How many of us are Autism Moms?

hollin40

HI.

I have a 4 year old son (he just turned four on Monday actually).

He's had issues since he was a few months old. At a year old he had surgery due to his soft spots closing too soon.

He was developing normally until he was about 18 months old. He lost some of his skills, quit speaking, was not very social and had behvaiour and emotional issues, hypersensitivities to textures, temperatures and sounds.

Just recently he was evaluation for Autism. By the time we got into the assessment, some of his skills had increased. He had started making eye contact and starting using his body language to try and get his point across. Due to these two developments, he was not diagnosed with Autism. Although they stated that he definitely had a lot of traits. They want to see him again before he starts school.

3 months before his 4th birthday his language skills exploded. He is a non stop chatterbox now. He still has trouble with pronouncing words and using proper words, but he has come a long way. He is also not as clumsy as before.

I am still at a loss though. He is a very difficult child. He had emotional outbursts from very minor things, is very sensitive to stimuili, although he will sometimes run into things full force and then laugh. He has recently taken to jumping off the dining room table and jumping from piece of furniture to piece of furniture. He is also still experiencing SEVERE separation anxiety from me. I STILL cannot go anywhere in the house without telling him or he completely melts down and tries to find me. He is a very picky eater, although he will say he's hungry ALL the time. His sleep has become very disturbed lately too. He wakes up a few times a night, snores exremely loud and is very restless in his bed. He doesn't really play well with children, and he is constantly annoying his older brother. He also screams and gets mad for the smallest reasons.

There are other issues as well, but this post is very long already.

Im seeking any imput from you awesome mom's out there on how I might be able to handle him or if I should pursue trying to find out what might be causing all of this.

Please help. It is getting very frustrating and his behaviour etc is disrupting our family life.


Thanks for any advice/help.


Sorry this post is so long.

One thing I use for my sons--one autistic and one not for sleep is melatonin. I get the spray kind from Amazon. Give him 1-2 sprays 30 minutes before bath/bed. He'll sleep like a charm. My oldest has sensory issues and went to OT for them. Could your child have Sensory Processing Disorder? You can have him evaluated by a psychologist or take him to an OT for an evaluation to see if he could benefit from some Occupational Therapy. I understand how tough it is. I have been there....still am. Good luck!!!


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DKev

HI.

I have a 4 year old son (he just turned four on Monday actually).

He's had issues since he was a few months old. At a year old he had surgery due to his soft spots closing too soon.

He was developing normally until he was about 18 months old. He lost some of his skills, quit speaking, was not very social and had behvaiour and emotional issues, hypersensitivities to textures, temperatures and sounds.

Just recently he was evaluation for Autism. By the time we got into the assessment, some of his skills had increased. He had started making eye contact and starting using his body language to try and get his point across. Due to these two developments, he was not diagnosed with Autism. Although they stated that he definitely had a lot of traits. They want to see him again before he starts school.

3 months before his 4th birthday his language skills exploded. He is a non stop chatterbox now. He still has trouble with pronouncing words and using proper words, but he has come a long way. He is also not as clumsy as before.

I am still at a loss though. He is a very difficult child. He had emotional outbursts from very minor things, is very sensitive to stimuili, although he will sometimes run into things full force and then laugh. He has recently taken to jumping off the dining room table and jumping from piece of furniture to piece of furniture. He is also still experiencing SEVERE separation anxiety from me. I STILL cannot go anywhere in the house without telling him or he completely melts down and tries to find me. He is a very picky eater, although he will say he's hungry ALL the time. His sleep has become very disturbed lately too. He wakes up a few times a night, snores exremely loud and is very restless in his bed. He doesn't really play well with children, and he is constantly annoying his older brother. He also screams and gets mad for the smallest reasons.

There are other issues as well, but this post is very long already.

Im seeking any imput from you awesome mom's out there on how I might be able to handle him or if I should pursue trying to find out what might be causing all of this.

Please help. It is getting very frustrating and his behaviour etc is disrupting our family life.


Thanks for any advice/help.


Sorry this post is so long.

I was wondering if you had checked into Sensory Processing Disorder, as well. We had a big screen television...the older big boxy ones that sit in the floor....at 1-2 years old he used to run across the room at it, full force and smack into it with his hands up. we were like what the heck??? He eventually caved it in....my husband juts happens to work in a T.V. repair shop and had easy fixes for this so we fixed it and he did it again. Long story short he got evaluated for an OT and is 6 and still has OT and regular sensory breaks throughout his day at school.

