Mild autism

[PepsiChic]

There is no such thing as mild autism. That phrase will annoy quite a few people on here FYI.

Anyway, you know better than anyone if there is something wrong with your child. If it is concerning go to the HV or doctors to see if they will test him.

This NHS page is helpful for early symptoms
https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Autistic-spectrum-disorder/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

Thankyou for posting this link.

My son has suspected autism and is awaiting an appointment for an assesment.

the pre-school section of that link..it describes Barry to a T. the delayed speech, playing independantly for hours, lining up blocks, spinning the wheels on his toy cars instead of pushing them, only playing with older children, running back and forth staring at objects like wallpaper, wire fences, not being bothered by most small injuries, the issue with food textures....

its really confirmed everything i knew *sigh* I hope the assessment comes through soon.

sorry OP didnt mean to steal the thread...just that one link just made me realize that its really likely he has it.

 

[aliss]

There is no such thing as mild autism. That phrase will annoy quite a few people on here FYI.

Anyway, you know better than anyone if there is something wrong with your child. If it is concerning go to the HV or doctors to see if they will test him.

This NHS page is helpful for early symptoms
https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Autistic-spectrum-disorder/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

Thankyou for posting this link.

My son has suspected autism and is awaiting an appointment for an assesment.

the pre-school section of that link..it describes Barry to a T. the delayed speech, playing independantly for hours, lining up blocks, spinning the wheels on his toy cars instead of pushing them, only playing with older children, running back and forth staring at objects like wallpaper, wire fences, not being bothered by most small injuries, the issue with food textures....

its really confirmed everything i knew *sigh* I hope the assessment comes through soon.

sorry OP didnt mean to steal the thread...just that one link just made me realize that its really likely he has it.

Oh well we went through 3rd tri together with these little rascals, I'll be there for you if you join us on this journey too But good luck with assessments.

 

[emyandpotato]

There is no such thing as mild autism. That phrase will annoy quite a few people on here FYI.

Anyway, you know better than anyone if there is something wrong with your child. If it is concerning go to the HV or doctors to see if they will test him.

This NHS page is helpful for early symptoms
https://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Autistic-spectrum-disorder/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

Thankyou for posting this link.

My son has suspected autism and is awaiting an appointment for an assesment.

the pre-school section of that link..it describes Barry to a T. the delayed speech, playing independantly for hours, lining up blocks, spinning the wheels on his toy cars instead of pushing them, only playing with older children, running back and forth staring at objects like wallpaper, wire fences, not being bothered by most small injuries, the issue with food textures....

its really confirmed everything i knew *sigh* I hope the assessment comes through soon.

sorry OP didnt mean to steal the thread...just that one link just made me realize that its really likely he has it.

Not at all hun At least if he does get assessed as autistic you know and can work with it; doesn't make him any less of the child you adore, it just means you can better adapt to his needs.

 

[emyandpotato]

Thanks guys, I will have a read through everything tomorrow!

And to whoever asked about his hearing; yes he's had it checked and it's fine.

 

[Quackquack99]

Emy, I think our children are of similar ages. Back in July just before summers second birthday I had concerns about summers speech as she could say less than 10 word. I did get referred to a SALT which has helped alot. I know two is very young for a diagnosis for autism but I would try to see if speech therapy would help at all. I know different trusts have a different policy.

 

[sequeena]

It may turn out that Thomas has autism. Instead of not being interested in social interaction Thomas is way over the top. If he sees a child in the street he screams at them (not a scared scream an excited one). If he's at playgroup/the park he does the scream, runs away, runs back, follows them but is so close he's literally touching them, puts his face in theirs, grabs their face etc. he really freaks other children out (don't blame them) it's so stressful. He has no boundaries, even with strange adults. He'll walk up to them and put his hands up to be picked up. I have to keep such a close eye on him (if we're out and he's walking he's always has a rein). He would walk off with anyone he really does not care at all.

