Autism ???

Question

My son is 33 months and we are starting to worry if he may have autism. He has a speech delay, although he speaks over 50 maybe 75 words but most of them are not clear .Also he has a behavioral problem - when we praise him for something he did , he gets mad , or also when we buy him a new toy , he throws it (but then he likes it) ,he opens and closes doors all the time,turns off and on the light,lines up in a perfect line about 30 cars, plays with the piano most of the day,likes to play or read books by himself instead with me or his 4 yr old brother , he throws tantrums ...are these autism symptoms or is normal...other parents experience this with their child? Or also can it be that he feels somehow less or left behind than his older brother that can talk,do puzzles,knows alphabet ,etc ?

Answer 1

The defination of Autism:A psychiatric disorder of childhood characterized by marked deficits in communication and social interaction, preoccupation with fantasy, language impairment, and abnormal behavior, such as repetitive acts and excessive attachment to certain objects. It is usually associated with intellectual impairment.Here are some characteristics of autism:Insistence on sameness; resistance to change Difficulty in expressing needs, using gestures or pointing instead of words Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason showing distress for reasons not apparent to others Preference to being alone; aloof manner Tantrums Difficulty in mixing with others Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled Little or no eye contact
Unresponsive to normal teaching methods Sustained odd play Spinning objects Obsessive attachment to objects
Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
No real fears of danger Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity Uneven gross/fine motor skills
Non responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests in normal range.I would get your child tested! just to be on the safe side!

Answer 2

Hello. I have a 37 month old diagnosed with autism. I will tell you that finding out as soon as possible whether your son has autism, or a speech delay or a behavioral problem or whatever it may be, is the best present you can give your child and your family. You would think that in the USA finding out would be easy. It is not so in many cases unless you get very lucky. I had a gut feeling that there was something not quite right with my child but the pediatrician brushed off all my concerns. This is because there is a lot of ignorance among doctors regarding autism. So, when you take him to the pediatrician make sure you let him or her know in unequivocal terms that regardless of what he thinks the problem may be, you want a referral for a psychological evaluation at a teaching hospital in your area. Teaching hospitals are best equipped to do these diagnosis. Most pediatricians, unless you take him to a Developmental Pediatrician, know squat. Advocates of children with autism will tell you the same. Infants and toddlers brains are still developing at a fast rate so whatever the problem maybe, early intervention is the key. Typically, you have to wait days or weeks to get appointments. But you can't afofrd to waste time. So you need to do some other parallel work. Contact your school board. Since your child is soon to turn 3, they will also do a FREE evaluation for your child (but it takes them months so set things up, there is a lot of bureaucracy involved, etc...) and if they find he needs any support (speech, occupational, behavioral, etc...), they will inform you of what pre-k programs they have available in your area tailored to your child's need. These programs are FREE and their purpose is to prepare your child so that he has a chance to catch up with the other kids and be prepared for Kindergarden. If your child turns out to have some developmental delay and your insurance will not pay for speech therapy or behavioral therapy (trust me what they give them in school is just minimal and you want to give him as much therapy now as you can) contact organizations in your area such as ARC or Easter Seals for help. They have sliding scale pay.
No one here can tell you if your child has a problem or not, and I hope he doesn't but if he does, find support in other parents similarly situated because the news are always a blow no matter how prepared you think you are. Network. Network. Network. You can email me anytime for advice or support. good luck.

Answer 3

Here are some signs of Autism :

Does not babble, point, or make meaningful gestures by 1 year of age
Does not speak one word by 16 months
Does not combine two words by 2 years
Does not respond to name
Loses language or social skills
Poor eye contact
Doesn't seem to know how to play with toys
Excessively lines up toys or other objects
Is attached to one particular toy or object
Doesn't smile
At times seems to be hearing impaired
Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
Engage in repetitive behaviors and ritualized activities, ranging from lining up items to following a rigid routine,
Prefer activities that require relatively little verbal interaction.


I started to notice my 24 month of daughter was 'different' than other kids her age a couple months ago. She doesn't say many words and she used to say more when she was 18 months than she does now. It is either hit or miss when we take her anywhere. We used to get compliments on how well she sat at the table and stacked blocks, or colored. She would sit there alomst in another world , so focused. We would call her name over and over and she would never even flinch. But once a block fell, or a crayon slipped out her hand she would fall apart and it would take forever to get her happy again. She is attached to a blanket that we have had to buy a million duplicates of. She is overly sensative to touch and has a hard time showing the 'right' emotion, also throwing things she really likes and hates praise. We contacted our county Regional center and she was evalutaed and approved and just started speech and sensory motor classes. In the evaulation it stated.....difficulty with transition and disorganized thought. Those are perfect defenitions of my daughter's behaviors. Next week she is going to be tested for Autism by a neurologist.

