Autism? - Austin,TX

You can get him tested by the school district. THey are trained in spotting these types of disabilities. 5 is very late to be diagnosed with autism and the earlier you get therapy, the better off they are.

Good Luck!

L.,
I doubt that you or anyone responding to this post can give you a definitive answer. Sounds like some of the issues may be flags for autism but all kids are different. What IS important is that you get him evaluated asap so that he can receive any and all help that he needs, beginning immediately. I know it takes parents a while to wrap their heads around something as unsettling as this. But you don't know for sure if there IS an issue or not. You can't deal effectively with the unknown. Knowledge is power!
Call your pediatrician and make an appointment. They will prescribe an evaluation for him by specialists and it may take some time getting an appointment. So don't delay any longer!

If you feel there is something not quite right, then follow through and find out while your son is young. The earlier the better. Trust you parent intuition. I knew by age 3/4 there was something about my son that wasn't quite right. That was 13 years ago. He was diagnosed with ADD at 6, and bipolar at 11 but there was alot more going on. Finally on his second "break down" at 13 he was clinically diagnosed as an aspergers child. Wish they had known then what they know now. It would of helped him a LONG time ago.
But he did get the needed help and is doing a world better now at 17. Trust the Parent feeling and get some testing done. May have better luck with the Pediatrician referral than the school. The school test from the academic view, a Dr takes in a holistic view. The school Psych told us in an ARD that "according to TEA guidelines for Austism, my son does not meet the criteria for any autism services". The evaluation done by a Dr said Oh yes he is Aspergers. Their response was that is a clinical evaluation. They would only acknowledge him academically as Emotionally Disturbed. It has been quite the battle, but there were some good Educators who really understood & helped along the way. I would count on an outside evaluator more. The school district tends to watch their budget more. If money is an issue, then get in touch with your MHMR. They really can help!! They saved my son when the insurance ran out for mental health.

From experience..Go with the gut feeling. I also had a feeling something wasn't right with our son when he was around 3 - 4yrs old. He would run back and forth in a room and moan to himself. Then there was the hand shaking and stiffening up. My husband didn't want to think anything was wrong (nor I) so no testing was done. Our son went to pre-school and I asked the teacher's to document whenever they noticed something out of sinc with him and there was one teacher there who was seeing what I was seeing. When he finally started going to a public school I then finally got backing from teachers and our son was tested and observed for possible Autism and come to find out I was right. Fortunantly for us, our son falls in the "gray" area of Autism meaning he has mild autism but with guidance and the right classes etc he will be able to function fully in society. Our goal is to help him move along and be able to live a normal life and perhaps no one will be able to tell or figure it out easily. I am happy to say that he is thriving in school now (3rd grade). At one time socially he was very unpredictable (separation anxiety, mild hitting, withdrew and not talk to anyone) now he hates missing school and is making good grades. The bottom line is this..go with your gut feeling, seek help. If one person can't help you, find someone who can and will. Testing for autism is offered thru the public schools, support is offered thru the public schools. However, the sooner the better. Your better off to be wrong and have insisted on some testing then be right and not had your son evaluated. There's lots of help, support and hope out there. I have three contacts via the school system that might be able to lead you in the right direction. Wonderful loving people. If you are interested in contacting them feel free to e-mail me. Good luck and God Bless.

Hi there L.,

I didn't read the other answers, but I have a similer situation. I and my husband suspected something wasn't right with our sons behavior. Until my Mother in law mentioned something it wasn't talked about. I think neither one of us wanted to admit what we were thinking. Our son was 3 years old at that time.

First, I took him to the pediatrition, he thought his issues were due to frustration because he was a little speech delayed. So he had us get him evaluated through the school district.

That evaluation should have taken one or 2 visits with the speech pathologist, it took 4! She asked if I had considered that something else might be causing the speech problems. I said yes and then put in for another evaluation through the school district. The school psycologist said he is fine, but to see if he is hyper, give him a mountain dew ( high caffine) and see his reaction. Nothing. But they were no help in the end.

We moved from California to Texas and had him evaluated in Midland. He didn't act like himself during the evaluation because it was new people and a new setting, so they didn't see any issues, and his speech was normal by then too.

So, in August I put him in pre k at a church/ school. 2 days a week, he is 5 now. He has acted out at several kids and the teachers. Now, finally I found a pediatrition that is listening to me and helping! He has ADHD and probably something else too, but that's not pin pointed yet. We are working on that. Dr Ahmed in Big Spring has been great.
He is the second Dr I have taken my son to here in Big Spring, the first one did the typical, let him grow up and see how it goes. Didn't listen to the fact that he is hurting other children, and making life hard on the teachers. His teachers have been a huge help too, especially since they know I am trying to work this out and see what's going on.

Sorry its so long, I'm trying to tell you that if you as a parent think something isn't right, do not give up. You might be on a long road to figure out what is wrong, in the meantime do the best you can and don't be afraid to ask around and change doctors if you need to. It took us 2 years to find a dr who will listen and pay attention, then it was a bit of paperwork for us and his teacher to fill out. We aren't done yet, but it feels good that we are on the road to getting him help.

Also, if you don't have health insurance, or if its expensive you can have the local school district evaluate him. Once they are age 3 the district can't turn you down for evaluation. I didn't have any luck getting help that way, but I'm sure it depends on the district your in as to how good they are.

Good luck
Feel free to message me if there is anything I can do to help.
K.

