Do children with ASD get worse? My son is 2 1/2 and my biggest fear is that one day he will not look me in the eye and tell me he loves me, and give me hugs and kisses, laugh... etc.?
I am feeling the same way about my husband. He seems to be in denial. Our son is very happy and healthy. No health issues (that i know of) other than an possible ASD. He says about 50 words and small phrases like "ok, let's go" or "bye, see you later". I have a 7 month daughter and my son rarely pays any attention to her. It's as if she doesn't exist. My husband refuses to believe that there is anything wrong with my son (and I pray that he's right), but i know something isn't right. My son (Logan) was just evaluated and scored mostly in the 12-15 month range in most categories (Adaptive, fine motor, cognitive, etc.) His gross motor skills were right at his age level. He is 31 months old. He seems like a totally normal kid who just doesn't speak as well as others his age. Our main concern with him is his extreme fear of adults or unfamiliar situations. He will put his hands over his ears and cry and scream. Once he calms down (which takes a while) he will stop crying but his hands will remain over his ears. Does anyone else's child do this? Sorry to ramble on.. but i have so many questions. I appreciate the support from all of you. thank you so much
HiHi Jessismum-
Welcome. This is an amazing forum with very caring, well informed people who come to the rescue, delight in your delights, and console when you need it. I've recently joined and I've been looking at these for years.
It is unnerving to be waiting for a dx. I'm sorry you are having to go through that right now. It's so overwhelming and frightening. When you find out you will feel better. No matter what the dx at least you'll have a direction to stat on. It's a rollercoaster--it's just a strange trip. But it is one you get used to.
If the dx is that you child is somewhere on the spectrum (autistic spectrum cover developmental issues from infantile autism which is to most impaired to Aspergers Syndrom which is pretty high functioning)....if she is, there are so many really good interventions available now. My son is 10 and it was much more difficult to find them. But the growth is exponential in the children and therefore the awareness and availabitlity of resources. Not that there isn't a huge road we're on and it's a hasslel Sorry, I'm digressing.
If your daughter gets that dx it will be scary--but then you'll begin intervention and you'll get answers and skills and you'll see improvement in the things you worry about.
I'll pray for you and your daughter.
You can PM me anytime. You'll find a lot of support here.
pat
Amanda,
I am at exactly the same place you are. Emily will be evaluated next week. We are also dealing with Asthma, many food allergies and reflux. I feel the stress of professionals telling you early intervention is critical for these kids, but then tell you that the services you need are not currently available. We are on every waitlist available in our area. It is horribly frustrating. I want her to have every chance to be a typically functioning kid!
i feel cheated in a way i guess.. i was telling my partner and my ped about how i was concerned for jessi about a year ago because she wasnt talking then she started to prestent with odd little tendencies about 6 mths ago which scott still belives are ecentricities.. no one would listen to me and a year later im now finding some one who will help me.. i went to childbrain just after my 3 rd child was born shes 4 mths old and did the test and she scored 100 i tried to get scott to participate but he wouldnt.. she going to have a eeg in about 3 weeks i have no idea how im gonna get her to fall alseep there.. shes really touchy when it comes to "sleeping out". my mums supportive but only jsut recently she, my gp , my old ped, and scott all thought she would talk when she wanted to, but i jsut knew something wasnt quite right with her, she if genrally happy but does frequently have exsplosive tantrums where she will scream and cry for no apparent reason, shes very affectionate to me, and started to look at the baby i think shes made some prgression in the last 2 months. she said 1 2 3 4 all on her own just out of the blue one day i was floored!!. im just really sad because scott is staying quiet he wont respond to questions or anything.. its really frustrating me.. coz i need his support, what can i say to him??Children who do not get ongoing adequate therapy can regress -yes. I have heard of children who went from talking to becoming completely nonverbal. You definitely have to use it or lose it.
Melanie
A traumatic event could make a child quit talking. Since doctors are still not sure how a child processes a traumatic event.
Tammy
It is based on a case by case basis. I know with some kids drugs like zoloft help with the obsessive compulsive type behaviours and with some it doesn't. I know Jeffrey's obsessive compulsive behaviour has gotten worse over the years. So I would say that is a decline than when he was first diagnosed. When he was first diagnosed he had obsessions with maps. The landmark obsessions didn't begin until after he was diagnosed. Like when they hit the teenage years, the aggressive, self injurious type behaviours that disappeared can come back. I know this summer Jeffrey has been doing alot more hitting and biting than he was. The last time he was this bad was when he was 4 or 5. So I would call that a regression. And so did his neuro.
Tammy
I would like to imagine it won't get worse. I think we all can't help but wonder about what will come. My husband tells me not to worry but if I didn't worry about things I wouldn't have my daughter where she is now. All my worrying made it possible.
I have met others with adult children w/autism and they say it gets harder to deal with doctors and establishments but I have never heard about them becoming less attached to their parents. I did meet one women whose son (now 13 and still not potty trained) had been verbal and hugged and kissed but then at 2 stopped everything and started the rocking back and forth. She didn't say it happened gradually she remarked it was quick and furious w/out any explanation as to why.
THat is all part of the puzzle I suppose. I remember looking at one of the 1000pc puzzles of gumballs and thought "NO WAY" is that something I want to put together....that is autism.
Sometimes autism can occur at the age of 2 to 3. They can be normal up to that point then stop communicating, showing emotion, etc. Now after they are diagnosed their behaviours do tend to either get worse and pop up more when they hit the teenage years. Because at that age you are not only dealing with the teenage stuff and hormonal changes in the body but the autism as well.
Tammy
I was worried about the same thing. I did and do have the joy of hearing my son say "I love you, Mom". He just switched to Mom from Mommy recently--and on his own! Usually I have to cue him on that stuff. I didn't know for a couple of years whether we'd get that level of communication. We did and we got more and we continue to get even more. There is no knowing--it gets more clear over time--but there is still no knowing how far he'll get.
For me, the hardest thing was the not knowing. Someone please just tell me he'll never talk--I'll grieve and I'll love him and we'll do the best we can. Or tell me with these therapies and drugs he will probably be ok. Fine we'll work our butts off and he'll be fine. But none of that exists. Paul is 10 and doing well--better than my fears and not as well as my hopes.
It's work, moving forward, finding your balance, learning about the disorder, and taking care of yourself enough that you can do all that!
The triumphs and the progress will be there. And there is great joy in helping them overcoming obstacles!
Take care,
pat
Our dev ped and our regular pediatrician both said that autism doesn't worsen once they're at the stage of being diagnosed. And if you think about it, with all the therapy our kids are getting, it makes sense that they'll improve at least to some extent. As Pat said, perhaps not to the best of our hopes, but hopefully they'll be better than our fears. I guess the biggest variable is just HOW much better they'll get ... determined, 'they' say, by their IQs and their temperment.