Well, my son is picking up more and more words- not in our speech therapy sessions, which kind of irritates me b/c I pay out pocket for those.
I also had him evaluated for OT and they said he needed it. There were certain things he wouldn't do in the eval- like stick his hands in a tub of dry beans or crawl through one of those round tunnel things. Ummm...after two sessions, he is now doing both of those things. Even the OT said to me, "After seeing him a second time, I don't think he's going to need OT for every long- maybe a few months...." Evaluations suck!
I don't know what to think. He no longer opens and closes doors like he used to. It's like he got it all out of his system or something. He is still loving and adorable, as I know ASD kids can be as well, but does not use words as much as I would like. Neither of therapists think he is on the spectrum b/c of the amount of joint attention he shows. I just wish I KNEW- if it's not ASD, and it's not SID, then what is it? Just a speech delay and a few sensory issues (which everyone has or has had, BTW)??? Most of us just "grew out" of our sensory issues. I have an Uncle in his 50's who has always hated walking on the sand and refuses to go to the beach, but he is in no way on the spectrum. He just has this sensory thing about not liking the feeling of sand in between his toes.
I just thought by 26 months I would KNOW for sure if DS fell on the spectrum or not. I realize now after reading all of these posts, it could be another year or two before I have a true answer. That's so depressing.
Also, I'm sure most of you already know this, but in regards to autism being on the rise and that could very well be the case, but did you know Asperger's was added to spectrum in 1994 and accounts for 50% of autism cases? That could be one really HUGE reason why we are "seeing" it more now. Also, better detection and the fact that when we were growing up, we probably had kids in our class who were HFA or had Asperger's but went undxed and eventually married (some to other HFA's and Aspie's), and had kids who ended up with the disorder through genetics.
I don't know- that seems to be a reason for the increase that makes sense. I do think it's good that the media focuses on it more to make parents more aware, but they rarely dispell the many myths of autism and they do make parents crazy, most of the time for no reason!
I just wish I knew where my son will be in 2 years, verbally and academically. Will he be ready for pre-school? I was planning on not having him start until 4 since he is late summer birthday. Other kids his age know some numbers and colors, but he does not. Will he ever and WHEN???? It isn't like I don't try to teach him!!!! All of sudden one day, he says a word or identifies something and it completely blows me away. Maybe he's just learning on his own time-table????
Silvermermaid, it's great that your specialists have less and less concern that your son is on the spectrum. This is GOOD NEWS. It's something to be happy about....not be worried about.
>>Other kids his age know some numbers and colors, but he does not. Will he ever and WHEN???? It isn't like I don't try to teach him!!!! <<
Hon, It's not normal to know numbers at age two. If your son WAS able to learn numbers, my ASD alarm bells would be ringing loudly.
And colours should still be beyond him. By 36 months, he should be able to identify two colours, but no more than that. This milestone is almost a year away.
One of the earliest signs of autism in my son was his ability to recognise colours, numbers, alphabet and shapes at a young age. While other two year olds were doing 'normal' things like riding trikes, sitting in sand pits, scribbling and playing with Thomas the Tank Engine - mine was pointing out numbers and colours on his wall chart.
Beware of wanting your son to be like the other two year olds who know numbers. Perhaps they've been hothoused. Or perhaps they have an ASD. Or perhaps they are gifted. Any of these are a possibility. But I can assure you that these kids don't represent normal development.
When will your son learn numbers? If he's 'normal', he'll likely learn them when he's about 4 or 5 and in preschool or kindergarten.
In the meantime, chill out. Keep your teaching for the important stuff. Help him catch up and help him learn age appropriate behaviour. But for heaven's sake, don't spend time trying to teach him skills which are unrealistic for a child his age. Not only will you be disillusioned about his lack of being able to grasp the concept, he will be sad because he can't do what you ask of him.
Your message made my heart sing! The funny thing is that my Mom, who has a Master's in Childhood development and taught K-2nd grade for 7 seven years before she became a mom and a decided to stay home with me and my brother, tells me the SAME thing you do. They aren't "supposed" to know numbers and colors and sure, there are some kids who do, and maybe they have an ASD or they are just gifted, advanced, etc...but I don't need my son to be "gifted" or go to Harvard or become the first half Caucasian/ half Eastern Indian President of the United States lol. I will be FINE with average, which is pretty much what he is, aside from maybe not having as many 'words" as he should for his age. He understands when I ask him to go and get something now. I'm amazed b/c back at 15 months, it was like he had no idea what I was saying and now he does- maybe he just had his own time table for that. He's, for the most part (all toddlers have quirks like all adults do as well), very typical- likes to run and giggle and play with balls and balloons and his toys. Loves when I spoon feed him yogurt or something else I am eating while watching him play in the family/living room. He crawls up on me where I am sitting and looks very interested in whatever I am eating- oatmeal, yogurt, etc and so I give him a bite and then he comes back for more. It's so cute.
Okay, I'm rambling lol. My point is, thank you for your post. Although I am anxious for him to start using more expressive language and he is, slowly but surely, I am less worried about something "else" being behind it.
My husband bought this kit at Costco for $24 and it has two of those tunnel things like you see in a children's gym and a clubhouse and a tent. I was looking into getting a tunnel through a catalog and just the tunnel alone was $35! SO, this was a great deal. Now, he pushes his balls and balloons through and crawls right through the tunnel. The OT tried to tell me during the eval that perhaps my son did not like "tight spaces" and was perhaps claustrophobic. Do ANY of these "experts" know what they are talking about??? Sometimes I wonder....sigh
Thanks again for your reply. I guess I should sit back and try to relax b/c my son is truly a joy- I mean he's 2 so he has his "moments" where he tests my patience, but for the most part, he's a doll.
>>The OT tried to tell me during the eval that perhaps my son did not like "tight spaces" and was perhaps claustrophobic. Do ANY of these "experts" know what they are talking about???<<
In defense of the experts, you have asked them to investigate your son. You've asked them to look for potential problems. Looking under every rock and inside every nook and cranny is what they do.
You may also see that they used the term "perhaps". He's perhaps claustrophobic and perhaps he doesn't like tight spaces. The word "perhaps" isn't an absolute. It just means that they've seen him avoiding an activity at that time and are offering a potential reason.
When going through assessments, it's important to realise that specialists don't and can't know your child as a whole. Expecting them to be 100% accurate on their interpretations is unrealistic.
For all of us, assessments are awful. But it's important to learn to not take each judgement as an absolute. An assessment is only a summary of what a professional sees in your child *that day*.
You bring up such an excellent point! I'd forgotten all about this -- sometimes the 'positive' things in our ASD kids get lost in the mess of all the 'but he doesn't...' things we have to list and tell therapists about.
While some kids will learn things really early (my oldest was reading extremely early and my younger daughter did two-digit math at age 2) it isn't usual for them to know things at those ages. My ASD son, however, knew all his numbers, alphabet, colors and animals by age two. It was creepy. He had this set of flash cards that I'd have to lay out in perfect order, and I'd say "red," he'd point to red. I'd say "three," and he'd point to the three kangaroos. I'd say "ocelot," and he'd point to the ocelot. (It was a pretty cool expanded set of cards!) I thought it was just cute. Who knew. He wasn't talking, but he sure could touch the cards when you asked him to.
It's so early, it's hard to tell, but don't stress yourself out so much that you aren't enjoying the fun things.