He also hand flaps and regresses in his speech. Along with his global developmental delay I'm worried and I do think the one thing that will come out of this is an autism diagnosis. He's also an horrific sleeper and I am just at my wits end. Luckily he's in the system and when he sees his paediatrician again (november time) he will be having more tests.

 

[ClaireLouise]

Reading the signs of toddler autism gets me paranoid.

Marley is fussy with foods, wont try anything new. He also is stubborn and is going through a no-phase. He has routines; i.e. a bedtime and morning routine as most parents do.

There are a few little things that i read on that list on the link and thought "oh yeah.... Marley does that" or would it be an exaggerated behaviour IYKWIM?

I think i just assume that most toddlers have behaviours they will hopefully grow out of, as he is 4 next month, should he have outgrown them all?

 

[AP]

Our Alex is half and half sequeena. She is over affectionate with strangers sometimes, and othertimes shes just herself doing her thing and doesnt involve herself with any of the children at nursery. Completely unpredictable.

It's funny, before diagnosis it's easy to think that the markers for autism are set when in fact its such a variation of different things that make up an autism diagnosis, and no child has the same.

These lists of autism pointers are a very scaled down and can often be applied to a child who does not have autism. People often say children with autism lack social interaction but sometimes its on the other end of the scale.

 

[emyandpotato]

To be honest I've been hyper aware of all of his behaviour since reading the check lists posted here and stuff, and I don't think he has it. I think a developmental delay is more likely, though goodness only knows about his speech, he's not even at the mamama dadada bababa stage yet. Everything else he's just slow and/or quirky. Those who suggested SALT; he's seen one briefly for an assessment but they don't do anything til 3 in our area cos the services are so stretched. Thanks very much for the help!

 

[sequeena]

Thanks AP I have found that at times with Thomas (but they are rarer). When he's in a not so sociable mood he won't leave my side, won't interact and will only play by himself. It happens most at the park. He'll ignore kids to play with this;

He even ignored a small puppy running loose because he was so fixated on it.

I hope I am being paranoid, I don't think I am though. At least if it is autism I know he'll get lots of help and it's not the end of the world.

 

[aliss]

Our Alex is half and half sequeena. She is over affectionate with strangers sometimes, and othertimes shes just herself doing her thing and doesnt involve herself with any of the children at nursery. Completely unpredictable.

It's funny, before diagnosis it's easy to think that the markers for autism are set when in fact its such a variation of different things that make up an autism diagnosis, and no child has the same.

These lists of autism pointers are a very scaled down and can often be applied to a child who does not have autism. People often say children with autism lack social interaction but sometimes its on the other end of the scale.

Very true. We are also at that end of the scale.

Alex will meet an adult and within 2 minutes be calling them mom or dad (remember, he's almost 4) and then say "go home go home" while holding their hand, asking them to take him to their house He's been trying to adopt himself out

"Inappropriate" conversation for the social setting/context. A lot of people (and me, once upon a time) thought kids with autism were just quiet and in their own little world, and that was a new one for me!!!

 

[Menelly]

Why would mild autism annoy people? I'm sorry it's a serious question I have no idea about it at all, hope you don't mind me asking OP

Because autism isn't 'mild'. No matter how well an autistic person appears to deal with their symptoms they can still be struggling like mad underneath all day every day to appear 'normal'.

High functioning is used instead because it doesn't undermine the severity of the difficulties.

Most Autistics (self included) dislike functioning labels too. Because while I appear "high functioning" in most things, in others I'm not. As some say, "high-functioning means your deficits are ignored, while low-functioning means your assets are ignored."

That said, I just prefer "Autistic" myself. (Yes, with the capital. It's a culture thing to me. LOL)

There are extrovertes Autistics, who like other people and want to be social, but miss the social cues and just don't "get it". I'm one of them. I want to be friends, make friends, etc. But I get in a room with people and the sensory overload is hell, I can't read your face or hands, I didn't get the joke you just told, I'm standing too close or too far away from you, and I'm boring you with some information about pharmaceuticals you're really not interested in anyways. And I know all this and can't seem to process fast enough to fix it in real time. I know plenty of social Autistics. Or at least "we want to be social" Autistics. It's just harder.

