Autism Acceptance
Welcome to our latest autism blog! As a parent of a six year old boy with classic autism I felt that it would be useful to provide a short blog outlining the main signs and symptoms of autism in younger children.
I’d be very grateful if you would share this blog post with as many people as possible so they know what to look for as well as raising awareness of the challenges people on the autistic spectrum face day to day.
Everyone on the autistic spectrum is different so if you do have any concerns please contact you doctor so that your child can be screened as soon as possible. Remember the earlier the intervention the better.
- Being completely non-verbal by 16 months. It has been estimated that 40% of people with autism never speak!
- Not responding to their own name by the time they reach one year.
- Lacking big smiles and animated facial expressions by the age of six months. Your child may not respond to your smile.
- Difficulty with defecation. They may have long periods of constipation.
- Lack of interest in games such as peekaboo.
- Fails to reach out to be picked up.
- Fails to use gestures such as waving good bye.
- Lack of interest in playing with others.
Obviously this is not an exhaustive list. Please feel free to use the comments boxes below to add any signs and symptoms of ASD you noticed in your child.
It is worth mentioning that some children suffer from regression. This was the case with our son so he did not start show many of these symptoms till later. Regression in speech and general social skill is a key indicator of autism. If this does happen please get in touch with a doctor as soon as possible.
| NatashaMarieL | My son was fully diagnosed at two, by two hehad lost his entire vocabulary was non verbal, could not eat certain textures, covered his ears around loud noises or noises with a certain tone, he is and was obsessed with lining things up, stacking things and making things look in perfect order. He flaps his hands when excited or overwhelmed, loves to jump up and down all day, will rock occasionally. He screams or screeches when things are to loud or over stimulating to him. He is a very loving boy, he used to be a loner. Would never even consider playing with another child, he is much more social now and has relearned so many words, he also signs a bit. It took 3 years to potty train him but he is now doin wonderfully with the potty. Another possible sign, which was definitely a sign with my son was “headbanging” and self harm, I have learned to redirect him and change his mood to prevent these outbursts. If your child has Autism, you will have a long road ahead of you, but I promise he or she will be completely worth it. I wouldn’t change my bub for the world. Good luck. |
| Natasha VanceCalcote | This sound exactly lile my son. Hes 4 & a half & im just now gett5him tested. We have had the run around with crappy doctor. Now we have awesome therapist for speech & occupational |
| Natasha VanceCalcote | If you have any thoughts that he might, do it. The few things you mentioned could be on the ASD but its always better to be safe then sorry. IF he does its much better to catch it early. About 16-18 mo. is when I started noticing thing with my son. Talk to his p.c & get it started NOW. The sooner the better. The can also get ypu started on speech & occupational therapy whi h has worked wo ders for my son. |
| WaLanda | With my Grand daughter, Aurora age 8 now, it was the stacking and restacking, hours on end, not responding to name and no eye contact. What made her start opening up was me placing her on my lap to sew and one day she turned and looked me out of the side ward way she had back then and place her hand onto mine. She was about 3 then. Music has always made her react, but not loud music and animals love her. For years she never paid them any attention and then one day she started hugging them. Before that she rarely let anyone touch her, but her Dad & I. I had been through several educational courses before she was born and knew what to look for and pointed the signs out to her parents. By 18 months her Dad, my son, knew I was right. Called the Administration of the school district and they did the testing for free. They had someone come out to the house 3 times a week till was 2 and then she started school. She has came along way and thankfully we all work with her. She has only been talking a few years. She seems to need her blanket, she responds well to textures that are soft and silky. We have made her a texture blanket. When she started talking it was as if the whole world opened up for her. I have her half the time and feel blessed to have her in my life. The first years were very hard and we learned when she was melting down that even though she didn’t want to be held to just hold her and in 20 to 30 minutes she was calm and happy. We made charts for her to learn feelings. Melt downs now only seem to come when she is tired and her words still get stuck; thankfully we have came a along way. She is classified now as high function. Not sure if people understand how much work is involved and you need everyone to work with her, get her in school, church and community programs and pray you unlock their minds. |
