My son is 5 years old and was diagnosed when he was about 1 1/2. He also may have adhd. He has been in a special school since he was 3. His speech has improved, but his behavior is worsening. Maybe it is the 5 year old boy trying to come out or it may be adhd, or both. He is under the care of a pediatric neurologist right now, but the doctor has not been much help. I am also looking for answers and for someone to "talk" to.

Carol

Carol,

nice to know that there is some one out there to talk to. My son is going through some test right now.. Eeg and a blood test to rule out mental retardation and for geneitics also I am very nervous and scared did you ever have to go through that with your son...You can ask me questions and I will try to answer them the best I know how.. I have a 18oo number it is for autisum it is cool they send you all kinds of info that you need if interested please let me know will give it... Kathy

The pediatric neurologist that is treating my son did order blood tests. He did not say why(i think). I decided not to bring my son for this. I know he will not sit still for this and it will be very upsetting for the both of us. That phone number you mentioned. I would like to try it. Have you tried any meds or a special diet with your son? I have tried both with little difference in his behavior. How is your son with haircuts? We have tried different ways with no luck. I hope my experiences don't discourage you. I have heard of some success stories, so I am trying to continue to be hopeful.

Take care.

Carol

Hi,carol

we have tried to get his hair so many time each time we go it is bad I have to sit with him and hold him so he can get a hair cut. I have not tried a diet change because he only eats certain foods and it is the same thing every day. Here is the number I told you about.1-800-728-8476 tell them you would like a packet with information regarding autism and anything else you can thing of that you might want to know of.Hope that helps you get the info you are lokking for.Well I will let you know what happens when I get those test done but I wont know the results intill two weeks after it is done I dont like that idea but gotta wait. October 16 is the big day and my son does not like to go to hospitals or doctors office going to be fun.. Well hope to talk to you soon..

Kathy

My little boy is autistic. I kow and relate to what you have said, I have reached the point where I am no longer willing to go to the doctor and pay for them to guess and blow me off.
Just this week I went to see an allergist, but have to go to the hospital for the blood draw. (to see about dairy or gluten allergies) I think my next step should be with a neurologist. I only have begun to accept my son's autism from the evaluations at school. Now I need to start with the medical, and see perhaps if I can get any more specific information about him.

Do any of you have any advice for me as where to start, other than what I have mentioned? I cancelled my insurance because I was afraid he was being treated based on what the insurance would pay, but I often feel like they are all just getting an office fee from me, I have yet to feel like I accomplished anything more than writing them a check.......

Thanks for reading.....

I have a 4-year-old daughter with down syndrome who has also been diagnosed with autism. I believe her type is called pdd. She is verbal, but she displays many autistic characteristsics such as head banging, "zoning out" and repetetive behaviors.

We have help from our county who provide therapeutic specialists and other supports. Check with your local, county and state governments to see what assistance they can offer. Your school district may also be a good source. You should be able to receive evaluations and follow-ups from experts in behavioral and neurological fields . You should seek consultations with them to obtain a definitive diagnosis and treatment.

I have a dd soon to be 3, she was a preemie born at 26 weeks gestation. She has had many issues in her little life and has overcome many of them. We now suspect she may be autistic. She has frequent violent tantrums where she becomes quite agressive and inflicts pain on herself and us, she is speech delayed(18 month age level), she isn't potty trained and doesnt look like its in the cards anytime soon as she could care less if she is soiled and in fact fights diaper changes. She is busy alllllll the time, ignores everyone around her unless she needs something once she gets it shes back to her own world again, has been in preschool a month and has nothing to do with the other kids. This is just hitting on a few of the issues there are many more that I won't drag on about here. I have had issues over the last 3 years with getting the doctors to listen to me and i'm fully expecting this to happen again, my mommy instinct is telling me something is wrong with my kid and it isn't wrong very often. We ignored these behaviors all this time figuring its the terrible twos but when you put all the little pieces together it looks like a big something. My question is did anyone else have any problems making the doctors listen and what worked for you also what does the testing entail? I'm supposed to call the developmental pediatrician next week to make an appointment for having testing done.

