Could my 2 yr old son have autism?

Question

I have a 2 yr old boy an he doesent talk yet, well nothing pastt mama baba. He throws servere tantrems sometimes I dont even know why he is so upset. he loves to run and seems completly absessed with cars but thats really all he plays with he shows little intrest in other toys. when he watches tv its like he gets sucked into it and cant take his gaze off. Most of the time when i speak to him he aks like he cant hear me and continues what he is doing and if i interupt him he starts screamng. I have never seen any other children his age throw tantrums as often and the way he does, he will throw hisself on the floor an sometimes he hurts hisself doing this. He had a really bad fibril sezure when he was one and has had 2 very small ones since. but i am really getting concerned because of his behavior and speech problems.

Yes my son has had his hearing tested. i also read that many autistic kids have servere allergies and bowel problems. my son is allerigic to milk products. and was also diagnosed with the childhood form of irritable bowel. as far as communication, well evey morning when we get up i have to pick him up so he can look to see what he wants then he either points or grabs what he wants. he turned two on june2 i dont plan on having him tested untill he is at least 3. i dont want to jump to conclushions. but alot of friends and family have sudgested i have him checked for autism

Answer 1

Characteristics

Autism is distinguished by a pattern of symptoms rather than one single symptom. The main characteristics are impairments in social interaction, impairments in communication, restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Other aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential for diagnosis.[19]

[edit] Social development

Autistic people have social impairments and often lack the intuition about others that many people take for granted. Noted autistic Temple Grandin described her inability to understand the social communication of neurotypicals as leaving her feeling "like an anthropologist on Mars".[20]

Social impairments become apparent early in childhood and continue through adulthood. Autistic infants show less attention to social stimuli, smile and look at others less often, and respond less to their own name. Autistic toddlers have more striking social deviance; for example, they have less eye contact and anticipatory postures and are less likely to use another person's hand or body as a tool.[18] Three- to five-year-old autistic children are less likely to exhibit social understanding, approach others spontaneously, imitate and respond to emotions, communicate nonverbally, and take turns with others. However, they do form attachments to their primary caregivers.[21] They display moderately less attachment security than usual, although this feature disappears in children with higher mental development or less severe ASD.[22] Older children and adults with ASD perform worse on tests of face and emotion recognition.[23]

Contrary to common belief, autistic children do not prefer to be alone. Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism. For them, the quality of friendships, not the number of friends, predicts how lonely they are.[24]

There are many anecdotal reports, but few systematic studies, of aggression and violence in individuals with ASD. The limited data suggest that in children with mental retardation, autism is associated with aggression, destruction of property, and tantrums. Dominick et al. interviewed the parents of 67 children with ASD and reported that about two-thirds of the children had periods of severe tantrums and about one third had a history of aggression, with tantrums significantly more common than in children with a history of language impairment.[25]

[edit] Communication

About a third to a half of individuals with autism do not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs.[26] Differences in communication may be present from the first year of life, and may include delayed onset of babbling, unusual gestures, diminished responsiveness, and the desynchronization of vocal patterns with the caregiver. In the second and third years, autistic children have less frequent and less diverse babbling, consonants, words, and word combinations; their gestures are less often integrated with words. Autistic children are less likely to make requests or share experiences, and are more likely to simply repeat others' words (echolalia)[17][27] or reverse pronouns.[28] Autistic children may have difficulty with imaginative play and with developing symbols into language.[17][27] They are more likely to have problems understanding pointing; for example, they may look at a pointing hand instead of the pointed-at object.[18][27]

In a pair of studies, high-functioning autistic children aged 8–15 performed equally well, and adults better than individually matched controls at basic language tasks involving vocabulary and spelling. Both autistic groups performed worse than controls at complex language tasks such as figurative language, comprehension and inference. As people are often sized up initially from their basic language skills, these studies suggest that people speaking to autistic individuals are more likely to overestimate what their audience comprehends

Answer 2

As a toddler/preschool teacher, one of the biggest signs we looked for was not weather a child could talk, but if he/she understood directions or what you were saying. For example, assuming your child is NOT totally engaged in playing with cars or watching TV, does he know what you are asking, i.e. "can you bring me your shoe", or "go get the red car", etc. If he cannot do this, then you will want to get him checked out ASAP.

Delayed speech itself is not necessarily a sign of any disorder, although it can be scary. How close to the child's third birthday is he? Did he just turn 2?

Over my years as a toddler/preschool teacher, I have seen 2 year olds who could talk like 10 year olds, and others who would rarely babble an occassional word. Some children throw temper tantrums easily, and again, this is not neccessarily a symptom of anything, it could just be your child's personality. There is no way to tell for sure without seeing a specialist if your child has autism. If you check your county phone book, you should have a local Children/Family services for the county or region. Often times these centers offer developmental screenings for children under 4 or 5 years of age for free.

If your child is getting closer to the age of 3 and is not yet talking, you may want to consider speech therapy. Some pediatricians recommend this as early as 2 years of age, others not until 3 or 4. I would suggest seeing a therapist if your child is not speaking much by his third birthday.

In the mean time, try to encourage more talking. For example, if he wants a sippy cup, make him say "cup" or "milk", as opposed to just pointing at it. Show encouragement the more he talks. Read picture books over and over. Ask questions that must be answered without a yes or no head shake. - What does a cat say, how many ears do we have.

If you are still feeling very concerned about your child's development, contact your pediatrician to discuss your concerns and worries. If your pediatrician blows you off, find a new pediatrician. Even if he doesn't, getting a second opinion never hurts, since doctors often have different philosophies about development.