XXXMinnieXXX

Have one with dyspraxia and aspergers aged 10. Hard work at times, but he's soooo loving, intelligent and funny. Wouldn't change him for the world. He's also obsessed with computer games! X

shagybear33

Hi.

Thanks for the responses.

We did see an OT after his evaluation for Autism. It was mostly for his coordination though, not so much his hypersensitivities. I have an appointment to see our family doc on Friday and will bring this up with him.

After looking around, I think the Sensory Processing Disorder fits with what he is like. I will mention this as well.

Thanks again so much for your input!!

irenep22

I have a 6yr old boy with autism.

TNFirefly

my son. He is 17

little_wolfie

My son Toby is 4 and is "Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified."

thesmellofapples

not a mom but i take care of twin autistic boys and love them to death.

leah1024zej

My name is Leah. I have a 3 year old son, Zarkel, who was recently diagnosed with Autism. There are great days and complicated days, but all in all the good outweights the bad, and as I'm sure you all feel, I wouldn't change anything about him for anything. He's my amazing fish that almost got away<3
Now that we've finally got all his observation and daily appointments out of the way (he attends a preschool five days a week and gets his speech therapy and ABA there), I feel less stressed and I feel as though it's okay for me to take the time to take care of myself now. You are all extremely strong women, you can do anything! Good luck!

“If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not. Autism is part of what I am.” ― Temple Grandin

theartichoke

My 4 year old son Austin has Asperger's. I'm so happy and grateful to see this post. Austin is a typical Aspie in so many ways...speech delays, sensory problems (those are the worst for him...sounds, smells, tastes, textures, light) and the lovely outbursts. His attachment to me and concern that I'm going to get hurt is precious and heart breaking at the same time. It's precious because I also felt like I could have fallen off the earth and he wouldn't have noticed. Within the last year he's been concerned about other people if they're hurt, affectionate and sometimes even able to receive hugs or kisses. Unfortunately this has also come with anxiety for him. When I started walking a few weeks ago he didn't understand where I was and became hysterical. My husband had to put him in the car and drive him to find me. Now for 20 minutes before I walk I have to begin the Mommy is going to exercise thing before he's willing to get in the car. He will though and then every time he passes me he needs a kiss through the window. Precious and heartbreaking. A breakthrough doesn't seem to come without a setback for him. He's a very happy boy, has absolutely no problem with anything in his life, as long as no one touches his Thomas things, or tells him no! Even though he has Asperger's he's still 4. Some days are triumphant, some are exhausting but there's nothing in the world like being the parent of an Autistic child. I thank God all the time that he trusted me with one of His most special children. I hope the world is ready for these boys and girls...I can't wait to see what they do with it!

Dtho5159

Me!! My Autistic son is almost 7.

vickyd205

I have a 14 year old son with Asperger's and ADHD. He is doing well with the help of medication and last year we found an absolutely wonderful school for him. It is a small, private school and the kids are very accepting...so accepting that he was voted class vice president for this school year! After so many years of watching him be mis-treated and left out by classmates, I couldn't be happier!!

CherylAnne1988

My daughters name is also Abbi, you're the first person I've ever seen spell it like that

All of you are remarkable, and strong women -- I love reading your stories and I can tell how great of mothers you all are.

monjet13

Hi my name is Lisa
I have 2 autistic sons 18 and 12 although the are not violent or physically aggressive now, they used to be. I think the hardest thing I ever had to go through was taking my kids to the grocery store, they just couldn't handle it, but I had no one to take care of them since i work while the are in school. Well ya gotta eat, so I would steel my self for an absolute nightmare and just get it over with. My kids would scream the whole time we were there, when my older son was 2yrs to 10 he would try and bite and scratch and kick, you can imagine the people staring and the judgement. Things are better now we get behavior consultations and they both behave very well (most of the time).

yesthistime

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/1322-autism-support
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/763-moms-of-special-kids

mrsgoss

Hi my name is Erin, I have a 14 year old stepson that I have raised with my husband since he was 5 with severe non verbal autism, MR, seizure disorder (new in the past 3 years)....Thank you for asking this question, I realized alot of my weight gain has been in the past 9 years and I recently have thought to myself if the constant stress and worry of raising my son has been part of this. Thank you for asking about us on this site...Please feel free to add me as a friend, I would love all support and encouragement. It is nice to find people who have similiar life experiances.

sarahrbraun

HI.

