Misdiagnosis - Too young for Autism?

Post Reply New Topic

My youngest son will turn 3 in a week and still has no real language or communitcation. We were able to get him to use a few simple signs at our contstant prompting and now after speech therapy he can say around 10 words again with which he NEVER initiates and will only sometimes repeat when forced to (to get what he needs/wants). He made little or no eye contact a year ago however now his eye contact is much better. He lines things up on an off, has no attention span whatsoever, likes to roll trains, trucks, cars (anything with wheels) very closely in front of his eyes, he like spinning and swinging motions although does not do that for long periods of time in a row. He gets 'lost' in certain children's videos and spends his entire day between his portable DVD player and rolling the trains in front of his eyes, climbing on everything, dumping various bags, toys, etc... and rarely makes social attempts. In fact if he is playing with his trains and you sit down to play with him he gets up and walks away. His joint attention is minimum, he has extreme temper issues and smacks his head on the ground when you don't give him his way. He screams, throws or breaks whatever is in his reach and it is so hard because we can't communicate with him. He however smiles a lot sometimes and loves to be tossed, swung, tickled and giggles and smiles like crazy when we do those types of activity. Because of his eye contact and smiling sometimes at people the Psychologist wont diagnose him with autism because he is too young for it to be clear cut! I am so frustrated as Early Intervention is key and yet they won't do anything. We know the first 5 Years are crucial and yet they there is a wait for everything. Am I just a paranoid mother... I have a son that I can't bond with, doesn't speak, I can't control much of the time, doesn't have empathy, is wonderful and adorable and special, but I feel 'stuck' and frustrated. If anyone has dealt with this or has any comments or any thing you thing would be helpful I would LOVE to hear what you have to say! Thank you so much !

You need to find a professional who's experienced with early diagnosis and intervention - I've read of productive work being done with children from around two years of age.

Telephone or email people incessantly, and ask for their assistance. There's a Dr Brenda Smith-Myles,there are Isabelle Henault and Tony Attwood, and others who are all knowledgeable and caring. There might be something different at work in your son, and only making a nuisance of yourself is going to help.

Welkome to WrongPlanet.

The WP Kink

I am a mother desperate for answers and frustrated with the system and totally confused with the information I have received. Thank you for replying and welcoming me. Hopefully the future will provide answers and help.

TMac

You are not paranoid. You see clearly and that can be frustrating when other people don't jump in and say, "Here's how I can help you." For the first several years of my daughter's life, I kept waiting for the person who would take me by the hand and lead my through the complicated maze our lives had become. I finally realized no one would do that, but I never lost the desire.

To WrongPlanet!! !