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[Guest guest]

hi all,

I have 5 children.

ages 7 down to 11 months. my 4 1/2 year old is showing signs that he may have autism. we do not regularly go to DR's . in fact we just moved and have no isurance and no DR's for the moment.

my question is this: how can I find a way for me to help him more and a way to possibly explain to family that this isn't simply a disipline problem?

now let me tell you some of the things I'm dealing with and you can tell me what you think!

Isaac doesn't talk much, loves baby einstein videos and does say lots of words . he doesn't tell you when he needs to go potty. he doesn't ( or can't) tell you how he's feeling when he's sick. he screams instead of saying " no" to a sibling who is taking a toy. ( although he does yell no quite loudly! he is very smart. he knows his letters and numbers. he can say them and write them. he can trace things. he just doesn't speak well. he also likes familar things. animals are his favorite "things".

when we go somewhere he wants to touch everything. there is no sense of " this is someone elses space" . he explores cupboards ( if allowed) and that kind of thing. he likes to play alone. he loves to play in water and is often " kicked" out of the kitchen for playing in the water.

He has no sense of danger and tends to run off if I am not holding on tightly to his hand.... my 2 year old stays with me at my command.

he also likes to play in the toilet. has shredded multiple rolls of TP into the toilet and then plays with it.

now, I'm sure some of these and more are things I as a parents need to work on. I'm making progress. I didn't mention the food stuff. he can use silverware but prefers his hands because it's faster. so we have a battle there! and since my hubby works long hours it's been something I've let slide since i can't deal with everything at the same time:)

I want to help him learn some social skills and also some speech things. we do homeschool and I'd prefer to do as much as possible without outside help.

How can I explain this to my other children? how do I explain this to my family? they think Issac is just an annoying child. they don't look past his quirks to see what an awesome kid he is:) he's awesome:)

I need to run! I hope this is the place for me to find the support I need... also, I'm interested in books and websites so dump it all on me:)

thanks

Kathleen in IN