I need some help please. Baby shows some signs of autism.

quintwins

penny watcher makes a good point, my twins have had 4 hearing tests they've passed everyone with flying colours, first 2 we're due to being prem, then the next 2 we due to speech delay that usually the first thing they check, you may think your child is too young for a hearing test but the twins first ones were at 4months old.

I was also asked if i'd had there eyes tested, again it's never too early apparently. i know my kids can see and hear but that doesn't mean there couldn't be a small problem it's always good to get it checked.

lily76

Penny_Watcher wrote: »

Has your little boy had his hearing tested? My youngest daughter (now 15 and a complete chatterbox) had glue ear as a toddler. She was very introverted, uncommunicative and lacked social skills. This was all because she couldn't hear properly to learn to talk. Surgery and speech therapy brought her back to 'normal'.

Hope this helps

I am thinking of it as well. He spends at least 15 minutes in bath tube every day ever since he was 1 month old. Unavoidably there might be some water coming into his little ears though he can hear anything. I do find him digging his ears sometime. My next visit to GP will be focused on this.;)

Looking back I really do not know what happened to me last a few days. Even if it is autism it is not the end of the world but I just acted like it is.

lily76

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Sounds good to me. Particularly giving you a biscuit shows a social dimension to him.

When it comes to fruit time he will feed me all the blueberries which he does not eat at all. Seeing me eating them makes him being amused. He kissed my mum as well. Autism is a spectrum with different levels. A lot of autistic people live a life as normal people even never get diagnosed. To be autistic does not mean a total loss of social activity. My baby's problem lies in pointing together with language. If it is just language I would not worry at all. We are a bilingual family.

lily76

quintwins wrote: »

penny watcher makes a good point, my twins have had 4 hearing tests they've passed everyone with flying colours, first 2 we're due to being prem, then the next 2 we due to speech delay that usually the first thing they check, you may think your child is too young for a hearing test but the twins first ones were at 4months old.

I was also asked if i'd had there eyes tested, again it's never too early apparently. i know my kids can see and hear but that doesn't mean there couldn't be a small problem it's always good to get it checked.

I will have my son checked as well. He digs his little ears from time to time. I used to think it is just for fun as he can hear every new sound and makes a response but now I got some new idea.

sapphireeye

I wouldn't jump on Autism, to me it just sounds like he might be delayed, possibly globally (with everything). I'm a Speech and Language Therapy Student and have completed all my paediatric training now. We were told that generally with Autism you won't start to see the signs until around 2 years old (as others have stated) and that actually quite often children are developing their language at a normal level but then suddenly go into 'reverse' around the age of 2 and start losing what they've already got. Your child sounds like he is communicating socially. What is he like in terms of play? Play is so important for children's development. Does he enjoy playing with toys and is he happy to let other people join in with his play? Is he creative in how he uses his toys? I think if you're looking for specific signs of Autism you will find them as anyone will in themselves if they try to google their own illness!

Definitely get his hearing tested, but also you mention that the family is bilingual. Do you use multiple languages at home? Do you talk to him in one language and other people in your house in another? Or is there one consistent language used? Sometimes children that grow up in bilingual families become confused by the multiple languages around them. Children learn language through listening to others and copying mouth movements and if there's lots of different language and sounds around him it might take him longer to work out the 'rules' of each one and which language is which.