 

[aliss]

Thank you for sharing Menelly it's lovely for me to hear from a person with autism/Autistic as you would say My son isn't really talking so I'm at a point where it's just a guessing game as to how it would affect his behaviour, but he certainly sounds similar to what you have described.

 

[aliss]

Oh and let me apologize in advance if I use any 'incorrect' terms, pls understand ladies I am also dealing with a language barrier here

 

[Menelly]

Oh and let me apologize in advance if I use any 'incorrect' terms, pls understand ladies I am also dealing with a language barrier here

You're fine! There are many different ways to say things, and it's silly to get too caught up in semantics. We just all have preferences!

Happy to answer any questions. Tyler (my 15 year old) is Autistic too and I'm about 80% sure Kesslie's on the spectrum somewhere too but she's still kind of young to tell (she just has some signs) so I know where parents are coming from too. If you want help with anything at all, feel free to ask, either here or in PM.

Are any of you guys doing special diets? I've recently restarted gluten free for me (and Kesslie) and the difference (for both of us) so far is pretty astounding. My executive functioning skills are so much better, I can go in a Walmart without earplugs and sunglasses now (this is a miracle, trust me), and I'm sleeping 9 hours straight at night. I'm tempted to try casein free, but... I don't want to give up my ice cream! LOL Has anyone tried CF and seen a difference?

 

[sequeena]

I wonder if going gluten free would help Thomas sleep at night.

 

[aliss]

I'm glad to hear you have had improvement with the diet! I have considered it seriously, I was actually planning to talk to OH tonight about it.

If you google "paleo ice cream" you'll find tons of good alternatives!

 

[Menelly]

I wonder if going gluten free would help Thomas sleep at night.

You know... I figure things like that are worth a shot. There is no harm to a child trying it. If it doesn't work, have a pizza to celebrate.

But since taking Kesslie off gluten, she's stopped lining things up, stopped spinning things, increased her eye contact, has started playing with her toys appropriately, has started doing "pretend" play (like phone conversations on toy cell phones and driving her little cars around going "vroom"), she's regained her skills of signing in context (she'd lost that skill), and has picked up a few words (yes, all done, dog, see ya). We've been off gluten for 4 weeks. She's never had sensory or sleeping problems, but for me, that's enough of a change to say it's worth it to be off it for her (at least for now.) We'll probably do a challenge later and see what happens to make sure we need to stay off it, but for now it seems worth it.

Not saying it works for everyone, I know a few kids that got worse with diet changes. (Tyler is one!) But hey... when there's no harm in trying, it kind of feels like, why not?

For me, sensory overload is hell. HELL. I've fainted in Walmarts from sensory overload. I've melted down. (You know, those fun meltdowns your kids are having? They're even less cute in 30+ year old women.) It's exhausting. It's almost impossible to describe, but it's so so exhausting. You can't filter anything. Every light, every sound, every smell (seriously, what's with everyone needing to smell like 10 different things anyways? Your soap smells different than your toothpaste smells different than your deodorant smells different than your laundry detergent smells different than your perfume and then you want to hug me? Yuck!) And that's gone away since GF. I DON'T notice everything now. Seriously. Walmart without earplugs/sunglasses is a miracle. And if dodging pizza and McDonalds means I can go outside in peace? It's probably worth it, ya know?

 

[AP]

Menelly, I love you already. It's people like you that hold the key to our little ones futures. Thank you x

 

[aliss]

I simply have to share today's story of what it's like (break-the-stereotype)!

Today at playgroup we played "red rover red rover" and one kid yells "2 o'clock!". All the kids start walking "1... 2..." and then they freeze.

Alex keeps walking "3... 4... xxx up to 10" and then taps "rover" on the head and yells "GOOSE!" (we played duck duck goose)

And during Duck Duck Goose, he was tagged goose, ran around the circle and then right out of the room and down the stairs, laughing and giggling the whole time...........

So, that's my life with him Full of laughs, that's for sure.