Moms of Autistic Children

That's so cool that he can give a high five and play cars with you!

David is doing well in 7th grade. He's been playing football and doesn't even care that it's the "B" team or that he doesn't start. He gets some playing time and that's enough for him. I even saw him trash-talking his defender during the last game. Ha!

He still has no friends and says kids make fun of him, but he says it's better than 6th grade. He's happy and likes school, so no complaints so far.

Hi everyone!

I'm 26 years old and could really use some support. Maybe I'll find someone on here that's going through the same issues.

My son is 15 months old and he's been seeing Early Intervention because he isn't speaking yet. The woman we've been seeing had a meeting with me last night and told me she's seeing "red flags" for autism.

I'm at a loss and don't know what to do. I feel like my world is crumbling down around me and could really use some support. Are there other moms out there that can shed some light/hope?

Also - what are everyone's thoughts on diagnosis? Doesn't 15 months old seem a little early to be even suggesting autism?

The youngest I've heard of autism being diagnosed is 18 months so I wouldn't panic just yet. However I would check for the following:

- Does he make eye contact?
- Does he enjoy cuddles and affection?
- Does he do repetitive activities such as putting things in the same order repeatedly?

I'm not qualified in any field but I have Asperger Syndrome and am writing my dissertation on autism and music therapy for my final year of university.

Best of luck honey

My little guy has AS and we started intervention when he turned three. We first started through the county's early intervention program and then I went private through insurance. Both sides have their benefits. By facing those developmental 'flags' many mentioned here as early as possible, you will be amazed at the progress you will see in your child. I now see AS as a gift, where before I used to fight the diagnosis as much as possible. It's a scary road going through this with your child and developmental issues can change so much through the toddler years it feels like a roller coaster that's never going to end.

There are some great resources mentioned here and I can also suggest trusting your mommy instinct! If something doesn't seem right about the diagnosis, push harder for more opinions. I had three different teams all come to the same conclusion before I was satisfied we were on the right path. I'm also a little stubborn though.

Best of luck to you and your child. :flowerforyou:

Hi everyone!

I'm 26 years old and could really use some support. Maybe I'll find someone on here that's going through the same issues.

My son is 15 months old and he's been seeing Early Intervention because he isn't speaking yet. The woman we've been seeing had a meeting with me last night and told me she's seeing "red flags" for autism.

I'm at a loss and don't know what to do. I feel like my world is crumbling down around me and could really use some support. Are there other moms out there that can shed some light/hope?

Also - what are everyone's thoughts on diagnosis? Doesn't 15 months old seem a little early to be even suggesting autism?

my son is 2 and nowhere near talking. he is receiving early intervention.

OK ~ didn't have time to read all of these posts, but will. Just want to say that it has been said that:

If you know One child with autism, then you know One child with autism.

The spectrum is so wide & the symptoms vary so greatly, but we can all support each other because of the common bond, the joy the children bring to our lives & of course the difficulties.

Take each day, or moment at a time & learn the needs of your child.

This works with autism, or not.

My son is 9 y/o & has a long string of DX: Autism / Tourettes / Mood Disorder NOS, he is somewhere on the spectrum is what they say.

Some days may be more challenging than others, but tap into those resources & perhaps one day you will find that you don't need them. You will be grateful they are there when you do :flowerforyou:

You forgot to mention the part that it felt just like they kicked you in the stomach when they said the word autism. That was my story exactly. There is tremendous hope! My son is 17 years old in 11th grade in regular high school getting A's and B's.Over the years, I tried to avoid labels but accept ALL help that was offered. My son qualified for special preschool through the public school. I put my pride aside and took the help. We did speech therapy at home. We paid a professional once a week and I watched what she did and repeated it each day with my son until she came the next week. We were blessed with wonderful teachers over the years that worked closely with me to make modifications and find what would WORK for my son. You are the best advocate for your son.My son taught me to appreciate and celebrate the little successes in life, the ones that are so easy to take for granted. There is a lot more help out there these days. We never did get a diagnosis. (probably Aspergers or somewhere on the spectrum)We just worked on whatever was the biggest problem at hand and made it as manageable as possible. There is tremendous hope!

My son was diagnosed at 14 months. Typically, they don't diagnose that early, but my step-son is also on the spectrum and because my son has a half sibling with ASD, they were able to diagnose him that early. Most places don't give a formal diagnosis until 2 or 3, I believe. My son just turned 3 last week, and is a different child. We still have struggles, but everyone is amazed at how far he's come.

For what it's worth, most EI doesn't start for speech until 18 months, so you're fortunate to have him in early there, too. The earlier the better, for all EI therapies, is my personal opinion.

