Motor Delays | Autism PDD

I know the school told me it is so hard to test Gabe because of him being so impulsive. Gabe can come up with so many excuses. I see him running for president in the future.

Tammy

I have a cute lil cousin who is 6 I think. Poor guy has all sorts of issues. He was recently officially dx'd w/ autism, mental redardation, and cerebral palsey. So yes you can have a combo of things. Good luck on finding out the diagnosis.

Amber

When Gabe went thru his ssi re evaluation recently I asked the evaluator about Gabe's handwriting. It is at a three to five year old level and she told me that since that is where his maturity level is at right now, then that is expected.

Tammy

hey mommyto4, just to answer your ? regarding autism and cerebal palsy, my little guy was dx with pdd-nos and cerebal palsyw/diplegia (which affects the lower extremities. but of course you should check it out with your doc. hope this helps.mom2carlo

Mommyto4,

My son Takoda HFA also has difficulty with the way he holds scissors etc. The Preschool found that the only way to teach him to use scissors was to use self-opening scissors. It has helped him alot.

GOODLUCK,

Nelle

Motor delays are common is children who are on the autism spectrum. As with each Individual on the spectrum verying degrees of severity and characteristics occur. What one child has difficulties with others may excel in.

From the Autism Society of America site that lists Common Characteristics of Autism
http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=autis mcharacteristics

While understanding of autism has grown tremendously since it was first described by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943, most of the public, including many professionals in the medical, educational, and vocational fields, are still unaware of how autism affects people and how they can effectively work with individuals with autism. Contrary to popular understanding, many children and adults with autism may make eye contact, show affection, smile and laugh, and demonstrate a variety of other emotions, although in varying degrees. Like other children, they respond to their environment in both positive and negative ways.

Autism is a spectrum disorder. The symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Although autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors in any degree of severity. Two children, both with the same diagnosis, can act very differently from one another and have varying skills.

Parents may hear different terms used to describe children within this spectrum, such as autistic-like, autistic tendencies, autism spectrum, high-functioning or low-functioning autism, more-abled or less-abled. More important than the term used is to understand that, whatever the diagnosis, children with autism can learn and function productively and show gains with appropriate education and treatment.

Every person with autism is an individual, and like all individuals, has a unique personality and combination of characteristics. Some individuals mildly affected may exhibit only slight delays in language and greater challenges with social interactions. The person may have difficulty initiating and/or maintaining a conversation. Communication is often described as talking at others (for example, monologue on a favorite subject that continues despite attempts by others to interject comments).

People with autism process and respond to information in unique ways. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present. Persons with autism may also exhibit some of the following traits.

Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
Tantrums
Difficulty in mixing with others
May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
Little or no eye contact
Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
Sustained odd play
Spins objects
Inappropriate attachments to objects
Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
No real fears of danger
Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
Uneven gross/fine motor skills
Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf although hearing tests in normal range.

For most of us, the integration of our senses helps us to understand what we are experiencing. For example, our senses of touch, smell and taste work together in the experience of eating a ripe peach: the feel of the peach fuzz as we pick it up, its sweet smell as we bring it to our mouth, and the juices running down our face as we take a bite. For children with autism, sensory integration problems are common. Their senses may be over-or under-active. The fuzz on the peach may actually be experienced as painful; the smell may make the child gag. Some children with autism are particularly sensitive to sound, finding even the most ordinary daily noises painful. Many professionals feel that some of the typical autism behaviors are actually a result of sensory integration difficulties.

There are many myths and misconceptions about autism. Contrary to popular belief, many autistic children do make eye contact; it just may be less or different from a non-autistic child. Many children with autism can develop good functional language and others can develop some type of communication skills, such as sign language or use of pictures. Children do not "outgrow" autism but symptoms may lessen as the child develops and receives treatment.

One of the most devastating myths about autistic children is that they cannot show affection. While sensory stimulation is processed differently in some children with autism, they can and do give affection. But it may require patience on a parent's part to accept and give love in the child's terms.

