Posted on 01/26/2004 7:16:22 PM PST by neverdem
I am acquainted with a family whose 2 year old has many of the classic symptoms of autism......walking on toes; repetitive behaviors; flapping hands; absence of language skills; unable to interact with kids her own age; shuns affection, etc., etc.
Sadly the parents know she is not like most children her age, but some denial is still present. I know it must be hard to accept.
They are taking her for a hearing test in a few weeks, but I know (I think they do too) her hearing is just fine.
I fear that the rush through the typical physical will result in them telling the parents that she is fine; just a little behind in cognitive skills.
My question is one about the Rh factor in the parents. Mom is Rh negative and Dad is positive (I think that's it). The child was severely jaundiced at birth and stayed in the hospital for a week for treatment. I have often wondered if the blood incompatiblity played a part since I am almost certain she has fits somewhere in the autism spectrum.
Have you ever heard any theories about blood incompatibility?
Do you think the "hearing test" they're having done might be a test for some sort of "sensory" disorder? (Geez, I forget the correct term now, but I am acquainted with a few different families with autistic children, and one mother told me that her child was diagnosed with an "autism-like" disorder that's not really "autism", but the manner in which the child processes the information he/she "hears" has something to do with it. Sorry, I can't remember all that she told me now, but I think the disorder begins with an "A" - and it's not Asperger's).
She has a vocabulary of about 6 words and most of those are prompted by the parent saying it first and the child echoing it several times.
She is with several other children of similar age all day, Monday-Friday, yet never actually plays "with" them. She becomes very fixed on rubbing surfaces or clutching a small toy in her hand for a very long period of time.
She nearly always appears to be in a world of her own. She cries if someone tries to put her on a ride-on toddler toy and while outdoors only wants to run back and forth, retracing the path over and over.
I just can't imagine what else her condition could be.
I agree with you there, by the way. I also believe that some "disorders" like ADD/ADHD aren't even real.
I am just certain of one thing and that is that the child is not at all like other 2 year olds and others that have observed her and know families with autistic children seem to think she behaves in much the same way.
I'll have to look into the term you have mentioned here. It is interesting. Thanks.
No one really knows WHY or HOW some children are autistic.
He was slower to walk and talk. He stopped taking naps at 2. At 4 or 5 were told he had "classic ADHD". Some of his behaviors resembled autism, except he already had enough personality for two people. Other symptoms mirrored obsessive-compulsive behavior.
He has repeated two grades for maturity reasons. He has managed to pass all parts of the Alabama graduation exam (something we were told he probably wouldn't be able to do) and will get a regular HS diploma in May (something else we were told probably wouldn't happen)
Over the past years my wife and I have developed a distrust of the medical community. The most critical things regarding our son were found out by us.
1. He has a sleep disorder. His grades and behavior improved dramatically when we found a way to get him into "rim sleep". We still don't know what kept him from being able to get into a deep sleep, and
2. He is almost exclusively a visual learner. Few teachers can teach to the visual learner. Unfortunately for all of us we didn't get this figured out until he was past the age group for getting the "basics" and had been labeled. We have been playing catch up for a long time.
But he is a good kid who will find his niche.
So will this child. Don't expect real help from the doctors. They sometimes operate with a different agenda.
Yes, that seems to be the case. I do believe that they were categorized as retarded before they began to understand autism.
I also understand that early intervention can make a significant difference in development. I hope that pediatric medicine can fine tune the diagnostic approach and help those in need, without being too quick to label a child that is simply a little out of sync with the norm.
When it comes to a subjective opinion, I suspect that many physicians err on the side of caution and hesitate to call it autism until the age of 4 or 5.......even when there are very strong indications much earlier.
::::eye roll:::: Might you be more specific? After all, we have children who are suffering here. If you've got THE CURE please enlighten us.
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