Some strategies for you:
- Make sure you are face to face with your child when you talk to him. That way he can see what your mouth and tongue are doing to make the sounds, your facial expressions and respond to them. When you call him, make sure you're face to face and gesture so he knows that you're using his name.
- Take turns in the 'conversation'. Even if he's not talking he might communicate in other ways. So if you say something wait a while for a response from your baby, this could be a facial expression, movement, noise, anything like that, then respond to what your baby has done and keep taking 'turns'.
- Model sounds for him. All that 'ba ba ba' and 'goo goo' that mum's do is actually helpful for children because they can watch what you're doing and copy you and that's one of the early stages of learning language, making sounds and 'babbling' which is where children start to put the sounds together, eg. 'Badoo', 'gooba' etc. Children usually learn the sounds 'P' and 'B' first because they're easy to copy, they just use the lips to make them, so practice those with him.
- Show him how to do the things you want him to do. So if you want him to look at something point at it. If he doesn't look, go face to face, say his name, make sure you have his attention and walk away still talking to him to keep his attention. Go to the object you want him to look at, point to it again, say 'Look!'. Make a fuss of him if he does look. Keep doing that until he gets the point and then try just pointing and saying 'Look!'. You need to be very obvious about what you want him to do because he'll learn by copying you and getting feedback from you.

While you're waiting to see a speech therapist I hope that's some help!

JC9297

quintwins wrote: »

hi lilly76

Please bare in mind you never see a normal adult who can't talk or walk, so it will come in the end, even autistic kids get there in there own time.

No 'normal' adults perhaps, but plenty of autistic ones (not talking that is, most can walk unless there are other disabilities). Not all autistic people get there in the end.

lily76

sapphireeye wrote: »

I wouldn't jump on Autism, to me it just sounds like he might be delayed, possibly globally (with everything). I'm a Speech and Language Therapy Student and have completed all my paediatric training now. We were told that generally with Autism you won't start to see the signs until around 2 years old (as others have stated) and that actually quite often children are developing their language at a normal level but then suddenly go into 'reverse' around the age of 2 and start losing what they've already got. Your child sounds like he is communicating socially. What is he like in terms of play? Play is so important for children's development. Does he enjoy playing with toys and is he happy to let other people join in with his play? Is he creative in how he uses his toys? I think if you're looking for specific signs of Autism you will find them as anyone will in themselves if they try to google their own illness!

Definitely get his hearing tested, but also you mention that the family is bilingual. Do you use multiple languages at home? Do you talk to him in one language and other people in your house in another? Or is there one consistent language used? Sometimes children that grow up in bilingual families become confused by the multiple languages around them. Children learn language through listening to others and copying mouth movements and if there's lots of different language and sounds around him it might take him longer to work out the 'rules' of each one and which language is which.

Some strategies for you:
- Make sure you are face to face with your child when you talk to him. That way he can see what your mouth and tongue are doing to make the sounds, your facial expressions and respond to them. When you call him, make sure you're face to face and gesture so he knows that you're using his name.
- Take turns in the 'conversation'. Even if he's not talking he might communicate in other ways. So if you say something wait a while for a response from your baby, this could be a facial expression, movement, noise, anything like that, then respond to what your baby has done and keep taking 'turns'.
- Model sounds for him. All that 'ba ba ba' and 'goo goo' that mum's do is actually helpful for children because they can watch what you're doing and copy you and that's one of the early stages of learning language, making sounds and 'babbling' which is where children start to put the sounds together, eg. 'Badoo', 'gooba' etc. Children usually learn the sounds 'P' and 'B' first because they're easy to copy, they just use the lips to make them, so practice those with him.
- Show him how to do the things you want him to do. So if you want him to look at something point at it. If he doesn't look, go face to face, say his name, make sure you have his attention and walk away still talking to him to keep his attention. Go to the object you want him to look at, point to it again, say 'Look!'. Make a fuss of him if he does look. Keep doing that until he gets the point and then try just pointing and saying 'Look!'. You need to be very obvious about what you want him to do because he'll learn by copying you and getting feedback from you.

While you're waiting to see a speech therapist I hope that's some help!

Thank you very much. I will do all your advices.