Answer 3

" he doesent talk yet, well nothing pastt mama baba. He throws servere tantrems sometimes I dont even know why he is so upset."

Do you think the tantrums are caused by his frustration in not being able to express himself.

My son did not speak until he was 2, and shortly after it was only about 4 words. He's now 3 and a complete chatterbox. Every child is different - has his hearing been tested? Has his speech been tested? In my state (TN) kids younger than 3 with developmental delays qualify for intervention services, where speech therapy is required by the state. See if you have early intervention (your pediatrician should know) and contact them - they might pay for testing. I would definitely see a professional if your mom instincts think something is wrong. Best of luck.

Answer 4

My nephew was diagnosed with febrile seizures, as well, but at 2.5 he was diagnosed with epilepsy. His behavior was a LOT like your son's behavior. All kids at 2 are generally into 1 toy and are complete zombies in front of the tv. I'd be more concerned with the seizures--seizures are not a symptom of autism. If your son has epilepsy, he could be getting bad "headaches" which could cause the tantrums. My nephew is four now and is beginning to be able to predict when he will have a seizure. He also has absence seizures where he appears to be not listening or spacing out completely for a minute or two. We can say his name, ask him questions, physically touch him, and he won't respond until this seizure is over. There are many different types of seizures, and the ones you have witnessed seem to be grand mal seizures--the only ones where you can really see the seizure. I'd talk to your pediatrician about taking him to see a neurologist. FYI, we just found out about three months ago that Tylenol can trigger a seizure after taking him to be a part of an epilepsy sleep study and that we shouldn't give him Tylenol if he complains of a headache or any other pains. It doesn't really sound like autism to me, but I'm not a specialist. If your son had autism, he wouldn't make eye contact, he would resist you touching him, would be really sensitive to clothing tags, etc and other sensory stimulation (including food textures). If he has some of these symptoms, but not all of them, he could have sensory integration disorder. The biggest symptom of autism is a dramatic regression of behavior--normal development (crawling, walking, baby babbling, eye contact, etc.) to suddenly not making eye contact, crying constantly when he used to be happy, freaking out if you touch him, stopping talking/babbling, etc. 2 yr old tantrums are REALLY common and I don't know of ANY 2 year old that really listens when you talk to them. Again, I'd contact your pediatrician and talk to a neurologist.

Answer 5

Our next door neighbor's little boy did the same stuff. he couldn't take his eyes off the tv while on and he did not acknolegde you speaking to him. Along with everything else u mentioned. He was diagnosed with mild autism. Deinfitly ask a doctor and get him tested. Boy are more likley to get autism then girls are.
Having sezures though is not in the description for autism. If you haven't had him checked out at a pediatrician yet do so.
Some boys are slow at speech though. My brother didn't learn to speak until the age of 3 1/2. Constantly try to get him talking.

Answer 6

I have a colleague, not quite a good friend, so we dont have many in depth discussions, but they're having they 2 year old go to some early intervention sessions who shows alot of those same behaviors you mentioned. Its mainly with a speech therapist, but who I would assume is trained to look for autism signs. They go to both group and individual sessions.

That said, Id have a chat with your pediatrician, or even county workers, our community runs some of these programs thru our county. Scientific American just had a special child development issue that talked about the early signs of autism, and really promoted this early intervention.

One other thing to look at might be the affect of food allergies, something like celiac (sp?) can trigger autism type behavior.

Good luck, our sons had febrile seizures too, and feel for you on that.

Answer 7

The behaviors you describe could indicate autism. Early diagnosis and treatment can significantly improve the outlook for your family. Autism diagnosis has increased at an alarming rate in recent years. ( Better awareness and expanded diagnostic definitions can explain some of this rise) Beware of the many "fad" treatments being promoted today. Many have not been scientifically studied, much less proven effective. All the best to your family in identifying the cause of your son's problems.

Answer 8

Call your school district and get him tested. My son was diagnosed with autism at age 2. Even if your child is not autistic, there are playgroups and resources to help you get through these issues. A doctor is not the best person to ask about autism, at least ours wasn't. I was questioning autism and he said not to compare my child to other kids. 6 months later I finally had my son looked at by a professional in that field and he was autistic. Some of your child's symptoms make me think you should make that call tomorrow.

Answer 9

That could be many things. You should consult a doctor. That would be your best option. He knows your son better than any of us do. He is more equipped with the knowlege to know what from what. It could be Schizophrenic, autistic, or just plain content with life the way it is. Speculation might help, but really, if he is having troubles a doctor would be able to get him help. Good Luck I hope all is well.

Answer 10

first off, don't think of the worse... If you read books about a child's developement you'll realize most of the things he does are normal... My girl, at 1.5 years used to scream on the floor for 2 hours straight, turning red and popping the blood vessels in her face. That bad... she grew out of it at about age 4... YAH! Also, I've had many friends who's kids didn't say even ONE WORD till they were 3... every child develops differently. Also, there are many levels of autism... I have a friend who's child has autism and you would never know.. he's now 10, but she says when he was young it was very noticeable and he grew out of it. If you are truly concerned... get a medical evaluation... otherwise, give it some time. Good luck.

Answer 11

You as his parent already know that there is some issue here or you wouldn't have written. We as parent's always know deep down when there is a problem with our children. What you have explained are characteristics of a child with autism....but also of multiple other conditions. You need to take him in to his dr. and get him evaluated....I had a group called Project Tikes in Texas come out and they came to my home and tested my son for multiple issues. Contact his dr. and/or contact your school district and they can usually point you in the right direction of specialist for testing purposes.....even for a 2 yr. old.