| beansnonni | YvetteMcGreevy It took me to finally TELL my grandsons ADHD psychiatrist that I wanted a REFERRAL to a psychologist who specialized in ASD. He did it and we went and the diagnosis took 4 visits and several tests. Lucky for us that my grandsons step dad has good insurance. It took 7 yrs for someone to listen but once I spoke up and stood up, they finally listened. |
| bg12bqueen | Yes you should have him all the signs that you describe is the same as my son he was diagnosed 2 months ago and he is 3 years old, he also loves music and if it’s turns off he flips out, he also hates when people sing though he only like music if it’s through the radio or television, he also hates when people clap and sings happy birthday that’s a trigger for him, he also doesn’t know how express him self and turns off and on light switch and always turns off the televisions, he also has sleeping problems, I’ve been kicked in throat, punched in the eye and hair pulled, he is very aggressive so I had to get him evaluated and it came out that he is autistic but high functioning, and now my baby is getting all the therapy he needs. |
| beansnonni | KathieHoward jaydensmommy This sound like my 7 yr old grandson to a T. Only he was obsessed with Angry Birds. Now, it is Minecraft. He was diagnosed two months ago, even though I told the Drs through out his life that something was amiss. They diagnosed him with ADHD two years ago. Now, we are going through the process of IEP, even though he does well in school, his handwriting is horrible for a second grader. We are also being forced into additional testing to qualify for Tefra Medicaid to cover all of the therapies that the Dr recommended for his with is HFA. All of this and we do not want to tell him that he is on the spectrum. He knows he has ADHD and anytime he misbehaves he says that is why. I am rambling. Sorry. Just wanted to say that I get it. My grandson lives with myself and my husband due to his limitations and it all falls on us to make sure that he gets what he needs to be a productive citizen one day. Thanks for sharing. |
| MimiFox | YvetteMcGreevy a psychologist has to diagnosis your child with the disorder. I have a 10 year old with aspergers with adhd combo and a 22 month old that is autism disorder. the psychologist runs various tests and determines which part of the spectrum your child will be on. once you get them tested and diagnosed get them in aba (autism behavioral program) and get them all the therapies you can get or your insurance can afford. the earlier you get them in therapy the better they will be. my 22 month old is in aba therapy, sensory therapy, speech therapy, feeding therapy, and occupational therapy. my 10 year old never got any of these therapies and it was a struggle for me to help him. my husband was never help to us. he only caused more stress and problems for us. but I knew when I had my second son he would be more autistic then his brother was and he is. the 10 year old didn’t talk until he was 3, his food intake was very little (was still on the bottle but eating people food also-didn’t get off the bottle until he was 4-5 years old), would sleep for 2 hours and be up for 8 hours, and still to this day don’t do loud noises. where my 22 month old doesn’t say a word, is still on baby food in the bottle, sleeps for 5 hours and be up for 12 hours, but the loud noises really don’t bother him, however he doesn’t respond to any noises, not even his name. they are on opposite ends of the spectrum. my 10 year old was diagnosed at age 2 with pdd -pervasive developmental delay and at age 10 was diagnosed aspergers with adhd where my 22 month old was diagnosed autism at 18 months old. most drs wont diagnosed a child until they are 2 but if you have one the chances of the next one will be greater of being autistic. I hope this helps, I have been through this all by myself so if you have any questions or comments just let me know. |
| KathieHoward | In reply to jaydensmommy.jaydensmommy Definitely get him tested. Don’t take “he’s not old enough” for an answer. Stay persistent. I have a 9 yr. old grandson with ADD. Thanks to his mother, my daughter, he is very high functioning. We started noticing issues when he was a baby—he held himself stiff instead of settling in to you when being held. He only wanted to be touched on his terms. Loud noises upset him so much he vomited. In fact, any time something upset him, he worked himself into such a state that he would vomit. Watching cartoons calmed hi I’m down. Even today, he needs to have the cartoon network on even while playing with his toys. As a newborn, he had severe problems with his stomach that took several months to finally diagnose. At one point, his doctor, thought his lactose intolerant & changed his formula to a boundary formula. My 3 week old grandson refused to eat it and lost over a pound in a week. (Looking back, I believe that was probably