Most of our girls really obnoxious behavior started to decrease at about 3, coinciding with them figuring out how to communicate in ways other than screaming. So, yes, in the sense that they are now easier to live with and, 75% of the time, they're pleasant children!
That said, their atypical behavior is becoming more and more noticable as their peers continue to progress socially, while they're still content to romp about on all fours pretending to be 'Monster Houses' instead of playing more interactive, social games.
Don't wait for spontanious development ito sort the pdd out no matter how mild it is.
I personally don't think so. It depends on the child. Some of the behaviors may go thru stages and peaks(getting worse then better) some behaviors may change, some may go away others may stay but be less severe. What kinds of symptoms are you referring too specifically? I think symptoms do change as they get older and new issues come and go. I don't know if they get worse as I haven't encountered puberty yet with my son who is only 7. From the other parents with older children may have a better idea. I've gotten use to the issues and symptoms through the years and have had challenges from time to time pertaining to aggressive behavior. Other than that its been manageable. I know I struggled with the- why is he doing that??But as I read and understood autism more it became more clear to me it was just something we had to go through.the symptoms would be tantrums
his speech
overstimulation
behavoir
social interactions
Speech and tantrums go hand in hand as its hard for them not to be able to communicate and this causes a meltdown sometimes. Is he receiving any services or therapies???I think it depends on your child and also the interventions that you use. Tantrums at age 2 - well, my 2 1/2 year old NT daughter has them and my son with PDD-NOW (5 1/2) didn't have them at that age. He started having them later - which now we call meltdowns. You can try to get some help through therapy (like ABA) but I think speech would be a good bet as tantrums usually derive from frustration (and lack of sleep, being hungry too!). I would be frustrated if I couldn't communicate my wants and needs as well - so that is a good thing to address. Overstimulation - look at OT. Social interactions - well, that's hard to say at his age because a lot of kids are not truly socializing. However, you can still begin to teach things like taking turns, manners, etc. My son was saying please at age 2. Thank you came later - probably around 3. He did not have an issue with speech - but you can always teach signs for those.
My son has grown out of some behaviors (hypersensitivity to loud noises, for example) but others have moved in in their place. In some ways, I think it has gotten easier as we can reason with him more, but in other ways, his delays become more obvious as he gets older. A public meltdown (which I should say is extremely rare for him) just can't be explained away at 5 1/2 - whereas at 2 1/2, most people have been there, done that and look the other way. They stare when it happens at 5 1/2. The one time I had that happen I just ignored others for the most part - although there was one woman I did ask if she had a problem as I was holding and rocking my son. She had been just staring and glaring - but when I said that she hurried away.
The earlier you get intervention, the better off he will most likely be. Again, every child is different - but you are better off getting help for him NOW. Extra help cannot hurt him regardless. Do you have a diagnosis or do you just see symptoms at this point? Have you gone to www.childbrain.com and taken the PDD Questionnaire on it?
Sorry, you may have already posted some of this, but I'm not on the boards all that often these days - so I haven't read anything about your son. This is a good place to find information, advice and support - welcome!
I can see big differences with Tom already. He is very loving, very affectionate but he cannot or will not interact in the same way that an NT three year old will. There is a big difference between him and his NT younger brother. To give you an example, Jacob (younger son) likes to press my foot down and go "aaah" and ten I bounce my foot up and down and say "boing boing boing boing boing" and when I say it he looks to me and grins. That is something that Ds1 will not do.
HI I CAN TELL YOU WHEN PUBERTY HITS BEHAVIORS GET WORSE..IT IS AWFUL..BUT I THINK IF YOU CAN SURVIVE PUBERTY THEN THE BEHAVIORS CALM DOWN...MY SON HAS BEEN THRU ALOT,SO SOME THINGS ARE DIFFERENT,BUT PREPARE FOR PUBERTY..IT SUCKSMy son is now recieving 45 min of speech therapy a week he is starting w/the ot on the 11th. I am waiting on the autism center for an appt for an evaluation it will take me at least 4 months just to get the appt. I did go to the web site and loved it thanks for sharingA neurologist told me that autistic symptoms improve over time--so your child should not become "more autistic" than he ever was. However, your child might seem more autistic as he gets older because the NT children become incredibly social around 4 and 5--so even thought your child is improving the gap seems to widen between typical children and ASD children.