Aspergers/ASD support thread

Gazing_On_Sunsets

I wouldn't presume anything. Stepson has autism *and* communication/speech delay - ie the developmental delay may be a part of autism but it's not the whole thing. So your child may "just" (sorry, don't read that lightly) be developmentally delayed. And a delay is just that - they'll take longer to get where they're going, but they'll get there. You can't measure one kid against another, just deal with the kid that you see in front of you.

Wait for a professional diagnosis, and be wary of the internet. It's a wonderful support but few people make posts about how great things are, or good days they're having - they turn to forums at times of great need so you'll only hear the extremes.

peachyprice

No, I wouldn't. It could be any number of things.

Now step away from google

Absolutely

raq wrote: »

If a child has a delay in speech , language and communication issues, child is 4 1/2 and he has come across the scale as a 3 1/2 year old would you automatically presume he has a very mild autism??

It is me or whenever i type in autism in google it is quite scarry as to so much information.

As others above have said, it's not an automatic assumption to make but understandable.

I have twin boys. Both had delayed speech, language and didn't reach the usual baby milestones on time. After LOTS of tests, I've been told although they both have learning difficulties, only one twin has autism.

mumofthreemonkies83

No I wouldnt assume autism.
Im in a similar position, I figured my 4 year old was slightly delayed and like your child often prefers to play alone but it wasnt until the teacher took me to one side and mentioned her concerns that I paid attention. I guess I didnt want to be seen as a manic mother worrying over nothing

My son has recently seen a paediatrician, referred by her to an eye specialist, a hearing specialist and also for a blood test to rule out some muscle illness ( just in case as he complains of aches a lot) and it was dicovered on Friday he does have a hearing loss on one side which *may* explain his delay.

If you are concerned I would ask for him to be assessed by a specialist just to lay your mind at ease.
Hope everything works out for you and your boy
Mumof4 xx

Nicki

No. My child has autism, but her delayed speech at that age was the least obvious of her symptoms, and many children on the autistic spectrum speak at the normal age anyway.

There is a wide range of normal, and all of my non autistic children have been on the slow side of starting to speak, but are very bright and my oldest is now 11 and no one would ever know he has speech therapy as a child.

My first guess would be that your child had lots of colds or ear infections as a child, so went through periods when his hearing wasn't up to par. If that's not the case my next guess would be he is your oldest child, or an only child, and therefore not exposed to a constant stream of chatter at his level. And if neither of those are possible, then maybe it's just one of those things. There isn't a massive difference between speech levels between 3.5 and 4.5 anyway, so he will almost certainly catch up in time.

shegirl

raq wrote: »

oh thanks for the quick reply. Having a very low day yesterday as we are waiting on the doctor to go to the nursery to see how my son is doing. he is going to reception september. my hubby doesn't think he has autism. he has always stated that YES it is slightly behind from the rest of his peers and unfortunately for us, if doesn't enjoy what they are doing in nursery he will just walk away and play with things that he wants to play with.

we also have a 6 year old and 10 year old who are fine. also he adores talking ( trying his best bless him ) and playing.

keep beating myself up a lot lately and maybe looking into this too much.

mind me asking ( sorry ) how old was your dear child when they dignosed??

He was diagnosed shortly after his 4th birthday,assesments started when he was 18 months old as there was no speech,no pointing,no eye contact,lack of response to things and he was generally 'odd' no normal play patterns,incredibly repetitive in what he did do,preferred to order things to the extreme etc etc no social interest whatsoever..the list goes on lol

Try not to panic.The problem with searching online is it doesn't give the detailed extent to which 'traits' 'symptoms' etc should be present to possibly lead to having a certain condition.The websites tend to list issues in a manner that doesn't really give you much insight so could set many people panicking with no reason.

Talk to the people assessing your son (if they are) and see what they think or what they are considering

pigpen

I would never presume anything with no evidence.

he may just have learned other stuff first.. like fine motor skills, gross motor skills.. I bet there are things he can do way better than his peers.

He may be a perfectly normal little boy who has no need to talk My DD4 didn't talk until she wanted to.. then there was no shutting her up and it literally happened in the space of a few hours.. she was able all along but didn't want to.. she had no need.. I made a drink for one child I made her one.. same with everything else she was never encouraged to ask for herself.. she actually does have physical disabilities but nothing relative to language

lallysmum

My son (similar age to yours I think - he starts reception in Sept) is going through testing at the moment. I really don't think there is anything "wrong" with him, but his preschool teachers have expressed concern and referred him because of his speech delay.

He understands everything I say, can speak in simple sentences but is nowhere near his peers in terms of chattering away like most other 4 year old. He's not "that" interested in playing.. he enjoys games, puzzles and Happyland, but really, really, really LOVES computers, reading and writing. And has done since he was about 2. He still attends his old creche 2 mornings a week, and we have agreed, his teachers there and I, that he has missed out a big chunk of development, because he loved learning, as Pigpen said. He can now read to a 7/8 year old level, recognises numbers up to 1000 and can do simple maths. At the SALT appointment the woman told me that he was almost certainly autistic because he couldn't describe what was happening in picture books. Because he can read we've never really looked at the pictures, he just wanted to read the words. We now cover up the words and he tells me what's happening, but he'd never done it before and didn't know what he was supposed to do. (not to mention the fact that she said he was easily distracted after she placed a big box of toys on the table in front of him, and then asked him to look at pictures... what 4 year old wouldn't want the toys??)

I think it's my fault his speech delay, and lack of proper playing ability, as I encouraged him to read and do "educational play" and neglected imaginative play. So no, he doesn't go on about dragons in the sky.. but he can read about them! lol

I am now spending most of the day just talking to him.. he never needed to say he was hungry because I just provided food at meal times, or offered a snack. He's never really been ill so has never needed to say that his tummy hurts. Today I'm using my man flu like cold to explain that mummy is ill because I have a hurting nose etc.. and that my voice sounds funny.

Ooh, they told me to delay him starting school because he wouldn't cope (the child who has attended preschool very successfully for a year and a creche for the last three years)... I then discovered that there is a waiting list for the Multi Disciplinary Team (the next assessment meeting that they want us to attend) and that our appointment is for Sept 16th! Hmm.

Good luck.. and don't google!

MERFE

no never assume, my daughter had a developmental speech delay and needed speech therapy for a while, but this alone doesn't really mean anything. There would have to be more to it for me to suspect autism. She did prefer to play alone but its common at that age. I did everything in the baby talk book to improve her speech as well but I don't think it makes any difference they learn when they are ready. She finished her speech therapy very quickly after starting school as this was when she was ready to speak properly.

My son however spoke very well and when he was little I did worry about autism as he refused to make eye contact, was very particular about things being in the right place and tidy and just the way he played lining the cars up. He is also funny about things being done a certain way, like when I helped him get dressed it was always pants, socks, trousers then t-shirt and he stayed at my mums once and had a full on tantrum because she did it in a different order. Now I think he is fine just takes after his Dad who is also quite particular.

NoahsPennilessMummy

my son is almost 8 and was diagnosed on the severe end of autism at age 2. There is a lot more to it than speech and communication issues alone.
Dont read too much into what you see when searching Google...can be dangerous when you delve into stuff you dont have full info on. Wait to see what they say at dr