Hello ladies need ur help my health vistor and pedastrion belive my son who is 2 and half has autism I think he is just a little behind but they have nw sent him to a autism speaclist they thik he will end up getting stamented. They also said that if some of the areas dotn improve he wont beable to go to a main stream school. I will list some of the things they have pointed out as concern and wwould love to knw what you ladies think
He didnt sit on his own till 11 alomost 12 months
Didnt walk till 20 months
Doesnt talk he only says dada and thats not realy clear
He wont give eye contact at all
He wont play with other children just gets up and goes to sit on his own
When we go toddlers he remnbers a toy dog each time we go he heads stright for it and thats all he will play with
He has to lin everything up
Everything has to be the same routien he gets very upset if we dont stick to the same routien to the point he make him self sick
He has to have the same plate and cup we have to take it every where with us
He often goes into his own world and is vwry hard to get him out of it
He doesnt have any understanding at all if u talk to him he stairs with a glaze over his face
Potty traiing just isnt happening he doesnt have a clue when we try it he looks at us and walks of there is no way we can get him to understand even too sit on the potty
the list could go on i think he needs a little more time but everyone else seems to think is autism. He has to go see a spelist soon and the health vistor is very worried about his sence of danger and lack of understanding day to day does it sound like autism to
Also loud noises he gets very upset with loud noise and take ages to carm him down once he has heard something he is unsure of xx

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Sounds like the health visitor is doing the right thing hun. I'm quite impressed tbh to pick it up at 2 1/2. In my line of work (CAMHS) we find folk at age 10+ when they have a score of comorbid problems because nobody listened to the parents or spotted any difficulties.


It's a scary thought I know but believe me it's better to know now if he's on the spectrum as you can learn to adjust your behaviour to enable him to achieve his full potential. The thing to remember is that autism is a spectrum and there is a train of thought that we are all somewhere on that spectrum. Any label doesn't change a child it (should) helps to get the services required.


hth

Alison


Meant to say my expertise is more in older kids and I know there are mums to children with asd on this forum but my door is always open for any advice on the more mundane health service / benefits system stuff.....

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I agree it does sound like HV is right, and it does sound like ASD. However once you know for certain you can get lots of support and help. By getting as you put it statemented, it will mean he will be given a individualised education programme which he will follow throughout his school. This IEP allows him to work at his own level, and will celebrate the achievements he makes irrespective of how small atsep they may seem to you. Also just because he has a diagnosis doesn't mean he has to be in SEN schools. He may cope in mainstream, but also being in a smaller unit specifically for ASD may suit him better as the staff ratio is much higher. Up here an ASD children is only allowed 6 kids with at least 2 sometimes 3 adults in the class all the time. Also the pace of learning is much more suited to ASD children rather than the very fast pace in a mainstream class.
My advice is wait and see what the school think. Often an extra year in nursery is enough for a child to be able to cope much better in a mianstream class. The school should be able to advise what they think he will cope with, along with the school psychologist.
Also, if you need a should to cry on, as Helen said we are all here. I should say I am a Special Needs teacher up here in Scotland. The school I teach in is for moderate to profound disabilities (physical and mental). Many of the kids in the school have ASD diagnosis, or should have. Also in the past I have worked in a unit specifically for ASD kids - like the one I said about.
Good luck
xx

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My son was diagnosed with austism at the age of 2, he is turning 4 in october coming and still doesn't talk but don't let that fool you, he is pretty canny for his age.

He had quick mobility skills, so I can't comment on that but other things sound pretty much like your son could be on the ASD spectrum. Don't be upset by it, I remb when my son was first diagnosed, I felt like I was the 'bad mummy' but infact, it's out of our hands and not our fault.

There are some simple things you can do to help your son, speak clearly to him and don't make verbal actions long, so instead of saying 'go sit over there, until i'm finished', say 'Bum on chair, mum finished, we go'. Try speaking in simple terms, ASD kids work well with visual aids and a lot of their frustration comes from not being able to communicate well. Have a google for PEC cards, really is worth it, although my son does not speak, he does talk via card signs.

Statementing can take a fair 6 months, so be prepared for a long old haul. I am not sure how other boroughs go through the process but in wokingham borough, all the help pulls together i.e. SEN tutor, speech therapist, social services, nurseries etc and they all write a report of your child's progress, which all gets put together and sent to the relevant social department, who compiles the application to go towards the statementing board. So be prepared to hear the worst about your child, it can hit you but you need to be honest to get the help a child needs.

Once you have a diagnosis, you can apply with a nursery for a free 10hrs a week and the nursery can also get a 1-to-1 plan for your child. I've had this with my son and he came on leaps and bounds! There are means out there, unfortunately with the current government changes, it's a little bit harder to get what you need but be strong and fight for it!

My son was rewarded his statement, plus 20hrs of teaching time at the local SEN school (it's like a dream come true for kids, that place lol). I worked hard over the last 18 months, researched alot, prepared myself, got involved with local ASD groups etc and it really does pay off. Remb that you are not alone, there is a lot out there for parents as well as kids with ASD

I opened a website a while back, with my personal experience, I need to add to it but might be helpful in showing you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel xx

http://www.dealingwithautism.co.uk/index.php

If you need a chat, drop me a PM

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