possible autism

toto wrote:
On Sat, 05 May 2007 11:19:55 GMT, Rob wrote:

Albert Einstein did not speak at all until he was 3 years of age.

This is NOT true. His sister was born when he was 2, not three and he
spoke when she was born. He did probably have a language delay.

http://gardenofpraise.com/ibdeinst.htm




Thank you for correcting me.


The assumption has been made that I thought Albert Einstein was
Autistic. Nothing could be further from truth.

Hence the advice "Don't jump to conclusions"

On Sun, 06 May 2007 10:35:47 GMT, Rob wrote:

Hence the advice "Don't jump to conclusions"

If you have a child who presents as autistic, believe me, it is not
*jumping to conclusions* when you finally get a diagnosis.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

Jeff wrote:

I know this is not the right time to say it, but there is an excellent
book that is written in the voice of someone with autism.

It is "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon.

It's fiction. This is not what the OP's friend
needs at this moment.

-- Anita --

Rob wrote:

I thought it was obvious that I DID NOT think that Albert Einstein was
autistic, that was the point.

Sorry, I did leap to a conclusion. But,
the fact still stands that if the OP's
friend's child is autistic, even thinking
that she may have a little Einstein on her
hands may delay her doing what she needs
to get a diagnosis and early intervention.

So many people told me of famous poets who
did not talk until they were 5, or famous
whomevers who were delayed as children. That
was of no use to me. When it comes to autism
(or other delays), overreacting is better
than underreacting.

-- Anita --

In article .com,
wrote:
Hi, I usually just lurk here but I'm hoping for some useful advice.
My best friend has twin boys,(fraternal) who are almost 3, exact same
age as my DD. (by due date, they were a month early)

They aren't really talking that much, but are beautiful sweet boys.
My friend took them to a very good speech pathologist, who is
concerned that they have a lot of the signs and symptoms for autism.
From what I do know about autism, it does seem possible. She is
understandably pretty upset, and I was really hoping someone here
could give me some insight on the best way to support her and the
boys, what to say, what not to say, etc....other than just listening
and giving hugs. Any good support groups?

Remember that twins often develop later, especially in the area
of speech. They sometimes develop a language (not always spoken) that
only the other twin can understand. They grow out of it, and can
usually communicate just fine by kindergarten or so.

That said, if they are autistic, the sooner they can get some help and
therapy, the better off they'll be.

hope this helps,
- marty (mom to alex & andie, 6)

On May 5, 10:42 am, Irrational Number wrote:
wrote:


What not to say:

You're such a good mother.
God doesn't give you more than you can handle. (I
actually think God hates me)

Hi Anita,
I felt really sad when I read this line. I'm not very religious but I
know this feeling. I'm really sorry for what you're going through.

Thanks.

At least they're still with you.
But they're doing so well.
When will they become normal?
They're lucky to have you as their mother.
I read a fictional book about an autistic child.
I saw "Rain Man".
I read Temple Grandin's book and she says autistic
children think in pictures.
He probably will be a genius in math or art or music.

What to say and do:

I'm so sorry to hear this.
Do you need me to do anything for you? (very sincerely)
Offer to babysit (and mean it)
Don't expect her to be able to get together
with you easily.
Listen to her when she needs to talk.
Do talk about your own child and how she's doing, just
don't do it right after she does it. For example,
when she says "oh, X just learned his first word",
don't say, "great, do you know what Y (DD) just did,
she figured out all the letters of the alphabet and
put together a sentence". (I have one friend who
always one-ups me, and she has no idea that this hurts
because she will always win because my son is almost
4 and has maybe 3 words on a good day.)

-- Anita --
mommy to Pillbug, almost 4, ASD
mommy to Rocky, almost 2, speech delayed

On Mon, 07 May 2007 14:30:40 GMT, (Marty
Billingsley) wrote:

That said, if they are autistic, the sooner they can get some help and
therapy, the better off they'll be.

In fact, in any speech delay, it does not hurt to get help.
Regardless of the fact that some children simply talk late, speech
therapy can only help, not hurt.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

"toto" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 07 May 2007 14:30:40 GMT, (Marty
Billingsley) wrote:

That said, if they are autistic, the sooner they can get some help and
therapy, the better off they'll be.

In fact, in any speech delay, it does not hurt to get help.
Regardless of the fact that some children simply talk late, speech
therapy can only help, not hurt.

However, it is well to point out that therapy needs to be different
depending on a child's needs. If a speech therapist decides that a child is
autistic wrongly (and a speech therapist is NOT qualified to diagnose
autism) and handles a child as though they're autistic, methods which may be
more effective can be missed. The same can happen in a classroom if a
classroom teacher decides that a child must be X,Y,Z-because if the child is
really Q, they're not getting what they need.

This happened with one of my students. His preschool teachers were convinced
that he was autistic so his parents sought help for autism. He recieved two
years of language therapy designed to help with autism, heavy schedules, and
the like, with little improvement. At age 5, as part of a pre-kindergarten
screening, another tester thought that the problem might be something
completely different-and as it turned out, further testing identified CAPD
(Central Auditory Processing Disorder). Within 2 months of therapy designed
for CAPD and the recognition that this was the problem, he was a different
child behaviorally, with few to no "autistic" symptoms. Apparently, a lot of
those behaviors were in response to what the adults around were doing and
how they responded to him.

So, if there are signs of problems, a child needs to be evaluated, but
WITHOUT a specific diagnosis in mind-because sometimes the old hammer/nail
effect comes into play. In one extreme case, a teacher who had just done a
graduate class which included recognizing autistic symptoms sent home
letters to quite a few parents outlining her fears. Turned out that the
checklist she was using was designed for children 4-6 years of age. Compared
to that, yes, many of these young 2 yr olds looked "autistic"-because MOST
young toddlers have limited skills in expressive language, are oppositional,
repeat what they hear, and throw tantrums when over stimulated!

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice, especially Anita. I think
we are all feeling a little more positive this week, after more
education. If they are in fact on the spectrum, it seems as though
it is not too severe. My friend is now connected to what seem to be
some excellent resources, and several lengthy in home evaluations are
now planned, but no labels are applied yet. I'm hoping to spend a lot
more time with her kids this summer, taking turns so she can get more
one on one time with each of them. (No big chore, they are really
sweet and my daughter has a huge crush on them) Thanks again to
everyone.
JJ

On Mon, 7 May 2007 10:45:45 -0500, "Donna Metler"
wrote:

If a speech therapist decides that a child is autistic wrongly
(and a speech therapist is NOT qualified to diagnose autism)
and handles a child as though they're autistic, methods which
may be more effective can be missed.

Which is why an evaluation by a developmental pediatrician or
pediatric neurologist with a team of SLP, OT, PT, etc. should be the
first step.

Actually, though a good SLP will not diagnose, but will evaluate the
chiild's weaknesses and strengths and treat on that basis without
worrying about the label.


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits