ANyone with an autistic child want to chat?

Replies

• waiting4baby

  Feb 27, 2008 5:47PM

  hello my son isn't autistic but is currently being diagnosed as having dvm, delayed visual maturation, he's only 12 weeks now though so we are still in the early stages of diagnosis and he's being checked on again in about 6 weeks. Anyway i've been reading online about dvm and autism seems to pop up everywhere as i hunt so i was just wondering if you don't mind me asking please, if before your children were diagnosed with autism if dvm had ever been mentioned or did they look at faces and focus when they were babies so never an issue. thank you

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• waiting4baby

  Mar 1, 2008 4:45PM

  thank you it's just a pain that it's such a waiting game for proper diagnosis but nevermind at least it means they'll propbably get it right when it is diagnosed..... hope everything going well with all of yours, lots of children how lovely i'd love a big family but what a handful just one is!

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• Jenny-58437

  Mar 8, 2008 12:33PM

  Hi again!
  i had never had dvm mentioned to me either. Ive just got one one child, Ben has been different for quite some time now, in hindsight i can see differences when he was just a few months old but i started actually noticing it at about a year.

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• waiting4baby

  Mar 8, 2008 4:38PM

  thanks, i guess at the moment he's probably still too young to make any real connections, we'll just have to wait and see how everything works out at the 6 month mark. i'm watching him like a hawk at the moment so hopefully i'll pick up on things quite quickly.
  
  hope you and your lo are doing well

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• kellsy69

  Jan 1, 2009 4:08PM

  yeh i have an autistic on too he is 5 and i think he is great he just says what on his mind which does offend people sometimes as he has a weird thing about smells and just says out aloud if he smells something or someone that dont smell too good, i found when out shopping when there lots of people about which he doesnt like, he tends to get stroppy and people walk past and tut and i hear them say cant she control him and when i say hes autistic they just tut and walk off people are so ignorant and i just wish people would be more informed of this condition as it seems to be coming more common

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• lynz_81

  Jan 3, 2009 5:40PM

  Hi, my son is 3, and we're just starting down the road of hospitals finally deciding to help us! I was interested to read that all of you seem to have been given a diagnosis while your children are still young? The doctors i have seen have told me that he's almost certainly autistic but they wont give an official diagnosis until he is six, which is making things very hard for me re getting him in to a school, and getting him the one to one help he will need. Luca is soooo wonderful, he's a real little character, the main problem we seem to have with him at the moment is that he does not cope well with new situations, or if he cant be allowed to do exactly what he wants (this often involves kicking other people, or headbutting walls, things he cant do for his own and others safety!) He has very violent tantrums that can go on for an hour at a time. It happened today, we were in our local working mans club, they have a little kids room there, and an outdoor play area which he loves. However he wanted to go in to the main bar today which is not allowed, and he had a huge tantrum! This guy sitting near us kept tutting and shaking his head, even though he could see we were doing our best to calm him (easier said than done!) I lost my temper in the end and told him that he's autistic and cant help it, to which he replied well he shouldn't be out in public then!!!! I was so upset that we ended up leaving. I really wish people would be a little more understanding!!
  Sorry this turned into such a long post, just wanted to let you know that you're not alone! It seems silly, i live in essex, and really wanted to take my son to some sort of mother and toddler group or something especially for people who are going through the same thing, but i cant find a single one! Its annoying that so many parents have to struggle through alone when there are so many of us dealing with this x

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• libranaster

  Jan 7, 2009 6:21AM

  Hi my name is Megan and I am taking my son to the doctor to get a referal to a pediatrician. I am very concerned he may be autistic. He is 4 years old and it is very obvious to me there may be problems. He had to go to early learning intervention last year to help get him ready for Kindergarten and he will have 4 hours of assistance with his learning every week while in kindergarten. I live in australia so if anyone is from there too and wants some info about Early learning intervention please let me know.
  
  He has had tons of asessments with them on his speech and types of play and his hearing and the results I have gotten are.
  He can hear. His speach and understanding of speech are at 21 months. He has difficulty with his imaginitive play.
  
  I kept bringing up with them I suspected Autism but they kept telling me he is alright. How is he alright when his speech and understanding is at 21 months. I also can not potty train him because if by luck he does go he does not understand that the reward is for what he has done. I find generally he does not understand consequences for actions. To be more specific He does not understand if he gets in trouble for something its because of what he did nor does he understand if we praise him its because he did something right. We had his hearing checked because sometimes when I am talking to him especially if I am trying to tell him to stop doing something. I can get louder and luder and he totally ignores me. He does strange things sometimes too he has started now taking his clothes off all the time no matter where he is. I would think by the time you are 4 you get a little more modest than that. Needless to say I think I have the evdence that everything is not alright and I am so frustrated with parenting him. I thought I would post this here where there are parents of autistic kids to see what you guys think. So let me know do you think my son may be autistic?
  
  

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• AutismMummyx3

  Jan 16, 2009 7:23AM

  hi every1 i am similar to most of you.i have 3 children,2 boys and 1 girl.of which the 2 boys have autism.we are going through the testing still even though they have been diagnosed but they want to see if its genetic if so then they want to test our daughter too.xxx

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• millymonster

  Feb 27, 2009 3:43AM

  hiya i dont have a child who has autism but have worked with autistic children for the last 51/2 years, i hve come across so many different stages from mild to very severe, and know how hard work it is, it can be very hard when out in the public as people just stare and dont understand, hope alll of u have the help and support that u need and should be getting, i would gladly offer any advice to quetions if i have the anwer to them.

