Re: Looking for some insight....

[Guest guest]

There was a thing on here a while back where a special top with a 24hr recorder was place on a young child then it was sent for analysis, apparently young children with Aspies have different vocalisations, can't remember who put it on, perhaps if they recognise the description they will put it on again.

Hope this helps.

Lor B

From: Betsy <bwintermantel@...>Subject: ( ) Looking for some insight.... Date: Thursday, 12 November, 2009, 3:53

Hello All, I am new to the group and not really sure if I belong here, but hope some of you can read my story and offer some insight.So, I am the mom of a very spirited 14 month old little girl. She is highly intense, tightly wound, and extremely demanding... and yes, even more so than a typical 14 month old. She seems to be extremely smart for her age and blows me away with some of the things she does. Despite all of her challenges, she can be very delightful and such a joy to be around. She has reached all of her milestones (sitting, crawling, walking) early. Sat at about 4 months, crawled at 6.5 mo and walked at 9 months. It seems as if her bad days are REALLY BAD. She can throw tantrums like I have never seen and I am quiet surprised that she hasn't hurt herself yet. She throws her body around, while kicking and screaming. She will bite and pinch out of anger. Though, she usually does this to me and only once with my husband (her

father). These behaviors started at around 9 months of age. She was a late babbler, still doesn't say MaMa, but does say Papa (this is what she will call her Daddy). She clearly understands who Mama is when asked where I am as she will turn and look at me or point. She has some speech delays, but her ST has chalked it up to dyspraxia. She does say about 8 words. She is orally defensive. She has yet to start eating solids. She will put food in her mouth, but spits it out, put it back in, and repeats this over and over. She doesn't swallow the food. She will, however, from time to time eat 8-10 bites of something. This seldom happens. She does seem to have some oral sensory related issues. She will not put any type of pureed food in her mouth. She tests all food with her hands before she will even place it in her mouth. Basically, she still loves off of formula. It doesn't matter how much we limit her intake, she is content to starve if the only other

option is to eat food. We have seen a Peadi GI who has ruled out any medical conditions. She does go to an OT, but we haven't made any progress. I have also noticed that she doesn't always respond to her name. This seems to happen when she is very engaged in playing, or some other type of activity. She does know her name and usually does respond to it. It is only on occasion that she doesn't. So, basically I am writing to this group to see if any of you have any insight on our story. Do these sound like typical early symptoms of Asperger's? I know it is almost impossible to get a diagnosis at her age, but I am also sure that most of you noticed that there was something different much earlier than when your children were actually diagnosed. I shared these stories with a family member who teaches special needs children and she was the first to mention AS. I have wondered myself in the past, but never verbalized any concerns to anyone.Can you

all offer any insight?Thanks,Betsy

[Guest guest]

I think most people see something different in their AS kids from the time they are little, but it is hard to know what it is until you can see they are behind their same age peers emotionally, socially, etc. and pinpoint where their difficulties are. And that is usually in grade school, but I have heard of kids diagnosed earlier.

If it helps, my son who is 9 now, did have some similar behaviors when he was a baby. He did crawl and walk early, said a few words by 1. But he was very fussy, nothing soothed him - typical things like bouncer, swing, etc. never worked. He pretty much screamed in his carseat anytime we we were in the car until he was at least 2. He also quit eating baby cereal, baby food etc. at around 9 months. I couldn't find much that he would eat - some crackers and drinkable yogurt from what I remember, and he still drank formula too.

It sounds like you already have your daughter in early intervention, so that's good. My opinion, at this age, it doesn't matter what the actual diagnosis is, as long as she is getting help with her issues. I think you will see progress with OT eventually, but there are people who are feeding specialists too. She may always be "intense" but working with her from this early age, you will know how to handle it and advocate for her.

Keep up the good work, we know how tough it can be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Suzanne

suzmarkwood@...

