please read possible autism?

[alibaba24]

evening all

I'm desperate for some help

DD1 is 4 she was 6 weeks premature and only grown to around 30 weeks in the womb when she was born

she is really struggling to fit in at pre school some days shes fine some days im being told shes hitting the other kids scratching and throwing things.

her speech is very delayed and only just been referred for speech therapy and now pre school want to have someone come in to watch her in nursery . I know they cant say it but i feel they are getting at she may have autism they said she does not cope well with change in routine and doesnt interact with other kids so from what iv read she does show some of the autistic behaviours which i will list below

lining things up - she lines up cars but not always sometimes splits them into groups (still lined up)

she went through a phase of lining up teddies but has forgotten them now mainly she groups her toys together . ie cars together moshi monsters together

hand flapping - i might see her do this once a day if im lucky

jumping and climbing - all the time

speech delay- not talking in sentences yet or understanding which context to use words

head shaking - veeeery subtly she will shake her head for maybe a second or two again only maybe once or twice a day i see this

she has completely irrational fears and dealing with them by clamping her hands over her ears. these fears change all the time. at once point she covered her ears all the way round tesco but now she goes round quite happily?

HATES Singing i cannot sing to her and in nursery she will flip with the singing. however she herself will sing

she cant sit still longer than a few mins ie to eat dinner she wont watch a film without wandering off. very short attention span

iv seen her hold up a toy and spin round in circles with it watching from the corner of her eye

she is very cuddly and affectionate but repetative with her behaviours she will come to me several times throughout the day to give me a kiss

i dont know can anyone help

also when im trying to teach her to talk she copies me

when shes wanting juice she will say do you want some juice

she will also tell me things over and over for example she says the same things every night at bed time she will tell me about the fairies on her wall

she has called little puzzle characters mummy nana etc so now she will say to me over and over thats mummy thats nana etc

she is my oldest and just dont know what your average kid is doing at this age they are all so different and unique

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Have u spoken to a Hv about your concerns?

 

[alibaba24]

Have u spoken to a Hv about your concerns?

No but Iv made a doctors appointment for her on tues. she never got her 2 year check either just a check list through the post of what she should be doing and she ticked most of them

 

[mummy2o]

Its a hard one. Girls tend to mimic other girls so hard to diagnose. My son hand flaps, my sister does from time to time, but I don't. My sister could sit still for long periods of times where me and my son both have short attention spans unless its to do with computers. So its not clear cut. Hopefully once you get the ball rolling and get diagnosed you'll have the answers you want.

 

[AngelofTroy]

The 'do you want some juice' sounds like it could be echolalia which is often seen in ASD. Google it and see what you think.
Most importantly remember that whether or not she has autism or any other condition won't change who she is, it just gives you all access to vital support if she needs it. Xx

 

[Blizzard]

Hello!

I work specifically with kids with ASD.

There are certainly some things you have said that raise concerns. The thing is, all children are different, that includes those with ASD. What one child displays very clearly, another may not.

The juice thing does sound like Echolalia. Does she do it with other things? Repeat you verbatim?

Honestly it sounds like you're on the right track getting checked. Hopefully there's nothing more than a little delayed speech, but well done for looking into it.

Very best wishes, please do keep us up to date!

Xxxxx

 

[_jellybean_]

I agree that it's good that you're going to get her checked.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

My son has echolailia too, it does sound familiar x

 

[AP]

Hey hunny! :wave:

Alex is 4 and she was diagnosed last year. As you know we are in Edinburgh - let me warn you its a long wait for diagnosis.

You might find people on the way being dismissive because she is a girl. Do not let this stop you and just outright say you want her referred to neurology at the sick kids for an assessment , and you won't stop until someone sees her. You may be referred to community care where you will have a paeditrician

From what you've said I'm unsure. Some of those behaviours I could apply to Alex yet others I could apply to my (so far not asd) daughter Tori. Alex isnt one for mimicing other girls - she cannot sit still. For anything. But don't let anyone else opinion make you think otherwise. At least, after an assessment, you will know where you stand.

Should it be that they think it is autism, she will receive some help from the Spectrum team in Edinburgh. They will help with occupational therapy, and speech, and ways to combat behaviours. Again, these are people you will find yourself chasing for support now and again but they will be around until the end of primary 1 age.