Early intervention in key in having an autistic child be high functioning later in life. It is hard as a parent to swallow the fact that our kids might have something wrong with them. But denial is only going to hurt them. While I pray there is nothing wrong with your son it doesn't hurt to make sure. Call your doctor and demand to see speacialist neurologoist, ent's, etc. Good Luck

Answer 4

He is showing some red flags of it... but really the only way to know for sure is to have him evaluated. Ask your pediatrician for a referral to either a developmental pediatrician or a neurologist. there is testing they can do to find out if he falls on the autism spectrum or not.

Trust your instinct - if a mother has concerns, they're usually warranted. And know its not a death sentence to get an autism diagnosis. My son is mildly autistic (has PDD NOS) and has been doing wonderful in intensive therapy. Honestly if you met him, other than his slight speech delay, you would not know there was a thing wrong with him.

I wish you the best of luck!!!

Answer 5

You should get this checked- it never hurts. You have to know that there are different levels of autism.

Your son may have Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This is a higher functioning form of autism where some characteristics touch the autism spectrum. He could possibly be OCD as well.

I had my son preschool screened (its free). We found out he was ASD. Best thing to do is get screened- early intervention is key. He is enrolled in some special education, speech, and OT classes and I can honestly tell you his speaking abilities and behavior have improved 200% since.

Answer 6

You should get help from his doctor. He may or not have autism. My 26 months old also has some of these problems I contacted the early intervention people (I live in illinois). They came into my house (1 social worker & 3 therapists) & evaluated my child. The evaluation was even fun. They spent 3 hours playing with my kid. They just found he has a speech delay due our bilingual environment & lack of social interaction. Our family lives in other states. Since he dosn't know how to communicate verbally, he expresses himself by throwing things or moving his hand. They also told me my son is a visual guy. So, they'll teach me how to help my child's speech & behavior. They set my son with 3 hours of therapies until he turns 3.

The social worker from early intervention cordinates everything from appoitment to insurance payment. They check your economic condition & determine if your familiy could pay a small fee for these services, or contrarily, if your family need additional fund for your son situation. Early intervention works from low income family to very rich family. It's only objective is to improve children development. They even contact school & other intitutions to accomodate children who have not reach their full development by the time they turn 3.

Your son already has 75 words which is pretty good for his age... You should try to contact this kind of agencies. I'm not sure if there is early intervention in each state, but if not told to the doctor about it. Try to do it before he turns 3 years, so he can get all help possible

Answer 7

it sounds more like he's OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) than autistic. The best thing to do is to get him checked out. I don't know where you live, but Massachusetts (where I live) has an "early intervention" program that is free until the age of 3 (then if they are in pre-school they can get seen there). It is really useful to have your fears either confirmed or explained as normal by a proffesional. Look into your state's resourses and don't be afraid to ask. That's the only way to get answers.

By the way, if it is either OCD, autism, or something else entirely, it is best to have it diagnosed as early as possible. The earlier you start treating it, the better it will be as your son grows up.

Answer 8

hi. i've got labored with infants with ASDs interior the previous and Thomas replaced into truthfully surprising on the video- with a bit of luck at some point he will instruct his acquaintances that he replaced into commonplace on YA! do not project appropriate to the stares. regrettably infants with autism have been put in hospitals until the Seventies yet society has stepped forward somewhat now and considered they are able to be somewhat of society. Edit - I agree - he seems an particularly pleased youthful lad. you need to be so proud!

Answer 9

Try looking at the Autism Speaks website. They might have some warning signs to look for. There is such a vast array of behaviors that fall under the Autism unbrella it can be hard to define.

Answer 10

Some telling early symptoms of autism are not being able to look you in the eyes and not responding to their name.

It sounds like he may have a different disorder, like OCD or something related, that makes it hard for him to cope with new things until they become familiar.

I definitely recommend you have him diagnosed as soon as you can. The earlier you get started on the proper behavioral therapy, the easier it will be overcome.