Newbie~ Help..

[Guest guest]

Hi my name is Tina. I have a 22 month old son who is gonna be tested in the next

couple weeks and I guess I am seeking some advice from parents who are living

and seeing things day to day. You can look up the symptoms, youtube other

children but its impossible to say cause every kid is just so different. I

started noticing difference in my son at a couple months of age. He seem to be

in his own world and when I would call or speak to him he would never meet my

eyes not for more then a couple second. He's always been very clingy and needy

to me and for the overprotective parent that I am it helps my own self sooth you

know. Playdates with my nephew from infancy on would result in Luca laying

playing or doing his own thing usually tinkering with an object tag or toy while

ignoring Brenden who would be looking around socializing with the adults and his

brother and trying desperately to get Luca's attention. I chalked this up to

he's mechanical with a great attention span. I guess as parents we know

somethings different. The donor that I used was 55 at the time I concieved and I

just over 33 when Luca was born. He will look me in the eye now but just for a

second. He doesnt point though will bring me his sippy cup is he wants me to

hold it up for him. His speech far exceeds that of his age. He is like a parrot

and can repeat anything you say to him. " Chicken " came out clearer then clear

today. He is an arm flapper does sometimes rock side to side and is constantly

in motion when he's awake moving from one room to another. His appetite is good

though I still warm his milk cause he is temp sensitive and its just been recent

that he is really started eating solid foods though he wont eat solid fruits or

vegetables they are still pureed n no more then a bite or two of icecream. His

attention span is amazing he can watch a full program from beginning to end and

gets genuinely mad when it goes off. Preschool which he attends 2 days a week

said he does not socialize at all with the other children in the class and

doesnt enjoy art (they made it a big point to tell us about the socialization) I

finally called Kennedy Kreiger and made an appointment. Any advice? What do you

all think?

[Guest guest]

I'm not sure if they can make a clear diagnosis that young. His behaviours could

indicate something related, like an anxiety disorder. You may be in for a

frustrating wait (with researching and observing in meantime). Yes, every child

has different issues, so can't compare to seeing just one child

Miranda

>

> Hi my name is Tina. I have a 22 month old son who is gonna be tested in the

next couple weeks and I guess I am seeking some advice from parents who are

living and seeing things day to day. You can look up the symptoms, youtube other

children but its impossible to say cause every kid is just so different. I

started noticing difference in my son at a couple months of age. He seem to be

in his own world and when I would call or speak to him he would never meet my

eyes not for more then a couple second. He's always been very clingy and needy

to me and for the overprotective parent that I am it helps my own self sooth you

know. Playdates with my nephew from infancy on would result in Luca laying

playing or doing his own thing usually tinkering with an object tag or toy while

ignoring Brenden who would be looking around socializing with the adults and his

brother and trying desperately to get Luca's attention. I chalked this up to

he's mechanical with a great attention span. I guess as parents we know

somethings different. The donor that I used was 55 at the time I concieved and I

just over 33 when Luca was born. He will look me in the eye now but just for a

second. He doesnt point though will bring me his sippy cup is he wants me to

hold it up for him. His speech far exceeds that of his age. He is like a parrot

and can repeat anything you say to him. " Chicken " came out clearer then clear

today. He is an arm flapper does sometimes rock side to side and is constantly

in motion when he's awake moving from one room to another. His appetite is good

though I still warm his milk cause he is temp sensitive and its just been recent

that he is really started eating solid foods though he wont eat solid fruits or

vegetables they are still pureed n no more then a bite or two of icecream. His

attention span is amazing he can watch a full program from beginning to end and

gets genuinely mad when it goes off. Preschool which he attends 2 days a week

said he does not socialize at all with the other children in the class and

doesnt enjoy art (they made it a big point to tell us about the socialization) I

finally called Kennedy Kreiger and made an appointment. Any advice? What do you

all think?

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Tina

Your story sounds VERY familiar. At 18 months I " knew " it was autism.

Unfortunately I did not go to the right people for the first 2 evaluations and

only got the official diagnosis at 44 months. was socially exactly like

Luca. He ignored his cousin who is 5 months his junior. He was very clingy - one

of the reasons the first 2 panels decided it was not autism, because autistic

kids 'do not get so attached to their parents'!!!!!! Although his speech is not

perfect or advanced, started using words at 9 months of age. He also did

not make much eye contact, but we initially thought it was because of a squint.

The food thing was the same as yours, the drama and tantrums when the TV show

stopped... All very familiar. is now almost 6 years old and having the

right diagnosis has made it easier to manage from day to day. He is very bright

and is now at an age where he understands that he is different. It does not

really make it easier for him though and we still have many melt downs and

social problems, but I think we are able to deal with it better.

I would not change my son in any way, because he is who he is because of all his

little quirks. I do wish I could change people though! If more people would know

more about autism, our kids would have much easier lives! Some days are grey,

some blue, but most of the time we live life just like any other family. is

VERY bright academically so we boost that and it makes him feel good and

special. He loves me, his dad and his sister of 3, I know that. He does not show

it in the same way other kids do, but we know and that's good enough.

Good luck with your evaluation process. Having that done with the right people

so soon is the best you can do for Luca. Mom always knows best! Always remember

that! And as you read more about how to handle these special kids, you will find

that you have instinctively done many of the right things anyway!

As far as your and the donor's age is concerned, I personally do not think it

played a role. I was 32 and Rudi was 27 when was born. Annika was born 2.4

years later and is neurotypical. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law were both

30 when their 3 year old was born. He is the middle of 3 kids with the other 2

not affected. I think the only role age may play, is that being older has made

it easier for me to deal with all the hard times!

Welcome to the group and keep us up to date with the evaluation.

Mirinda

>

> Hi my name is Tina. I have a 22 month old son who is gonna be tested in the

next couple weeks and I guess I am seeking some advice from parents who are

living and seeing things day to day. You can look up the symptoms, youtube other

children but its impossible to say cause every kid is just so different. I

started noticing difference in my son at a couple months of age. He seem to be

in his own world and when I would call or speak to him he would never meet my

eyes not for more then a couple second. He's always been very clingy and needy

to me and for the overprotective parent that I am it helps my own self sooth you

know. Playdates with my nephew from infancy on would result in Luca laying

playing or doing his own thing usually tinkering with an object tag or toy while

ignoring Brenden who would be looking around socializing with the adults and his

brother and trying desperately to get Luca's attention. I chalked this up to

he's mechanical with a great attention span. I guess as parents we know

somethings different. The donor that I used was 55 at the time I concieved and I

just over 33 when Luca was born. He will look me in the eye now but just for a

second. He doesnt point though will bring me his sippy cup is he wants me to

hold it up for him. His speech far exceeds that of his age. He is like a parrot

and can repeat anything you say to him. " Chicken " came out clearer then clear

today. He is an arm flapper does sometimes rock side to side and is constantly

in motion when he's awake moving from one room to another. His appetite is good

though I still warm his milk cause he is temp sensitive and its just been recent

that he is really started eating solid foods though he wont eat solid fruits or

vegetables they are still pureed n no more then a bite or two of icecream. His

attention span is amazing he can watch a full program from beginning to end and

gets genuinely mad when it goes off. Preschool which he attends 2 days a week

said he does not socialize at all with the other children in the class and

doesnt enjoy art (they made it a big point to tell us about the socialization) I

finally called Kennedy Kreiger and made an appointment. Any advice? What do you

all think?

>