Regarding Cerebal Palsey and Autism it is possible to have more than one diagnosis I know there are some with downs Syndrome and autism for example. I agree with Tammy that if you feel this is a possibility with your child you should seek medical advice.

My son has been diagnosed with autism and he also has some
significant motor delays. He cannot cut with scissors or do anything
more than scribble. He also has difficulties with "motor planning" (an
awkwardness in how he approaches motor tasks). He is a w sitter
and has low muscle tone over his entire body. It is my understanding
that motor delays are common in children with autism, but as others
have said it is a spectrum disorder and it is hard to make any
generalizations. I think it is the specific combination of certain
atypical characteristics that will lead someone to a diagnosis of
autism. If she has seen a pediatric neurologist he/she should be able
to help you to know if these motor delays are related to autism or
another disorder. Good luck....putting the puzzle together is always
a challenge!Hello I am told that motor delays, for example walking difficulties are not a symptom of autism. My daughter has many motor problems, awkward walking, she makes a lot of things harder than they need to be by the way she positions herself, etc. She also has a strange way of sitting, she sits with the top of her back touching the chair and the rest of her body extended forward and her legs crossed with her feet wrapped around her legs which makes it look like her legs are intwined 3 times around. Intricate tasks that need to be done with her hands, she cannot do such as cutting paper, holding a pencil or any writing utensil correctly. She saw a peds nuero and he noted she had an abnormal gait. She could not even play catch until she was nearly 4 years old. She even had to be taught simple things like learning to climb the stairs correctly. I wanted to know if there is any other disorder this is typical of besides cerebral palsy. Also I wanted to know does cerebral palsy echo symptoms of autism, or is it possible to be autistic and have cerebral palsy also? I have done some reading up about the signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy, my daughter fits the bill in many of the symptoms that are talked about.

I was told motor delays, along with gross motor skills is part of the autism/pdd-nos. Alot of these kids have developmental delays. As far as cerebral palsy goes, you should seek medical advice on it.

Tammy

Thank you. I did not realize such significant motor delays fell under autism. I have always been told it did not thats why my daughter is being sent to a peds nuero so they can figure out what her many motor delyas are about. Hopefully the nuerologist can tell us fairly soon if its just related to autism or if its cerebral palsy also. [QUOTE=tabitha]

Tammy

My daughter's overall maturity level is between 9 months and early 2 years, she will be 5 on the 25th so I guess her motor skills etc are also what would be expected for that age also. It was supposed to be decided at the end of this school year if my daughter would also be declared mentally retarded but because she was so ill she was not able to finish the majority of the school year and wasn't even able to do the kindergarden eval.

of us, the integration of our senses helps us to understand what we are experiencing. For example, our senses of touch, smell and taste work together in the experience of eating a ripe peach: the feel of the peach fuzz as we pick it up, its sweet smell as we bring it to our mouth, and the juices running down our face as we take a bite. For children with autism, sensory integration problems are common. Their senses may be over-or under-active. The fuzz on the peach may actually be experienced as painful; the smell may make the child gag. Some children with autism are particularly sensitive to sound, finding even the most ordinary daily noises painful. Many professionals feel that some of the typical autism behaviors are actually a result of sensory integration difficulties.

There are many myths and misconceptions about autism. Contrary to popular belief, many autistic children do make eye contact; it just may be less or different from a non-autistic child. Many children with autism can develop good functional language and others can develop some type of communication skills, such as sign language or use of pictures. Children do not "outgrow" autism but symptomwholesale pearl pendant
s may lessen as the child develops and receives treatment.

Many individuals on the autism spectrum have delayed
development of their gross motor skills. A child might
present with an odd gait while running, an inability to
ride a bike or trouble with a simple childhood game like
kickball. When it comes to gross motor skills, occupational
therapists typically work with children who are not
severely delayed.

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