our first clue). Although he was verbal, it was nearly impossible to understand him because he drops verbs, slurs letters together & seems to be a bit tongue tied. At 9 years old, even after years of speech therapy, he remains difficult to understand if you don’t listen closely, & you have to remind him to slow down & pronounce the whole word. When playing with his toys, he would line them up & become very upset if his rows got disturbed. He showed an amazing aptitude for puzzles at a. Very early age and has been obsessed with Transformers since age 3 or 4. He has nearly every Transformer made & can & will tell you with great detail how they fit together & what they turn into. And these ate only a few of his quirks and ticks— My daughter discussed her concerns with the doctors at Children’s Mercy & her concerns were minimized. My daughter remained persistent, did a lot of research on her own & would not accept the pediatricians’ immunizations. When he was finally tested, he was diagnosed with severe ADHD. Although he is very hyper-active, it was a misdiagnosis. My daughter continued to persist & research on her own. It took another two years but she finally found a psychologist with the knowledge & experience who was willing to take the time to test him correctly. Getting the right diagnosis for him opened up a world of understanding and resources. Suddenly he was not an out of control, destructive child who just needed a firm hand to get him under control. (My son’s view—their sister just needed to be firmer with him) Suddenly my daughter was given the right resources to help my daughter help her son, my grandson. So, I apologize for making this so long. Just don’t give up. Don’t give in. If you don’t agree with a diagnosis, don’t accept it. You need to be your child’s best advocate. I know my grandson would not be doing as well as he is if my daughter didn’t work as hard as she has to ensure he has every resource possible. |
| YvetteMcGreevy | In reply to jaydensmommy.How do you get your child tested???? I hv been referred to a county place that takes over a yr. Just to get a response? Really hes been to several doctors psychiatrist and counselors school meeting you name it medications I myself think its a spectrum disorder the psychiatrist Has said the same…hes very verbal very easily angered has several signs …? |
| TeresaRichards1 | My daughter will be 13 in june and she has autism it took them 3 years of test to find out she also has high blood pressure and adhd. I have found ways to make things better for her that work. she has a toy that she can pull on while she is in school she also has a big rubber band on the bottom of her chair her grades in school have gotten better my daughter does speak but it took a long time,she doesn’t understand happy or sad or mad. she doesn’t like to be touched at all, and that is the hardest for me I have never gotten a hug,she screams if you touch her,loud noise scare her so bad she runs I cant turn to radio up or vaccum.I am a singe mom her dad left her and me 4 years ago he couldn’t take it any more. everyday we take one step forward and other days its 4 steps back. |
| jaydensmommy | I’m having my baby tested for autism because he has some of the symptoms and signs and he loves music he will listen to music and is happy as can be but you turn it off he goes into a tantrum he is only 17 months old he also can’t stand for our microwave door to be open and has to close it or he has a fit and he stacks his toys he has a hard time sleeping he would rather be awake and I’m not sure if he has autism should I test him these are just some things he does |
| MizzSpicey | My son is 5 years old and was just diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is verbal, which is a plus. He has issues with tags on clothes. He seems picky, but it’s the texture of the food, he doesn’t really like slimy, mushy foods. He is very particular when playing with his toys – example being he tends to line things up all facing the same direction and if they get “messed up”, he is quick to fix it or if it gets “messed up” quite often, he gets extremely upset. School has become an issue – he’s over stimulated in class (his class has nearly 30 students to 1 teacher). He’s having “episodes” at school. He tends to withdraw more at school than at home. He doesn’t have a problem playing with other children, but when he’s ready to be alone, he needs to be left alone or he gets very upset.
When he was a baby, we didn’t see anything unusual with the exception of it took him longer to talk than normal. He didn’t start talking until he was 2 years old. He was using words at 1 but regressed back to gestures until the age of 2. He walked at a normal age, although 1 thing I did notice was his love for music. Starting at 6 months, he began loving music and loves music to this day. He currently enjoys trying to make music on the computer. He’s very smart, enjoys building things out of legos and is very particular with that – he does a lot of mirror imaging with his legos, making sure each side is the same. |