If you ever want some help give me a shout xxx

 

[alibaba24]

thank you all for your replies. the past few days have been awful iv just been consumed with thoughts and now find myself analysing absolutely everything she does right down to the look in her eyes im driving myself insane because although she displays autistic behaviours she is also

very affectionate
has good eye contact
doesnt echo everything only some things
she has imaginative play

i feel so confused and helpless at the moment

her speech has really only started well in the past few months before it was only one or two worded responses i wonder if shes just getting confused with suddenly having all these words but unsure how to use them.

sorry for ranting guys x

 

[Blizzard]

Good god don't worry about it! It's what we're here for .

Have you heard of the triad of impairments?
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&docid=cbwRJus7ZzLtkM&tbnid=6rg9glTjicMLGM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.brookdalecare.co.uk%2Fwhat-is-autism&ei=iKIUU-TRGpPY7AaZiYGoBw&psig=AFQjCNEUpjCW9QChQKKk71PBpkKUi5MKlw&ust=1393947651520832

While it's true some people with ASD lack imagination for imaginative play, that is definitely not the case for all. It's social imagination that is required to fit for a diagnosis, rather than imagination in general. Common misconception that .

Xxx

 

[Blizzard]

Darn, no image.

It's here:
https://www.brookdalecare.co.uk/what-is-autism

 

[Blizzard]

I meant to add, it CAN also be linked to a general lack of imagination, but doesn't have to be . Sorry, I worded that badly. X

 

[alibaba24]

Thanks Blizzard! the more i observe her the more i feel like there definately is something gone undiagnosed. I feel so stupid shes 4 now I should have been getting her help ages ago but i genuinley didnt know the things she was doing wasnt not "normal" for lack of a better word x

 

[AP]

Since I spoke to you the other night alibaba24 my youngest is now being referred too for pre assessment. She wasn't prem either but I was quite shocked at how easy it was. We simpily spoke to the speech therapist (sighthill) who said she could understand our concerns and said she will make a referral to community child health, who will do a pre assessment. I have been told you can also ask the health visitor to make this referral too, so it doesnt seem toooooo hard.

 

[Eternal]

I agree, it's not too difficult, the medical side have been really helpful and supportive, his symptoms are fairly obvious which helps, the biggest issue is the waiting times here, he was originally referred over a year ago, still going trough the system. It's annoying, one of the twins is non verbal and his speech and language appt came through quite quickly but as Sam needs in depth assessment then waiting lost is way longer and been on it thus far since oct and nothing yet.

The education side has been a fight though, hoping that will get easier now we have lots of outside agencies involved, but it's been one hell of a fight to get there and it's not a unique situation.

But ... Half the issue is getting into the system and that not all that difficult, just speak to your health visitor about your concerns, if she doesn't listen, continue to tell her any issues, my son was very advanced at his 2 year check and then really regressed, took her awhile to take note but once she did the issues were obvious and she is a real support now, calls me up most weeks, emails the pead most weeks with any concerns, updates etc. Chases up all his appts.

Don't be afraid to nag and keep calling, if there is something like ASD then the earlier the intervention the better, of there is not, then there is no harm done.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

My son has eye contact and imaginative play xx

 

[alibaba24]

Thank you for your responses guys its good to have support. well I have a meeting with the educational physcologist on the 25th . but me being impatient I took her to the gp this morning who has referred her to the child development clinic. the more I think about DD'S Behaviour's the more im convinced she has it. her reactions to what seem to me random things are really extreme. like me trying to read a book with her she totally hates it. thats only one example the doc did half heartedly try and fob me off with "some toddlers are solitary" but she then did happily refer her once i explained some more. iv been sooo upset over it all just dont know how i should be feeling right now i almost dont want her in pre school nursery knowing shes struggling

 

[AP]

Oh Hun pre school was the best thing that happened here. Having one to one time really helped there too. It's so scary considering pre school for those teeney ones but so beneficial too.our head teacher recently said "when I met Alex, I admit it, I was scared, she was tiny and still practically a baby and I thought, oh no. How far she has come!"

Once you get the ball rolling people like speech and the Spectrum team will visit the nursery and spend time with the staff and your LO to make sure things are workin out too.

 

[alibaba24]

Oh Hun pre school was the best thing that happened here. Having one to one time really helped there too. It's so scary considering pre school for those teeney ones but so beneficial too.our head teacher recently said "when I met Alex, I admit it, I was scared, she was tiny and still practically a baby and I thought, oh no. How far she has come!"

Once you get the ball rolling people like speech and the Spectrum team will visit the nursery and spend time with the staff and your LO to make sure things are workin out too.

Thank you Is your LO in a mainstream nursery? x