difficulty making eye contact and was having meltdowns . He also had repetative behaviors like opening and closing doors , pushing buttons and switching lights on and off . He never played with the other children and was not even ever around them . I would watch him through a hole in the fence at his school and he was always alone playing with leaves in a corner . I eventually pulled him out of school and he got better . His language increased and many of his repetative behaviors became better . Now almost 1 year later he has a lot of words in his vocabulary but no social reciprocity , inverts pronouns etc. He can ride a tricycle and a little bike with training wheels . He can jump with both legs and sometimes even plays pretend . He still has some repetative behavior and lacks social skills with kids his age but is very chatty with adults ( even though most people dont understand him) . Recently he actually approached a little boy that said hello to him by grabbing his arm very hard ( which he does to everyone) and got in his face and yelled "what are you doing in the car!!! " the boy got scared and walked away .He was not being aggresive he was just being himself , he does not understand personal space and his tone of voice changes when he gets nervous or excited. This was a long one and I am sorry but can anyone tell me what they think .

[Guest guest]

Hi Maureen,

It's very hard when your child doesn't conform to the "norm". What I would suggest to you is to get him evaluated by a child psychologist who has experience with children with autism. By the way, 5 minutes (as I'm sure you felt in your gut) is an awfully short time on which to base a diagnosis. We had our son (who is now 14) evaluated by Dr. Ted Wasserman in Boca. We have been seeing Dr. Mark Epstein (associated with University of Miami) at the Dan Marino Center in Weston. I would say that, in theory, all neurologists should be able to recognize children on the autistic spectrum, but I would definitely go to someone who has true expertise in the area. A lot of the behaviors that you describe sound like they would fall on the spectrum. Try to get a second opinion from someone truly "in the business" of diagnosing autistic spectrum disorder. You don't want to lose precious years to running around from health care professional to health care professional trying to get a true diagnosis.

I wish you the best of luck with all this.

Myra

To: sList From: maureen8030@...Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 01:09:28 +0000Subject: Is my son autistic ???

I am the mom of a 3 1/2 year old little boy . We have been back and forth with him since August of last year when we finally decided it was time to figure out what was going on . My son has been to Early Steps , Seen by Dr Resnick ( Neurologist ) and evaluated by the public school system . Dr Resnick asked him a few questions (5 min consultation) and told me he was NOT autistic but prescribed OT and speech . His Occupational Therapist evaluated him and found him to have Sensory issues ( hypersensitive) , weak muscle tone and delayed fine and gross motor skills . The Speech Therapist found him to be 1 year delayed in expressive and receptive language and now feels that his biggest problem is pragmatics . His speech therapist recently sat me down and asked me if I have ever had him evaluated for autism . After beating around the bush for a while she told me she feels he would be on the spectrum . I have felt since he was about 2 months old that something was wrong . I always felt like he and I were not bonding when he was a baby and I constantly felt guilty and wanted to know what I was doing wrong . He cried A LOT . He was a late crawler and walker ( walked at 16 months ). As he got older he became more affectionate and is very affectionate ( to us ) now . At 2 1/2 we placed him in daycare and that's where he started really isolating himself . At this point he was echolalic, echoing was probably the only speech he had , yet we potty trained him easily . He developed eczema and many respiratory issues we contributed to allergies . He was tested for allergies and was negative to everything but continues with the allergies. He was very repetative , had difficulty making eye contact and was having meltdowns . He also had repetative behaviors like opening and closing doors , pushing buttons and switching lights on and off . He never played with the other children and was not even ever around them . I would watch him through a hole in the fence at his school and he was always alone playing with leaves in a corner . I eventually pulled him out of school and he got better . His language increased and many of his repetative behaviors became better . Now almost 1 year later he has a lot of words in his vocabulary but no social reciprocity , inverts pronouns etc. He can ride a tricycle and a little bike with training wheels . He can jump with both legs and sometimes even plays pretend . He still has some repetative behavior and lacks social skills with kids his age but is very chatty with adults ( even though most people dont understand him) . Recently he actually approached a little boy that said hello to him by grabbing his arm very hard ( which he does to everyone) and got in his face and yelled "what are you doing in the car!!! " the boy got scared and walked away .He was not being aggresive he was just being himself , he does not understand personal space and his tone of voice changes when he gets nervous or excited. This was a long one and I am sorry but can anyone tell me what they think . It’s a talkathon – but it’s not just talk. Check out the i’m Talkathon.