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Name: natalieh

[ Original Post ]

I have a 2 1/2 year old littl boy who behaves very strangely. He very rarely mixes with other children but prefers to play alone. He "lines" his toys up rather than plays with them and then kicks off if anyone touches or moves them. He has tantrums where he kicks, bites himself and others, screams, bangs his head and scrams his face. these outbursts can last anything over 30 minutes. Afterwards he then sits still and screams for ages until i can calm him down. He likes routine and hates change and again will kcik off. He didn't settle at playgroup and had to be taken out. He can be bouncing off the ceiling one minute then turn aggressive at gthe drop of a hat. He has a fascination for light switches and will just turn the light on and off for ages. He can't be told we are going anywhere as he will just keep repeatedly asking can we go. He repeats himself over and over and does the same puzzle over and over. He sleeps very little and wakes as early as 3.30am wanting to get up if i don't get up with him he will attack me pulling my hair, kicking punching me slapping me and scramming my face until i get up with him. He also has a twin who he will attack for no reason. My GP said he thought he was High Functioning Autistic and referred him to a specialist who we saw today only she confirmed that this was normal behaviour for a child of his age. I have 3 other children and none of them have been like him. We are at a loss what to do next. ↓

Name: Edwardliu | Date: Dec 11th, 2011 2:14 AM

Do he have enough eye contact? ↑

Name: KevinA | Date: Dec 13th, 2011 10:04 PM

Hi. We have a 4 year old little girl who has been diagnosed with Autism about 6 months ago. I read your story and was compelled to write back. Autism, as I am sure you already know, is a very broad spectrum which to me means that every child will act and behave differently. A lot of what you have written is true of our little girl as well. Right around 2 1/2 we started to notice little things like you have mentioned. Repetition, aggressive behaviour, self abuse, etc etc. My only suggestion is get a second opinion if you are not comfortable with the first one. Not sure where you are located but I am in Canada and the wait to get a proper assessment through our Government can take upto 18 months. We were fortunate enough to have a medical plan that covered us partially so we could seek a private assessment. However if we had to pay it all it would have been around 2000.00. Once you really know what the situation is then you will be better informed and be given a lot of info on where to start. Our struggle is how do you discipline a little girl who pulls your hair or bangs their feet against the floors so hard they bruise. How do you get them out of the tantrum. Its not like "stop that" works with our autistic child thats for sure. Good luck to you. ↑

Name: US101 | Date: Dec 23rd, 2011 7:48 AM

I agree with Kevin's recommendation. Be sure that the assessor specializes in behavior analysis. Autism spectrum disorders are frequently (and unjustly) written off as age appropriate behavior by gp's and even psychologists. It is important that you follow through with your instincts and pursue 2nd and even 3rd opinions before really accepting the conclusions. Early intervention can insure eventual general track education and the functional "cure" for autism. For every year that a diagnosis and ultimately intervention go unnoticed or are treated as normal behavior there is exponentially more the child needs to learn before integrating into a general classroom setting or appropriately interacting with peers and family. Just from what you wrote it sound like your child fits (and this by no means diagnostic) at the very least Aspergers syndrome, the only autism criteria you failed to mention was a delay in language. I hope you are able to find a competent clinician and are able to get the diagnosis and services your child may need. ↑

Name: Karina Cadena | Date: Mar 6th, 2012 8:05 PM

If you feel that there might be something there, get a second opinion. Parents should trust their gut feelings. My advice is get him re-assessed. Our son was always a bit different. Our story is on our website if you would like to see what things we were seeing before seeking a diagnosis. I hope it helps. I know what it feels like to reach out to anyone who might have a familiar story.

HTTP://OURJOURNEYWITHAUTISM.COM ↑

Name: rallen | Date: Mar 19th, 2012 7:07 PM

You may want to pursue this further. The scool district where I live thinks under 3 is hard 2 diagnose. This made it hard to get services. We found our daughter is autistic and we are seeking to find how severe. It has been 2 years and we are still in the dark, she will b 4 in may, again keep tryin. If it is just bad behavior a specialist may still be able 2 help. ↑