New here, need advice on my sons symptoms!!

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I would definitely do the assessment asap. My son even met all developmental language milestones until 3 AND he is loving and funny and friendly. He doesn't line things up and doesn't have problems with transitions. But it turns out he has autism.

It is such a hard thing to face and think about. It is possible that your son does not have it, but what a wonderful thing to find it early if he does. My son wasn't diagnosed until 4. How I wish we have gotten him assessed before.

As for treatment, if you're from South Africa and your son is eventually diagnosed with autism, you may just do a web search for ABA providers. We lived in France when my son was assessed and we still found an American in Paris doing therapy.

It can be expensive, but well, there is no other option, frankly.

Good luck to you.

Hey Tashafierce I am curious too know, if you child is seemingly normal and met all his milestones then what was it that he did that got him diagnosed with autism? My child just seems so normal in every other way other than the lack of communication, it just totally confuses me!!

Luckily we have an ABA therapy center about 30 minutes away, which is very lucky for me as there are not many of these facilities in south africa. We are taking my son next week and they will do a week long assessment of him there. I am also taking him too a neurological paediatrician but can only get an appointment for 1 March. The only problem with the ABA therapy is it costs more than my months salary! I will do whatever it takes too get him the help that he needs though.

Will keep you all updated on my boys progress, still silently hoping that someone will tell me there is nothing wrong with him and he just needs some speech therapy ... but I know in my heart that may not happen.

Thanks for all the comments.

Before you spend a horrid amount of money on ABA if that is what they suggest he needs, try first buying books and learning how to do it yourself. You may be surprised at what you can do for your own child at home, especially at this age.

I'm glad you are getting an evaluation. Good Luck!

I would agree with that. I have always worked my kids a whole lot myself and didn't have help until my second son was born. I've never had full-time help, but having a private, uncertified ABA therapist come into my home at $ 30/hr. a few hours a week greatly helps with my stress level and allows me to get more accomplished.

A number of the therapists at autism treatment centers here (Austin, TX) are not ABA certified--they have M.A.s in psychology and work under the supervision of a licensed ABA therapist, who has an M.A. in psychology or education and meets additional certification requirements. Getting someone who is uncertified who has experience working at an autism center or getting someone in training may be cheaper if you want to private pay or want someone to come into your home at your convenience instead of having to go to an autism treatment center.

I would also carefully look over your insurance policy if you are in the U.S. and contact someone in case management at your insurance company to figure out what kind of services you can get and how to get them.

I would also prioritize speech above all things because I think that it is easiest for a child to learn speech when he or she is very young and the brain is still developing. The ability to speak is closely tied to later levels of functionality.

Please see my free website, www.freevideosforautistickids.com, for links to hundreds of resources.

Also, if you get an ABA therapist, keep in mind they do ABA. I have found that sometimes they can be very rigid in their way of working with children, and some kids do not respond well to "that" technique. A multi dimenstional approach that is conducive to YOUR child is the best way, and only you can figure that out because he's your child. Each child with autism is different and have different issues and needs. No two are alike.

I totally agree with the concentration on language. My son started losing many of his autistic behaviors as his language got better. He still has some, but not as many. Language is so important and it's really easy to teach while going through your day. I did so much language therapy in the car driving back and forth to preschool, it was great. Drill Drill Drill

Well, it just seemed that at 3 yrs, although he had all these words and sentences, he was unable to have a back and forth conversation. Plus he had an unnaturally keen interest in letters and numbers and started to read without us doing anything. We took him to a speech therapist at almost 4 yrs old and she suggested the assessment. I guess when the psychologist asked us enough questions, he did have a few repetitive behaviours and other mild symptoms.

It doesn't mean that your child has ASD, perhaps it is a communication disorder or a pure language issue. You should just go through the testing and see.

If it turns out to be ASD, I'm not sure if this has been suggested, but you may find a cheaper way of doing ABA by hiring a freelance therapist to come to your home. There may be people in the community who can supervise a program but have a smart college student actually carry it out at your home. It's worth a try.

Good luck.