Expert: Jene Aviram - 7/27/2010

Question
We have a son that is 37 Mo. old that I am concerned may be slightly autistic.  My wife won't agree but I think there are too many signs that bother me.  He is very bright, can read some, loves animal noises and loves to act like animals.  He loves you to read him books and like to sing.  The main problem is his attention and interaction.  He gets very frustrated and sometimes cries extremely hard if a song gets sung in a wrong way or an ativity is done differetly than he is used to.  He has no siblings and stays at home so he doesn't get much or any interaction with other kids, so that may be the problem.  He still constantly mouths and chews on a lot of his toys but still plays with some.  Mostly his plastic animals which he loves to mimic their sounds.  He speaks well and is potty training well.  He had siezures when he was 9 mo old and has been on Keppra since but his nuerologist are weening him off now.  I have talked with his Nuerologist about him some but my wife still discounts it.  Not sure what to do.

Answer
Hi there,

The only way to know for sure if a child is on the spectrum is to get a comprehensive evaluation.  This will involve a lot of testing, observing your child and you and your wife answering questions.  Of course, if your wife is not open to this idea it's a little hard to do.

I will say that nothing you said shouts autism.  It certainly sounds like your son might have some sensory challenges.  This includes high frustration levels, inability to calm oneself easily, mouthing of toys etc.  

I'd like you to download this article called "How do you know if your child has autism?"  It will give you a lot of different examples of what you're likely to see if your child is on the spectrum.  The article tends to either ease people's minds or put people into action.  If you can relate at all to the article, then I suggest you give it to your wife to read.  All she has to do at that point is agree to an evaluation, where there is still a good chance your son might not be diagnosed.

If you can't relate at all, I would try and convince your wife to get an evaluation from an Occupational Therapist.  This is usually covered by insurance.  In addition, you can ask your school to test him as well, and give them your concerns.

You can find the link for the article here.
http://www.nlconcepts.com/autism-howdoyouknow.htm

I also think it's worth looking at a sensory checklist - just in case.  Go to this page and scroll down a bit.  You can find a full checklist here http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-processing-disorder-checklist...

I hope this has been of some help.

Jene Aviram
http://www.nlconcepts.com