Developing language and picking up where they left off

[Guest guest]

,

It is difficult to tell what is autistic behavior, die off, or

just starting to develop more normally. The hardest thing I ever did was

to keep speaking to a child who showed no response one way or another that he

understood me. It was only later after he was better that I realized he

was listening and as a result developing language. Think about it.

How long does it take a normal kid to learn language? Three years

to be proficient even if there were no medical or immune issues.

The worst time of development with autistic and normal kids

is when they know what they want but can’t communicate yet. They

are so frustrated at this time. Before your son was unaware of what was

going on around him, he was zoned out and not a part of things. That is probably

not the case anymore. Think about how it would feel if you see a candy

bar and you wanted it. Imagine the frustration if you can’t tell

anyone to give it to you,especially if it is chocolate. That would kill

me.

For our kids, English is a foreign language that you have to

teach them. When you started Spanish class in school, at first you couldn’t

understand what the teacher said. In time, you started to

understand, but still couldn’t answer or speak. It takes many

years before you could communicate and even longer to be fluent. Keep

talking to him.

The other problem that comes with their bodies getting healthier is that

sometimes they pick up where they left off. How old was your son

when he started exhibiting symptoms of autism? All kids need to go

through the same developmental stages. If he was two when he started to

deteriorate and become autistic, he will start developing like a two year

old. Two year old behavior doesn’t look so good at age 6 or 7.

Our kids sometimes do at 6 what other kids do at two. Initially, your perceive

this as a behavior issue but actually he is just starting to develop

again. Sometimes new behavior problems are in reality a sign of getting

better. They are more tuned in and interacting. Of course they are

interacting like a two year old would and not someone who is 6 or 7. They

start to tune in and care about their surroundings. And are harder

to deal with than a kid who is zoned out. However, that doesn’t

mean you let him get away with stuff and there still need to be consequences

for inappropriate behavior. Our kids are not easy and helping them is so

complicated. Trust your gut. If it were easy and all of them were

the same, they all would have been cured by now.

Hang in there, it takes a lot of time for language to develop.

Best,

Marcia

P.S. In my last post I meant to say takes 500 mg

of Valtrex /3 times per day. That is the right dose for my child and you

need a doctor skilled in immune issues to determine the dose for yours.