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• Pumpkin-Pie

  Mar 13, 2009 6:09AM

  Hi Im the same as Millymonster, I do not have a child with autism but have worked at a residential school for children with autism for the past 9 years. We are lucky that the school is based in a small town so most of the locals and local businesses are very accomodating but you can still get the thoughtless comments or the stares (i have perfected the skill of staring them down until they have to turn away!). I have 9 boys and a girl in my care group aged between 11 and 14 - they are a fantastic group of kids and are each on different points of the spectrum. One of my girls who joined four years ago is just about to go to Art college!! Im so proud of her!!! x

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• campbellly

  Mar 17, 2009 4:46PM

  Hi Megan. I work as a speech and language therapist and I have to say that sometimes it can be difficult to diagnose autism as some of the symptoms are the same as you might find in a child with other communication problems. For example, unmanageable/odd behaviour, stereotyped play (lining up cars, spinning objects etc), strict food likes/dislikes, unusual reactions to sound etc are all features that could be seen in a child with specific language disorder or autism or a child with general comprehension difficulties. Since there is no specific test that will prove a child has autism, is it up to a team of professionals to take all information into account in order to come up with the likely diagnosis but it is not an exact science and mistakes can be made. If you strongly suspect your child has autism then the health professionals should be able to give you a reason why your child does not fit into this diagnosis. I hope you get the support your need for your child.

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• booty34

  Apr 3, 2009 4:36PM

  hi i have a severely autistic son who is 12 he was diagnosed when he was 2 and half but everyone knew before that. he wasnt like it from birth, he was like it straight after he had the triple MMR. he nearly died thankfully he didnt, but he didnt speak no more, and had to learn everything again, he can not have a conversation and his only speech is copying, although he does understand quite alot of what you say to him. he is so much hard work but we love him all the same, he has a older brother who is 13 he had single jab and he is fine. my son attends a special school and does ok. at the moment we are having it hard because he hits himself really bad, last week he fractured his own nose, i dont want to scare any of you, as im not saying thats what every autistic child will do, i dont know anyone with a child who has autism so am very much alone, i have a wonderful husband we got married in feb, we met 4 yrs ago. and he loves jordan to bits, i would love to get to know anyone else who is going thru same as me,

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• booty34

  Apr 7, 2009 8:40AM

  sarajenk, if ever you want a chat to someone who knows what it is like and dealing with same, my email button is active. my son is 12 and getting worse, he is in respite till thurs, on sunday i had the worse day of my life with him, he climb over a wall and fence in our back garden and escaped, he was found thank god half hour later, i phoned the police and they said that they had a cpl that had rung them and had jordan, said he was very agitated because he didnt know what was going on. jordan is severely autistic, he is in a special school, he cant have a conversation his only words are copying it is a real struggle, jordan is my youngest i have his older brother who is 13 months older, and we are now ttc with my husbands first. i am nervous as to how things will be with jordan been difficult and a new baby, but i want to have a baby with my husband so much, i have been off the pill for 2 months

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• mamae2013

  Nov 21, 2013 8:57AM

  Hello all, 

  I now this post is quite old but I hope you can reply to me with your experiences.

  my son is now 8 week old. He does not look at faces and dont track objects. he smiles and coos but not looking at me. 

  he does not look at me in the eye when brestfeeding either.

  Can you please let me know if this was the case for your children when they were babies and if I should be concerned about autism?

  Also, please advise on the MMR jab. What do you suggest to do, I haven't taken them yet.

  Thanks,

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• KazzieM

  Jan 30, 2014 3:07PM

  Hi, I have 2 DDs.  My eldest has ASD.  As she was my first I didn't truly appreciate she was 'different' until my youngest was born & there were noticeable differences.

  My eldest had largely relied upon being held & walked around to fall asleep whilst youngest would settle herself more readily, my eldest had been more placid whilst being changed (she just lay still upon the mat & let me change her) whilst my youngest kicked & wiggled, my eldest had been fascinated by turning toys over & 'studying' them to see how they worked whilst my youngest had more favourites that she would play with, my eldest had disliked certain noises & would look to turn off the cause whilst my youngest seemed less bothered.....

  The real acknowledgement came when DD1 was about 2.5yrs old & started going into 'meltdowns' akin to 'panic attack' when DH returned from work & didn't pick her up straight away.  She would become hysterical in floods of tears, she would be hyperventilating with her frustration & she could even make her nose bleed with the distress she got herself into.  We notified our HV who in turn referred us onto Paediatrics & the process moved forwards until we got our confirmed diagnosis 1yr later.

  On the whole she is a happy, highly affectionate young lady but she has virtually no speech (just random babble) & so we communicate via 'Objects for Reference' (she doesn't yet understand Makaton & currently sees PECs as a 'sensory stimulation' rather than a means to communicate).  She loves smelling things & can often be found smelling hair, clothes & random items.  She loves 'Pika' for sensory stimulation.  She does get frustrated when she can't make her needs/wants known & will occasionally get spiteful with this (Biting, Kicking, Head Butting, Pinching, Hitting, Pushing/Pulling) but is improving with time.

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