My 21 month old son "most surely autistic."

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I am Lori. *waves* xD

I am 27. I have 3 boys. 9, 5, and 21 months.

I am married to my soul mate who is currently deployed to Iraq and due home in December.

At 6-8 months my son, Rhyse (Reese) Spoke words, mama, dada, baba, bye bye, stop. Now at 21 months the only word he has left is mama. He never "babbled" until about 3 months ago.

At his 12 month well baby i talked to his pediatrician about how he had seem to have forgotten words. He didn't respond to me when i called him and I swore he had a hearing problem. He assured me that he was fine and that if he still was not talking by 18 months to bring him back and they would refer him to a ENT.

Due to certain circumstances I got him in at 21 months. Today. Thinking I would be taking him for possible tubes in the ears we went to the doctor today with high hopes. Even took my 5 year old. I told her the reason we came, she asked a series of questions. I answered honestly. I thought milestone stuff maybe? Then she goes on to try to play with him and talk to him and he was not interested. She observed as she typed into the computer asking more questions. A few quiet moments later she tells me she is enrolling him into speech therapy, and referring him to EDIS, Education and Development Intervention Services. Continues to tell me "he is most surely autistic." I was speechless. On the way out she told me good luck and to have a nice day.

WHAT DO I DO NOW?! Can she really make these "calls" from one 45 minute visit? How long will it take to find out? And what can i do for him? I have no knowledge of autism other than what i have read tonight. Which is a lot and I am quite overwhelmed. since the doctor told me this a lot of the things he does is "clicking." I just have no idea what I am supposed to do now. I plan to go to these appointments for speech therapy and to EDIS but we must wait for the referral to come in the mail to be able to schedule an appt with them both. Can someone just give me some advice? What do I look for? How long does this take? what can i do for him? and where do I go next????

sorry for the long post but I am VERY lost.

Thank you so much in advance.

Lori

If he wants something, will he point in lieu of using a word?
If he wants you, will he cry or reach for you?
If you ask him to hand you/bring you a favorite toy, can he comply?
If you point at something, will he look at it?
Does he play with you or any of his siblings? How does he like to play?

Autism is the current hot topic (dethroning ADHD) so it's possible that the person you dealt with was being very unprofessional. That said, it would not hurt to have him evaluated by Early Intervention in your state. In many cases it's reduced cost or free if he qualifies for services, and you'll have someone observe him in your home environment. If he does need some assistance, better to get it now than wait. Autism or not, addressing a child's issue sooner is always better.

Evaluations are usually done in your home at a time convenient for you. Generally the party completing the eval (in your case most likely a speech language person) will tell you before they leave what their impression is. If services are needed a formal meeting will follow to arrange services (frequency, provider and time). If not, you will find that out from someone who works with these kiddos and would be better qualified to make that judgement.

My son is three. We started receiving EI services when he was 13 months and he's doing fantastic. He's always been behind with speech/language and that's what we got services based on (he is autistic). I always recommend being cautious and self-referring to EI to any parent in your situation. I have nothing but positive things to say about our experiences with EI.

It's okay. I promise you it's okay.

Twenty-one months isn't yet two years, is it? That's quite young for a diagnosis!

There's a thread in the Parents' Discussion forum with advice you'll probably find useful. http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt140446.html I figure it's more efficient to link you.

It's going to be okay. I know it's scary; everything you've yet heard says you should be scared. But that's wrong; there's really no reason to be. It's perfectly understandable that you are, but you'll come to find that-- if it is autism-- you needn't be.

If it's autism. At that age? Really? *whistles* Diagnoses are getting early these days!

If he wants something, will he point in lieu of using a word?

No he does not point. When I do think he is pointing to something, hes touching it.

If he wants you, will he cry or reach for you?

He cries. alot. he doesnt reach for me to pick him up. he falls to the floor screaming or just climbs up onto my lap, usually for just a few seconds then he gets back down. still screaming.


If you ask him to hand you/bring you a favorite toy, can he comply?

I think he attempts to bring me things he already has in his hands when i ask, he walks towards me with it and then turns around to continue with his usual self.

If you point at something, will he look at it?

no he never really intereacts with me. leading you to the last question.


Does he play with you or any of his siblings? How does he like to play?

He doesnt "play" with them, usually he takes their toys and throws them, or pulls their hair, hits them or cries and throws himself to the floor in the middle of their "play area".

I am hopeful. I still am not quite sure what EDIS is. But I am hopeful I will get answers. i am glad that you are so positive about them. It gives me more hope about what is going to happen in the near future.

First off, Hi Lori! (:

Something that a lot of people don't understand about autism when they first run into the word is that there are tons of different degrees and types of autism; it really is a spectrum and it affects everyone a little differently. I don't know what kind your son has/might have, but don't freak out, you can make it through this and y'all are not alone. I'm glad you found WP. (:
Whatever sort your son has, there is some sort of support out there for him. You won't be alone; remember that fact - no matter where this diagnosis ends up taking you and your family.

My parents also experienced the scary diagnosis thing, same as you. My mom was so scared and had no idea what to do, but she just took things a step at a time and things ended up working out: Today, I live a happy, independent, normal life as a hard-working college student. (:

I had some classic, autistic symptoms as a baby - I didn't talk or smile very often as a kid, never really played with others - I actually went through both physical and speech therapy as a kid. I didn't like it when others touched or hugged me - even if it was my mom. I know things were very rough on her back then.
It took almost 2 years for my parents to get answers or even a definite autism diagnosis about me. No one had any idea what was wrong with me (I was just labeled PDD-NOS) until my mom and dad just happened to find the right doctor that just happened to recognize my autism (and rather quickly too - after only 1 or 2 visits). I was about 4/5 years old when we finally got a name for it.

For my mom and dad, a concrete diagnosis after not knowing anything about me for such an extened period of time was a relief.

Of course, that was over 10 years ago. Maybe they can assess kids more quickly nowadays since autism is more well known in the medical community. I'm not a medical expert so I don't know enough to be able to judge if the 45 min. assessment was legit.


~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, I can only speak from my personal experience with autism, but my family and I all ended up just fine even though things started out very scary and with lots of unknowns - similar to your own. So, even if your son does have it, you can get through this.

As for learning about it, I've found that Dr. Tony Attwood is a good person to check out, same with Temple Grandin. Just in my experience.

My mom's favorite is Dr. Attwood. She read all his books and everything and they helped her and me a lot. He talks mostly about Asperger's specifically though so I dunno if they'll apply as much to your son as they did to me.


Anyway, this was long. Sorry.
I dunno if I helped at all, but I just want to wish you and your family the best. (:

To WrongPlanet!! !

Welcome to WrongPlanet, Lovelyloribeth!