Autism/Autism-PDD:NOS

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Expert: - 6/4/2007


Question
  Hello my name is Patty I am 21 years. old, and I am writing to see if you can help me out with my son, Christopher who is 2 1/2 years old he will be 3 in DEC. 2007.
  First off he only says about 6-10 words, he just barely put together, "Where is it?" like 3 weeks ago. He lines everything up, his cars from biggest to the smallest, his dinosaurs from biggest to smallest and so fourth. Christopher will only eat french fries and nuggets.
  Can you please help me or give me some suggestions, Thanks :) Patty  

Answer
Hi Patty,

A three word sentence is expected around age 2 to 2 1/2. The quantity of words is definitely small. Encourage talking to get what he wants. Don't respond to "grunt and point." Accept any sound that works as a word as long as it is consistent. If nuggets is "nuh", it's a word.

The obsessive behavior is definitely a symptom of an autistic spectrum disorder. You should definitely seek a professional evaluation.

Now, a bit of parenting advice. Don't cater to the food obsessions. Do everything you can to broaden his palette. These patterns get established because we don't want to deal with the tantrums and give in. We accidentally reinforce the behavior and then it snowballs.

You don't want him to starve, but try something like cutting the french fries in cubes. They look different but taste the same. Encourage ketchup. Offer variety, and for at least one meal a day, DON'T buy McD. food. Look for food with similar texture and color but different content, crunchy, brown...

Here are some links to web sites with more information:

http://www.neurodiversity.com/main.html (many links to books, articles and resources)

http://www.patientcenters.com/autism/news/resources.html (books and resources)

http://groups.msn.com/TheAutismHomePage/toilettraining.msnw (toilet training)

http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/as/asteachersites.html (teaching resources)

Best wishes,
Catherine

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Catherine Ridenour

Expertise

I can answer your questions about parenting your High Functioning Autisic or Asperger`s Syndrome child. In particular, questions about family life, discipline, siblings, finding resources, and working with (sometimes opposing) the educational system are welcome.

Experience

I am the parent of an Asperger's Syndrome child who is now 22 years old. She went undiagnosed for 14 years of her life, so I have done extensive reading and Internet research into the possible cause of her difficulties. Even a short 8 years ago, A.S. was practically unheard of by the public educational system.

We fumbled our way through her childhood and early adolescence without any effective outside support. In some ways, that may have been a blessing as we were focused on her abilities rather than a label for her disability. However, I can think of many times when knowing WHY would have been comforting.

Had we known very early on, some social skills interventions might have made her life in school easier. At this point, I like her for who she is so I do not regret how things have turned out. More importantly, she likes herself.

Education/Credentials
I have a Bachelor of Science in Education.

I have worked to educate myself about Autism in general and HFA/AS in particular.

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