Expert: Catherine Ridenour - 8/8/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I'm mailing from the UK, i came across you when 'googling' something - i read a mail that sounded similar to what i was experiencing.

My daughter is 15 weeks old, she has always displayed very strange behaviour on waking and sleeping - when she wakes she rubs her face frantically and stretches her arms up and wriggles around, she also appears to have problems going to sleep - when she is about to drop off, she often wakes up with a panic ridden look on her face and then gets very upset and is hard to comfort. She does not like being held with her front against your chest, but is ok if you hold her facing outwards. If we do try and comfort her by holding her in this way, she 'crawls' up your front and pushes herself away. She has crying outbursts 2/3 times a day and is inconsloable - will not be picked up, put down or comforted and usually the only way to stop it, is to take her out in the car or buggy!

She is a very anxious/nervy baby and often has a 'frightened' look on her face - although others describe it as 'alert'!

Sometimes when she gets out of the bath and i lay her on the towel with no clothes on, she will scream and arch her back as if the towel is a bed of nails! Its as if she is highly sensitive to teh feel of teh towel (which i usually warm, so its not cold against her skin!)

Her hearing seems very sensitive and a small noise , like a little cough, can make her jump out of her skin, ye on other occasions she does not bother by banging doors or anything!

I often catch her in her 'own world', just laughing and smiling at random inanimate objects - although she does also laugh and smile with us.

There are other snall things that she does that make me feel that 'something is just not right' - we have had an EEG because we thought at one point she was having seizures of some kind - that came back as 'normal' and as the paeds can find nothing else wrong with her, they are basically saying that 'it's the mother who is mad and imagining things'!

I wondered if any of these things sounded familiar at all or if they were pointing on the direction of a disorder such as autism? I realise that you are not a doctor, but from my experience they can't tell too much in ones as little as mine!

Anyway, must go, she is now crying out  - she has been asleep for an hour and so it will probably just be the usual crying in her sleep thing, rather than her waking!

ANSWER: Hi Jo,

You are not "mad". There is something going on with your daughter.

Her reaction to being naked on a towel, her refusal to be held facing you and arching away, her hypersensitivity to certain sounds, and the interaction with inanimate objects are all possible symptoms of an Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Taken together, they are a strong indication.

The problem is that, at 15 weeks, no one is likely to diagnose her with anything. I know that, if my daughter had not been my first baby, I would have been more aware of her strange behavior as an infant. And I would have been in the doctor's office getting the same run-around you are getting.

At the moment, adapt as best you can. Take good care of yourself. Sleep whenever you get the chance. Exhaustion leads to depression.

Get a good list of developmental milestones from your doctor or online. As she fails to meet them (assuming she fails) you can begin to build the case that there is a problem. As these show up, the doctors will be more open to listening to your concerns.

Some things to look for are head-banging or rocking behavior. Once she is sitting up, she may wave her hands or do other repetitive motions. She may ignore her toys or use them in strange ways.

Having said all that, continue to treat her as a child with great potential. Get on the floor and play with her often. Take her out to see the world. Read to her, sing, rock; you know, all the normal Mum things.

Your daughter sounds a great deal like ours, as an infant. Our daughter is now 22 and about to earn her Bachelor's Degree in music performance. She is artistically gifted, as well. Yes, she's still odd. But she will make her place in the world, I have no doubts.

I don't know how the educational system in UK is set up. In the US, a child with a diagnosis, no matter how young, is entitled to free speech and occupational therapy to help them overcome their weaknesses.

Here are some web sites where you can learn more:

http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/95/23/13982#B14 (About movement in infancy)

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://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/asperger/asperger.htm (the definitions and
government links)

Best wishes,
Catherine

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick response and whilst i almost didn't want to hear what you said, in my heart it was exactly what i expected!

So far, my daughter seems to be reaching all milestones and in most cases is ahead of them, although she is not bothered by rolling at the moment!

Although i have mentioned lots of things that concern me about her behaviour, i must admit that in terms of her eye contact and babbling, cooing and general noise making, she seems to do this very well! She is very responsive to play time and seems to enjoy looking at us a lot - would this go against the norm of a child with some form of autism?

My husband has also just read my e-mail (which he's not done previoulsy) and he said that it's not just when she is naked that she does not like being put down on her back, but it's quite random as sometimes she does not mind at all.

Anyway, in the meantime, is shall continue to play and interact with her as much as possible and enjoy every bit of her.

Thanks once again for your words.

Answer
One quick follow-up.

Yes, children with Asperger's syndrome have the sensitivity, sleep and comfort issues but are often ahead of the curve verbally. Most are behind in gross motor skills, like rolling over, sitting and walking. They may have balance problems as well. They even, often, have good eye contact with parents and close family.

Sometimes, their reactions are dependent on their general stress level. If she's relaxed, she might not react to being on her back, but if she's upset, she'll freak. We all do this to some extent, it just gets magnified in these kids.

A.S. is primarily seen when a child reaches school age and cannot learn the social rules. Most of these kids are very bright and can do well in life with help learning how to interact. The biggest difficulty for them is learning to generalize. They learn very literally. "Umbrella" means the thing that keeps off the rain and using it as an adjective, like "umbrella organization" makes no sense to them.

They have to learn social skills for each and every situation. Sharing your ball at the park does not translate into sharing your dolls at home.

If you see signs of this, read up on it and keep knocking on doors until you get someone to listen.

Best wishes,
Catherine