From: Betsy <bwintermantel@...>Subject: ( ) Looking for some insight.... Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 7:53 PM

Hello All, I am new to the group and not really sure if I belong here, but hope some of you can read my story and offer some insight.So, I am the mom of a very spirited 14 month old little girl. She is highly intense, tightly wound, and extremely demanding... and yes, even more so than a typical 14 month old. She seems to be extremely smart for her age and blows me away with some of the things she does. Despite all of her challenges, she can be very delightful and such a joy to be around. She has reached all of her milestones (sitting, crawling, walking) early. Sat at about 4 months, crawled at 6.5 mo and walked at 9 months. It seems as if her bad days are REALLY BAD. She can throw tantrums like I have never seen and I am quiet surprised that she hasn't hurt herself yet. She throws her body around, while kicking and screaming. She will bite and pinch out of anger. Though, she usually does this to me and only once with my husband (her

father). These behaviors started at around 9 months of age. She was a late babbler, still doesn't say MaMa, but does say Papa (this is what she will call her Daddy). She clearly understands who Mama is when asked where I am as she will turn and look at me or point. She has some speech delays, but her ST has chalked it up to dyspraxia. She does say about 8 words. She is orally defensive. She has yet to start eating solids. She will put food in her mouth, but spits it out, put it back in, and repeats this over and over. She doesn't swallow the food. She will, however, from time to time eat 8-10 bites of something. This seldom happens. She does seem to have some oral sensory related issues. She will not put any type of pureed food in her mouth. She tests all food with her hands before she will even place it in her mouth. Basically, she still loves off of formula. It doesn't matter how much we limit her intake, she is content to starve if the only other

option is to eat food. We have seen a Peadi GI who has ruled out any medical conditions. She does go to an OT, but we haven't made any progress. I have also noticed that she doesn't always respond to her name. This seems to happen when she is very engaged in playing, or some other type of activity. She does know her name and usually does respond to it. It is only on occasion that she doesn't. So, basically I am writing to this group to see if any of you have any insight on our story. Do these sound like typical early symptoms of Asperger's? I know it is almost impossible to get a diagnosis at her age, but I am also sure that most of you noticed that there was something different much earlier than when your children were actually diagnosed. I shared these stories with a family member who teaches special needs children and she was the first to mention AS. I have wondered myself in the past, but never verbalized any concerns to anyone.Can you

all offer any insight?Thanks,Betsy

[Guest guest]

Hi,

What causes the meltdowns? With my AS daughter it would

be transitioning from one thing to another (as early

as 3 months old). Also sensory overload. Noise would trigger

panic. Some kids with emotional issues like anxiety can

have a lot of meltwdowns.

Ususally AS kids do not have any speech delays but there

are always exceptions.

About the eating ...does she have any other health issues.

My daughter has a genetic issue that affects growth but

many of the kids with her condition have a low gag reflux.

My daughter ate but mostly liked her bottle too. I would never

let her get too hungry because then all she wanted was her

bottle. She ate 6 small meals a day until she started preschool

at 4pm.

This could be an attentional issue, but it would be hard

to pinpoint until she starts school or has an neuropsch test

at about age 9 years old.

I think at some point you can get a DX of PDD-NOS so that

if need be she can get into the school districts SKIP

program special intervention for preschool ..all districts

have to have one or pay for one if need be.

good luck,

Pam

> I have also noticed that she doesn't always respond to her name. This seems

to happen when she is very engaged in playing, or some other type of activity.

She does know her name and usually does respond to it. It is only on occasion

that she doesn't.

> So, basically I am writing to this group to see if any of you have any insight

on our story. Do these sound like typical early symptoms of Asperger's? I know

it is almost impossible to get a diagnosis at her age, but I am also sure that

most of you noticed that there was something different much earlier than when

your children were actually diagnosed. I shared these stories with a family

member who teaches special needs children and she was the first to mention AS.

I have wondered myself in the past, but never verbalized any concerns to anyone.

> Can you all offer any insight?

>

> Thanks,

>

> Betsy

>