As my husband posted back in april, our 4.5 year old daughter, tori, was born with down syndrome and was diagnosed earlier this year with autism. From all my research and personal experience...Observation of a child is the best diagnosis. There are "behaviors" typical of asd (autistic spectrum disorder) and no 2 children are the same in these behaviors. The spectrum is very broad. I picked up on alot of tori's behaviors unusual for a child with down syndrome for quite some time and monitored them and finally decided to have a psychological evaluation done on her. Low and behold, mom was right (not that I wanted to be this time). Tori has alot of sensory issues and has gotten more agressive. Her sleep was way off for months, and things just kept piling up. She now receives 25 hours behavioral health rehabilitative services and is improving slowly. Kennedy krieger institute in baltimore is very big on autism and Dr. George capone is apparently brilliant. We have not yet had the opportunity to meet with him, but have read alot of his research and have spoken with reps from there and they seem to have a clue. I love my little one to death, but as a parent of a child with special needs, now with a dual diagnosis, I would rather have 15 kids with ds than 1 with asd. It is a very challenging disorder and has no reasoning behind it. At least with the ds, we know what she has- an extra 21st chromosone and an attitude.

Hello, iam new hear I just wanted to introduce my self I have a 2 !/2 year old son with sever to moderate autisum,and a 3 1/2 year dd who has a hard time understanding why her brother gets so much different attention than she does.I dont know what to do for her,does any one out their have any advice?

Robertsmom...

Your best bet would be to contact your local support group. They may have a sibling support network that you may be able to get your little one involved in. They probably have other families in the same situation whereby your little ones can get together for a play group.

Torismom....

You would thinks so but so far their is no such thing,all they can tell me is to ask around or they give a web sit to go to.

I would then call the autism society of america and speak with them. It sounds like your support system is very weak if that is all they told you. Be strong and take the bull by the horns and call asa and they should be able to give you some direction.

Hi my name ann.
I have a son who might be autisic,but i'm frusterated because i'm not sure if he is or not. He has some of the charistics of it . Ok he does have the delay speech you can understand him some of the time. He is not potty trained yet and he is 4/12 yrs.Old sometimes he says he needs to go but does'nt do anything. He is hyper always on the go.He does'nt always look at you when you talk to him. And when he does wrong and ask him why he is being punish he knows what he did.He is going to see a neurologist in a month in ahalf to see if he is.And i'm waiting for blood test to come back to see if he has fragilex. So am I just crazy or should I be concern of these condtions.

hello my name is nikki
I am a new here. i am a mother and single parent of a 10 year old daughter with autisum, she was dianosed when she was about 2 years old . i was wondering if anyone has information or where to get info on puberty she's going through the stages and i'm going crazy . if anyone has any info i'd be so thankful

hi all im new here looking for other mom to talk too about our specials blessings. im on line offen and will be checking to see if any would like to write back and forth about our children. today we got a new evalulation after since she was 4 yrs old came to another town and been here since tuesday. long testing but finding out answers slowly she too had the mri and the eeg and blood work up. thanks so much dragongirl08

My son is 11 and he has autism/asperger syndrome and anytime you need anyone to talk to I am always available.

hi its very late and i was reading the people magazine on line while all here at the hotel is sound asleep.......... wow im tired long trip and im just exhusted........ but im sure my dd is m ust exusted with all the testing talk soon tell me about your son and a little about you
talk soon joy

Hello Carol'

It really is a shame that people can't get the right answers to their health problems.

I'm not a doctor but I've done research on the Internet and various other sources for the last four years plus and 9 times out of ten the answer to health problens is usually nutritional defiencies.

I recently was introduced to a nutrition management program for my high blood pressure and since them I have talked to many people who have reversed all kinds of ailments. I talked to a lady this morning about someone she knows who child who has autism and this product is helping to change his condition.

I can put you in touch with her if you are interested