He likes some particular toys from time to time. There are toys he likes ever since having them like a bottle with some pudding rice which can shake to make a sound. I know he does not like shaper toys and always just throw everything into the biggest hole. He does not like cars as well. He likes things with a sound. He likes balls and likes to chase a ball. I don't know whether he is creative on toys but he can use some toys in a way that they are not supposed to. Say, he could use his little duck toy as a water holder and drizzle the water. He finds there is a backward strength when crawling on carpet so he uses two milk bottles at each hand to make it more smooth for him to crawl. I like seeing him crawling in this way like a little fish swimming on the floor with a smile. He likes seeing me playing his toys and being with him. He likes books especially books with paper pages eg magazines or his dad's financial books. He will just keep turning the pages. I know this is a milestone.

He is advanced in some parts but delayed in some other. However, walking and talking are two major ones. I actually believe more that he is just delayed. There are a lot of eye contacts with me or others everyday, but he does not have a strong interest in others especially if they are adults. He often turns his head back from pushchair to see another passing-by baby.

I use my mother tongue to talk with him at home but in public I will speak English. All TV programmes and songs are played in English.

I think he is catching up a little bit. Yesterday he crawled to his little piano and turned his head back to look at me and then the piano. I was so happy! When he was eating his dinner, he suddenly called 'baba'. I will follow your advice and enhance the communication between us. He could roll over his body when he was 9 and half months, and started crawling at 13months. That is why DH does not worry at all. He said our baby is just late for everything. He also believes that because the baby grows faster in weight and height so he is slower in other parts.

Even he is delayed in some areas but he is quite early in starting terrible two, he now knows how to show angry. I slapped his little bum and he then slapped my face. :eek:

Thank you so much for your time and advice. After seeing your words I am particularly looking forward to see the language therapist. Fingers crossed the baby could catch up.

raq

my little boy was diagnosed "very mild" autism a month before his 5th birthday. doing extremely well and getting tones of support through mainstream school and help through our health visitor. I am very proud how he has come along. it is very tough on times and am sure I will never come to terms with the "Label" and will probably take it to my grave. Sorry but it is just how I am dealing with it. The teachers have always stated it is a delay and you never have to say the "A" word and he is coming along in leaps and bounds.

He also didnt walk until he was 17 months old and tiny bits of talking at round about 3 years old. He is my third child and to be honest never ever thought there was a problem. It was state nursery that picked up little issues when he just started. that was when the balll started rolling

Big hugs to you all

shegirl

JC9297 wrote: »

No 'normal' adults perhaps, but plenty of autistic ones (not talking that is, most can walk unless there are other disabilities). Not all autistic people get there in the end.

Yep.Never fails to astonish me how ignorant people are of sever autism,even more so when it comes from parents of asd kids.Then you get the ones who label their kids who go out to play with their friends,go to mainstream schools with no or little support and have these sociable kids who seem fine as 'severely autistic'.!!!!es me off to be honest

rainbow81

I am just seconding (or thirding) the Hanen technique. My son was referred to SLT at around 2 because of a "delay" (noticed by his physio, incidentally). We were put on the Hanen course and it did really help.

The important thing, whatever the eventual diagnosis, is the input from both you and the professionals at an early stage. It is not true that autism starts at 2 and you can't see the signs before then, as has been mentioned by some other posters. Maybe if you are meeting a child for the first time at a year old you won't notice anything, but if you are their parent and see other normally developing children at all then you will notice the differences.

Good luck, I hope your son is well and you continue to enjoy his company. I had PND too and nobody listened to me when I said something was wrong, blaming it on me being a neurotic first time mother - which I can assure you I am far from!

My son was eventually diagnosed with ASD at the age of 5. He has good eye contact, he can hold a conversation, he can play with toys, but if you look closely you can see it's not in the typical way. He needs help in learning how to take turns, for example. At age two, he would pretend to give me tea from his little teapot (SLT said "ooh he is doing pretent play, woo!"). He then proceeded to give tea to the table leg, the curtains, etc. I literally was like a piece of furniture to him.

If you feel there is something up then do pursue it. You are your son's voice, no one else will know or love him as much as you do.