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Autism/ADHD with autistic features

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Expert: - 3/17/2008


Question
Hi, My 2 1/2 year old has been diagnosed with ADHD with Autistic features. He is starting with occupational therapy and speech therapy this week. Meanwhile I am trying to help him at home and have a couple of questions which I think you may be able to help me with.
1. He wants to hold onto something in one hand all the time ...like a piece of paper or some object (like a building block). What is reason for this? Does he feel secure with it? And because of this, he is not able to enjoy things like the slide since he is not able to use both hands to climb up.
2. He does not sit on his potty chair or on the swing and avoids anything in which he is asked to sit. Why is this so? He can sit in the sofa and daydream or play with what he wants (for a very short time ofcourse) but when he is asked to sit in something, he refuses.
I am just trying to understand the reason behind his behaviour so I can help him better.

Thanks in advance

Answer
Hi Saratha,

this is a bit difficult to answer, as no two people with autism are the same.
I think he might hold onto something in his hand because he feels more secure with it, as you say yourself. It may give him additional input, be something tactile, familiar and "firm" in a word which in his perception is probably very unpredictable, sensorily overwhelming and scary. It's like an anchor. Donna Williams writes in her book about exposure anxiety that she had a similar habit, if I remember it correctly. That taking a familiar object with her made her feel less "on  her own", which in turn led to her being able to do more things with less anxiety involved.

It may also be that he just needs to occupy his hands to be able to focus his mind on something else (I like holding a small ball in my hand when I'm reading).

Why he doens't like to sit on his potty chair or on the swing I don't know. It may be that he has some sensory issues (sitting on hard surfaces may hurt), or that he can't feel his body well and he feels uncomfortable or even scared if there is no backrest, and if the thing he's sitting on is even moving (the swing). Of course it can also be "just" his ADD, and that he just needs to be moving about and that sitting still in a chair (if he himself didn't initiate it - that's when he can stand it) is just something his brain chemistry rarely allows him to do.

Hope this helps, you can always ask more questions.
C.  

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*DISCLAIMER*

Please note I am not a healthcare professional or a doctor.
I cannot provide a diagnosis or give any medical advice.
Therefore I cannot answer questions like "is my child autistic ?" other than by telling you to go and see a specialist
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Please be aware that if you are in the US it will usually take at least 24 hours until I can answer your question, as I'm in Europe and don't have access to my email during the day. I also cannot answer questions concerning the US educational or law system (other than by looking up things on google, but that's probably not the expertise you need), as I'm not in the US.
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Please also be aware that I'm a person with autism. My answers may sometimes be very blunt and direct and I may tell you things you won't like to hear. Diplomacy is certainly not among my talents. I'm never being rude on purpose, and I always try not to hurt or offend people, but it has happened before and may happen again. It's NEVER on purpose. I just want to help.
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What I *can* do for you is gather information on any aspect of autism and therapy of autism you're interested in and give you my personal oppinion about it (if you want to hear it) or, if it applies, tell you about my personal experience. I can answer all questions about what life is like for an autistic person.

I can also answer questions asked in German or French (but will have to answer in English to questions asked in French as my French is a bit rusty).

Ich beantworte gerne auch Fragen auf Deutsch.

Vous pouvez poser des questions en Francais, si cela ne vous dérange pas que je responds en anglais.

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As I'm not doing well right now and am not in the shape of answering questions well - I recieved a few low ratings lately - I'll take a break from AllExperts for the next few weeks/until I'm doing better

I am an adult diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome/High Functioning Autism and ADD.

In the past years I have also read a lot about autism and its comorbid conditions and related subjects (as I am experiencing symptoms of most of these or know others who do) , so I have accumulated a lot of layman knowledge in this area (AD(H)D, Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, sleep disorders, allergies, sensory integration dysfunction, learning difficulties, left/right-brain, giftedness, Irlen Syndrome, prism glasses, executive dysfunction (aka. "inertia"), "special" diets).

Education/Credentials
None in the field of autism, apart from being autistic myself !

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