The word autism is a kick in the gut, because it's so misunderstood. And I'll be honest - it's hard. Some days, it sucks. I have a beautiful, happy, sweet, funny, silly, smart little boy who happens to be autistic - it's part of who he is, but doesn't define him as WHO he is.

Some of the things you mentioned sound sensory in nature to me. A lot of times, there are sensory issues that go along with autism that are also red flags, but sensory processing disorder can also be a stand alone diagnosis - have you ever done any reading into that? The Out of Sync Child is a great book to gain some insight.

Also, has he been tested for any kinds of food intolerance? There's a lot of research on the "autism diet" which is gluten and casein free. Not all kids on the spectrum have an intolerance, and my own son is only intolerant to casein, but he had a language surge after eliminating all of the casein in his diet. I'm not saying that removing something will make your son suddenly more verbal, but it might be something to at least research if there are any bowel problems.

It's overwhelming and can feel isolating and scary. I understand all of that, trust me, I do. At the end of the day, just know that giving your son the help he needs, regardless of what that might be, is worth it. You're a good mom.

I'm struggling with some of the same things. My daughter is 34 months and she has delayed speech. She was diagnosed with speech delay in March but I already knew it. She started talking right on track, she just didn't pick up on new words as fast. She tends to learn them use them constantly for a few days or weeks and then won't use them at all. She has yet to put together a two word sentence, other than to repeat "That's you" when she points at pictures of herself. She picked that up because she would point at pictures and we would tell her who they were. When it was her, we would say, "That's you." She won't use words to communicate at all unless we remind her. She'll point and grunt or scream and I'll prompt her with "do you want the book?" and she'll say, "book". Repetition is her key. There are days that I read the same book 100+ times. Because that's what she wants and eventually she will try to say some of the words along with me. We are working with baby sign language videos and she enjoys them and will sign. But, I have to remind her to sign as well as use her words. Unless it's "more" she'll sign that almost anytime she wants more without prompting. We have pictures of different foods taped all over the front of our refrigerator and encourage her to point at things she wants. That helped to start with quite a bit with her frustration and with ours. Now she just opens the door and grabs what she wants. Which doesn't help MY frustration one bit but fixed hers completely.

The speech delay is frustrating and worries me constantly, but the worst part is the tantrums. She throws violent tantrums when she is frustrated. She'll bang her head into the wall or whatever else is handy. She's broken her crib. I've had numerous busted lips and 1 black eye from trying to keep her from hurting herself.

I guess my point is... you are not alone... don't feel alone. Just take things one day at a time. So many people have asked me if she's been tested or ask what the doctor said. He told me she would grow out of it...the tantrums that is. I'm working with her daily and she is improving on speech. They did not recommend early intervention for her, yet. They are going to re-evaluate when she turns three. I guess we'll see. The tantrums, speech delay and she does flap her hands but only when she's excited.. are the symptoms that she has. I am stuck in the wait and see phase. Right now they don't believe she's on the spectrum but they honestly aren't sure. She's up to around 175 words.. if only she would use them.

So many people have asked me if she's been tested or ask what the doctor said. He told me she would grow out of it...the tantrums that is. I'm working with her daily and she is improving on speech. They did not recommend early intervention for her, yet. They are going to re-evaluate when she turns three. I guess we'll see. The tantrums, speech delay and she does flap her hands but only when she's excited.. are the symptoms that she has. I am stuck in the wait and see phase. Right now they don't believe she's on the spectrum but they honestly aren't sure. She's up to around 175 words.. if only she would use them.

My best advice as someone who KNEW something was off with my child, but was brushed off by our pediatrician is to get another opinion. You're mom, and you know best - if your gut is saying something is up, then pursue it. My son throws horrendous tantrums (and has hurt himself numerous times - it's awful, isn't it? Knowing they're upset about something so much and you don't know WHAT). A lot of what you're describing sounds sensory to me - hand-flapping, head-banging, and all. A lot of doctors don't understand sensory issues because it's not yet outlined in the DSM (in the next revision, I believe it will be). I'm not a sensory pusher, honest, even though it might seem that way from my comments, it's just that having gone through it with my own child, I know I didn't know anything about it and had never heard of it before, and I find so many people with kids who have sensory issues that can be worked through and can be life-changing. If you don't know about them, I recommend The Out of Sync child, or even just googling sensory processing disorder. It's really helped us tremendously to address sensory issues - his tantrums have decreased, and we're more aware of what he needs and how to help him. It also helped us to see more speech and to have him USE his words (which we knew he HAD, he just wasn't using).