Hi L.,

My son was diagnosed with high functioning autism (aspergers) late last year and he is 5. We were referred by our pediatrician to have him evaluated at our local children's hospital and from the evaluation we now have him in early intervention services (social skills class and behavioral therapy). We also went through our local school district to have him evaluated there as well to see what services we could get from them as those are free. Our son is academically very advanced and his language skills are excellent but lacks social skills and has some behavioral issues. There is also a regional center that evaluates this as well and could also be another option for you. I can only say that I wished that we had him evaluated earlier in his life as early intervention is key! I wish you luck and don't delay to have him checked out.

Dear L.,
I have a 9 year old ADHD child. I knew at age 4 that there was something special with my little boy but since his father was against the posibility I had to wait till grade school when a social worker discovered he was having a problem and recommended him for testing. My son has been through the whole diagnositic process and has also been diagnosed with dyslexia. His new psychologist thinks he might also have some odd so I will warn you the process isn't easy, it's on going but with the right help these children will thrive. The earlier you get help the easier on the child. I would suggest you find a psychyatrist or a doc. that specializes in diagnosis childhood disorders, or if the school will help thats even better our school in chicago where we started was inpossible so i had to go for outside help. Baiscally you need to find a doctor that will listen to you. These disorders are hard to diagnosis becasue the are unpredictable and change and a doctor isn't living with the child to see the day to day struggles so they have to rely on you, if they aren't willing switch docotrs. We also go to Dr. Ahmend's office in Baytown and they have been very helpful. If you don't find someone your comfortable with the first time try try again. You have to be an advocate for your child becasue if you aren't no one will be. Hope this helped. Best of luck.

Through the school, try the MHMR program EIC. There's no charge and they will even come to your home to evaluate him in his environment. It was such a God send to us! My son's problems ran the gamut of hearing loss to borderline Asperger's. It has helped get him the help that he needs.

I would ask how is his hearing to me sounds like it may be a hearing loss. If it is it would explain alot of his problems.

Of course you want to get him tested immediately and if you doctor doesn't feel something is wrong, then find another doctor. You are the mother and know if something isn't right. I do agree with another one below that it could very well be a hearing issue. I had a friend whose child had some of the same symptoms you are discribing and it turned out to be a hearing issue. Good Luck to you and I know you will get to the bottom of it.

Hi L.,
I am the mother of a 6 year old boy with autism. I knew from very young that something was wrong. Find a really good diagnostician. There are some really great websites for autism and if you are not sure try these first as they may direct you to where you can get help. Here are the names of a couple that I know.....
www.talkaboutcuringautism.org www.austism.com
We have a lovely doctor that we see for our son. Dr Nomita Pothuluri, her specialty is autism. Here is her website, www.clinicforautism.com. I would suggest going to see her. If you ring tell the girl who answers the phone about your concerns and she will help you. They are great there. I hope you get an answer for your worries soon. It is one of the worst times in your life when you have this hanging over you.
Email if you like, I have been doing this for nearly 5 years now.
Sincerely,
W.

HI L.,
Does your son attend preschool school? I don't know if he is old enough for Kindergartin. I was wondering what his teacher thought of his behavoir as far as getting along with the other children or his ability to focus on activities.
My best friend is a school psychologist. She mostly tested kids for types of learning disabilities based on a recommendation from the school teacher or from the parents. From that point it is determined if the child will need special services to master academic skills in the classroom or help improve social behavior. And if the child does qualify for servies it does not always mean the child has autism.
I would first contact your local public school system and get an evualation then go from there.
I was also the first one to noticed that some things were not quite right with my son. I shared my feelings with my husband (who did not take them seriously) as well as other family members who just told me that I was making much of nothing . I was told that boys are usually late in learning how to talk. Everyone seemed to be offended that I would even mention such a thing. So, I decided to forget about everyone else and took my son
to a speech therapist. From that point I contacted early on and eventually he was referred to the school system for testing and placement.
It was determined that my son did have a "mild" form of autism. He is now 5 years old and doing great because of the therapy he has received.

Get him tested. The sooner he can get help the better off he will be if it is Autism.

I'm thinking adhd, or add maybe? My son is in the process of being tested because we've known "something is just not right" with our almost 5 yr old too. He's in school now and his teacher has agreed with possible adhd diagnosis. He is socially awkward as well.....but not autistic. good luck....if you have any questions about what is going on with our son to compare with your son feel free to ask!!!

that all sounds like normal kid stuff but if you want to have him tested i found this list online.... http://www.autismwebsite.com/practitioners/us_lc.htm

My first suggestion is call your doctor and ask for a referral to a pediatric neuropsychologist. Then I would recommend calling your local school district and asking about child find services. They can provide academic testing and behavioral screenings you can then take to the doctor. Hang in there.

I have a son diagnosed with autism. Even when I knew there was no hearing problem, a hearing test was done to "rule out" such a problem.

Personally, I would say don't jump to conclusions about this behavior being autistic. Still, I highly recommend a hearing test.

Your general practitioner should listen to you when you express these concerns. A referral to a child psychologist would be helpful. In my experience, the visits with the child psychologist were just as helpful to _me_ as with my child! (How do I handle this situation? What can I do to encourage remembering simple tasks? How do I make visual cues for tasks?)

Good luck!

L.,
If you want to have your child tested. The UofH at Clear Lake has a wonderful group that will do a battery of test for development for your child. We took our son there a few years ago he was in 2nd grade & his teacher was convinced that he was ADD/ADHD. I didn't belive that & was informed by another parent about this group. As it turned out he is fine but had what is called dysgraphia. A hand writting issue he is a lefty that was three years ago and it has taken awhile but we are past that now. He does have a very outgoing personality loves to talk & always has something interesting on his mind. Mrs. Morales heads up the group at UofH in Child Development Dept.