Expert: James Michael Roan - 7/5/2005

Question
my grandson who will be 3 this month, has been eval by a social worker from birth to three.  This was on the request of his daycare. The social worker states he has a sensory problem, and has set up an appt for the school system for special ed since she feels he will not be able to be in a regular classroom. He does not have any of the "obvious signs of autism". His parents and I can see some little things since it was brought to our attention,  (he was already eval by birth to 3 -8 mos ago and was told he did not qualify.  Also, the social worker states he if differant at
home then in school. he talks,social,and is very loving. He understand commands. what test if any can be done to really find out what is wrong. ALso
if he does have this sensory problem what is the treatment/he does give what i would call "love bites" and likes feet.  I don't know if this is normal.  thank you very much.

Answer
Hi Kathy;

I'm a grandparent also and understand your concern. First, your school district must evaluate all areas of concern. It is their mandated responsibility. If autism is suspected, then there should be an assessment of his cognitive, language (receptive, expressive and pragmatic), social interaction, motor, sensory, and social-emotional/ behavioral areas of development.

The Sensory Profile by Winnie Dunne is the most common instrument used to assess sensory issues. If your grandson has sensory issues they can involve both "sensory seeking" and "sensory avoiding" behaviors. When a child has sensory seeking behaviors, opportunities for stimulation of one or more of the five sensory areas affected are provided. When a child has sensory avoidance behaviors, this information is used to prepare the child's environment in such a way as to protect them from excessive exposure to these stimuli.

May I ask who and why they suspect autism? If there is a suspicion of autism, there must be a thorough evaluation conducted by someone extremely knowledgeable about austism spectrum disorders who can work in concert with the school PEG team (special education Professional Evaluation Group). This could be an independent specialist or a team of professionals usually found at a university autism center, or Children's Hospital. Early intervention is essential to minimizing the long-term negative effects of autism. Also, if autism is ruled out, then you can look at other sources for what people are seeing at school.

Let me know what you can. I will be unavailable from July 12th through August 10th.

Kind Regards,
James