What's new

Autism

I don't have any experience with Autism but just wanted to pop in and say I hope things work out ok :)
 
We have quite a few kids at our school who have been diagnosed with autism. The range on the spectrum is huge - but it is agreed that early diagnosis/intervention is best for the child. From the parents I have talked to, just knowing is a relief.

One of the boys next door is a high functioning Aspergers, one of the sweetest kids I know. He will ask a question, quickly followed by "is that an appropriate question, I don't know so you have to tell me".

Good luck, I hope your family finds the answers they are looking for. x
 
I'm retired from teaching. I've students with Asperger's in my class and they are not all the same. The last year that I taught I had a student that had the highest IQ in the school yet socially was immature He did not have anger issues but got upset easily. The year before I had a student that was also gifted, particularly in science. He did not have anger issue, in fact was very quiet.

I am quite certain that my daughter has Asperger's but when she was young very little was known about Asperger's so she was never diagnosed. Now that she is older my sister-in-law who is a nurse and I have decided that there is no reason to say anything about it now unless she asks. She has a good job in a small lab with only two other people. We are very thankful for all she has accomplished.
 
Good luck with everything. In my experience, the sooner you can get them evaluated, the better. My nephew is five and a half and was diagnosed last year with Autism. They still haven't pinpointed where he is on the spectrum other than he's fairly high-functioning in most areas (although he really doesn't talk much). I started to worry about him before he turned three. All of a sudden he wasn't making any eye contact and/or trying to communicate. But my little sister (lives with my mom) let my mom dictate getting any evaluation, so it was delayed and probably lost a lot of valuable time. He's now in speech therapy and occupational therapy, so we can see a bit of improvement, but I think the environment he lives in is kind of hampering improvement on a bigger scale. :/

My grandson is four and started having epic meltdowns about six months ago. He also doesn't seem to listen or be able to pay attention to anything he's not interested in for any length of time. He'll dash out in traffic or do other crazy things because he is just so self-driven. He doesn't sleep well and is constantly on the go/never wears down. We were worried about all of it, so we took him in for a checkup and asked the doctor. He has now been diagnosed with ADHD. We asked about whether or not he might be on the spectrum, but the therapist said she doesn't see it because he's so extremely social.

No matter what, be sure to tell the parents to be strong advocates for him and to speak up and be sure the families needs are being met. I think with waiting lists and other crazy things, sometimes the healthcare systems can bog people down and they don't push forward because they don't know what else to do, but have them find local groups that can give them information or resources so they can make informed decisions about care and whatnot. We just stared therapy for Kennedy, and are already thinking we might have to change because the woman doesn't seem to know much more than to go with what almost feels like a scripted format. We asked about a book for helping figure out what to do with the ADHD stuff, and she didn't really have one. To me, that isn't a good sign.

And I don't know if it would help, but I think Ali Edwards' blog has a lot of good information and some resources about Autism because her son, Simon, has it. She's so down-to-earth and wonderful, it helped to read about things from her perspective.

Hugs to you guys.
 
Unmedicated ADHD can also mimic a whole host of other behavioral / psychological issues.
 
My son Kai has classic Autism. He was diagnosed a little after his second birthday. In Wisconsin we went through and VERY rough 3 day testing period. He met with a whole team of doctors who helped with the diagnoses. There was a speech, OT, PT, mental health doctor, neuro doctor. .. regular doctor.. they met with him for HOURS and went over certian things about him.. and watched him.. played with him.. tested his skills.. before he was fully diagnosed.

Kai did birth-3 before he was diagnosed due to lack of speech skills. You see he was perfectly "normal" pretty much till 18 months when he majorly regressed. He stopped talking all together , stopped walking, and threw fits like you wouldn't believe.

Today he is talking again, but only has 100 words and is about 46% understandable to people outside the family. He stutters a great deal.. and also has Speech Apraxia. He is in a special classroom for special needs kids and has his own private aid. He is behind in all levels except math (which he is at grade level). he can't read and barely can write (he is 8).
His behavior is HORRIBLE a lot of the time.. and he is like the hulk.. one moment sweet and cuddly and next throwing a table at you.
He regresses greatly if we don't stay on top of him.. miss a few weeks of speech and he regresses.. same with school

But I will be glad to answer any questions about Autism you may have. PM me anytime! :) I have done A LOT of speeches on it locally and around the state.. and I am very invovled in our local Autism Awareness support groups
 
I was curious when I saw the date that I started this thread and all I can say is 'WOW'.....January 2012! And here we are almost in June of 2014! The little guy is finishing up Pre-K and will start Kindergarten in August. So much has happened and changed within the family that it's hard to even think where we were just a little over 2 years ago. My son and his wife divorced and the boys (yes, there's 4 boys) spend much more time with their dad these days. Brandon, the grandson that has Autism, has grown alot over that time and although still not talking as much, doesn't have as many of the meltdowns that he was experiencing. I do think with all that was going on in the family, he took much of it within himself. He definitely has a funny disposition and loves to laugh and have someone play with him one-on-one but he also wants to be around his brothers. We have definitely seen an improvement with how he interacts with all of us. He has his moments but has done really well in Pre-K this year. I'm guessing that when he goes into Kindergarten in the fall that the school will do more testing to see where they will direct his education. I'm very fortunate to work in the school district and I know many of the administrators in the Special Programs department.

{As a side note: Brandon's mom, my ex-DIL, has mental issues of her own and has not been much of an advocate for Brandon's education. She's pretty much just happy that he goes to school and is out of her hair for awhile. Honestly, if it wasn't for my son and his fiancee looking after his needs, I'm not sure where Brandon would be on the spectrum these days. My son's fiancee works in the Special Needs field and works with Brandon when the boys are there on the weekends. We are blessed that he has that. Okay.....my rant is completed! :) }
 
Last edited:
Back
Top