I have a 4 year old son (he just turned four on Monday actually).

He's had issues since he was a few months old. At a year old he had surgery due to his soft spots closing too soon.

He was developing normally until he was about 18 months old. He lost some of his skills, quit speaking, was not very social and had behvaiour and emotional issues, hypersensitivities to textures, temperatures and sounds.

Just recently he was evaluation for Autism. By the time we got into the assessment, some of his skills had increased. He had started making eye contact and starting using his body language to try and get his point across. Due to these two developments, he was not diagnosed with Autism. Although they stated that he definitely had a lot of traits. They want to see him again before he starts school.

3 months before his 4th birthday his language skills exploded. He is a non stop chatterbox now. He still has trouble with pronouncing words and using proper words, but he has come a long way. He is also not as clumsy as before.

I am still at a loss though. He is a very difficult child. He had emotional outbursts from very minor things, is very sensitive to stimuili, although he will sometimes run into things full force and then laugh. He has recently taken to jumping off the dining room table and jumping from piece of furniture to piece of furniture. He is also still experiencing SEVERE separation anxiety from me. I STILL cannot go anywhere in the house without telling him or he completely melts down and tries to find me. He is a very picky eater, although he will say he's hungry ALL the time. His sleep has become very disturbed lately too. He wakes up a few times a night, snores exremely loud and is very restless in his bed. He doesn't really play well with children, and he is constantly annoying his older brother. He also screams and gets mad for the smallest reasons.

There are other issues as well, but this post is very long already.

Im seeking any imput from you awesome mom's out there on how I might be able to handle him or if I should pursue trying to find out what might be causing all of this.

Please help. It is getting very frustrating and his behaviour etc is disrupting our family life.


Thanks for any advice/help.


Sorry this post is so long.

There could be several issues at work here. He does sound a LOT like my 16 year old who has aspergers. The banging into things, and the daring behavior could be a sign of Sensory dysfunction, and that CAN cause behavior issues. Check out a book called "the out of sync child " http://out-of-sync-child.com/ and see if it doesn't sound like your child!

the fact that he snores *could* mean that he has sleep apnea and is chronically exhausted. a sleep study can confirm this...

you can also contact your local school system and ask them to evaluate him for problems socializing with his peers--they are obligated by law, under IDEA, to rule out a "disability" in any of about 6 areas including speech, social, cognitive, and physical disability http://nichcy.org/laws/idea If he does test as having a *disability* they are obligated to provide therapy at little or no cost

booyainyoface

i am not an autism mom, but I am a special education teacher in an autism specific classroom and i do ABA therapy a few hours a week. i LOVE my job, im not sure how many people can say that

binabodu

Hi I'm Dawn, My oldest son Eli (almost 4) is showing significant developmental delay in social/emotional development as well as expresive language. He goes to a developmetal preschool 4 days a week and sees a speech therapist once a week. We are set to have a sensory evaluation for possible OT and see childrens neurodevelopmental department as well but thats going to take some time. as of right now all testing and evaluations has been through our local school district and he recieves the therapy through them. So we technically dont have any diagnosis but we know something is different, and are working to help him out. So thats use in a nutshell, still hanging in limbo.

I know his issues have stressed me alot and at times I tend to turn to comfort food like ice cream to just smother feelings. I am still on the emotional rollarcoster myself of wondering whats going on and mourning that he is different and that its so hard most days. He also just plain old tires me out, and I still have another one right behind him! He is a very busy boy and its hard to be a stay at home mom with him and never get the break.

but them he does something so loving that it melts my heart and I am remined again why he was sent to me.

I could of written this about my 3 1/2 year old son. Same tests, same delays, same weekly schedule except we have speech twice a week after school and he is my youngest. I am still mourning his normalcy but am so encouraged by the progress he has made in a year.

CottonCandyKisses

Hi All. I have two boys ages 14 and 11 with Aspergers, ADHD, high anxiety, and sensitivity issues. I have to say that the older they get the easier it has become. My oldest is completely off all medication and is back on a regular diet. I changed both my kids to gluten and casein free diet when they started with gastrointestinal issues.

I agree that some things do get easier as they get older, certain things do get harder though (social/relationships). My son is almost 10 and is finally starting to eat some meat! His diet issues are purely sensory. We do some medications and therapy.