Autism/Questions Answered by Expert Ettina

SubjectDate Asked
I don't know what to do????4/21/2010
  Q: Ok, my daughter turned one March 25th....and it wasn't a concern until now. I believe that I have ...
  A: Yes, that could cause delays or other medical issues. But there are many children who have a very ...
dicipline in schools3/1/2010
  Q: my autistic/asperger's highly functioning honor roll student of 14 was found to be carrying a pen ...
  A: To me, it sounds like your son is being victimized at school. His disability is probably not ...
behavior2/25/2010
  Q: I work with a student who has autism and is non verbal. Quite often at school this student will ...
  A: Firstly, time out is not a good punishment for an autistic child. Since they are less sociable and ...
autism1/30/2010
  Q: my sons girlfriend had a baby and the baby has autism, i was wanting to no how close in the family ...
  A: The cause of autism is unknown in most cases. It seems most likely that there are many different ...
Autism1/24/2010
  Q: I have a 22 months old son. he was born at term and normal. I am really worried that he could be ...
  A: Well, it's not clear if he's autistic or not, since he is developmentally delayed, and there is a ...
Autism1/23/2010
  Q: I have a 22 months old son. he was born at term and normal. I am really worried that he could be ...
  A: It doesn't seem to me like he shows any signs particularly suggestive of autism, but he does seem to ...
Managing compulsion in autism1/20/2010
  Q: My 14yr old daughter is autistic, diagnosed 11 years ago. She has very limited speech, but fair ...
  A: There are two basic types of compulsions in autism: happy compulsions (things they do because ...
teenage aggression12/20/2009
  Q: Does aggression in autistic teenagers diminish after adolescence?
  A: It depends on the underlying reason, and on how their lives change as they enter adulthood. I'm ...
feeling lost in diagnosis12/18/2009
  Q: I have a son whose going to be four next May. He has speech delay as he says words only. He does not ...
  A: He does sound autistic. Typically, a speech delayed non-autistic child would be just as sociable as ...
chances of having autism12/9/2009
  Q: I am bipolar and my husband had ADD when he was young. I have 1 son who was born 6 weeks eairly and ...
  A: Well, there's certainly a higher likelihood, but I can't tell you very exactly. Most studies have ...
Are self-discipline and good memory integral parts of autism?11/13/2009
  Q: I'm 23 and it came to my mind this year, that I (and possibly my mother and brother) can have some ...
  A: It's not really possible to diagnose someone over the internet, but most likely you are on the ...
behavior10/28/2009
  Q: I work with a student who has autism and is non verbal. Quite often at school this student will ...
  A: Well, there's a couple of possibilities. Firstly, the obvious one, is that he might want to go ...
share ideas10/21/2009
  Q: Please, Sally is one of the older children and likes to assist in organising and playing games with ...
  A: You haven't given me very much information about Sally. I can give general advice on how to guide a ...
18 month old with signs of autism10/16/2009
  Q: My son is 18.5 months, has not spoken a single word but communicates by pointing and babbling. I am ...
  A: Your son does seem to be somewhat speech delayed - most children have said their first word by 18 ...
How can I tell if my 5 year ols son has autism10/6/2009
  Q: When my son was 2 we had him evaluated to see if he had autism or not. he wouldn't talk he would ...
  A: It can be tricky to distinguish medium or low functioning autism (your son would be medium) from ...
crying four year old10/4/2009
  Q: My four year old grandson cry uncontrollably every time he is around a crying infant. He attends ...
  A: Are you wondering if this is a sign of autism? Well, autistic children can have hypersensitive ...
Autism9/27/2009
  Q: My grandson, who is 27 months old, I think is showing signs of Autism. When watching Sesame Street ...
  A: He certainly sounds autistic, although you haven't given me enough information about his social ...
singns of autism?9/26/2009
  Q: I am a bit concerned, I have 5 children and one of my 5 (second born, boy) has autism. I can't ...
  A: There is no way autism can be detected in a 4 month old. A few studies have found ways to detect ...
stereotypy behavior9/19/2009
  Q: I am just starting to look into various behaviours that I can't ignore in my 5 yr old daughter, one ...
  A: Certainly, the family history suggests a high chance of autism. OCD, manic depression, dyslexia and ...
is my daughter showing signs of autism9/7/2009
  Q: I have twin daughters aged 32 months. I have a lot of concerns regarding one of the girls. She has ...
  A: She does sound like an autistic child. However, she's pretty mildly affected, and her global delays ...
Autism9/3/2009
  Q: My son is showing a few signs of autism right now, but he also shows signs of a normal development. ...
  A: He might be autistic, but it's not really clear. Another possible explanation is auditory processing ...
My son8/26/2009
  Q: I am hopeing to keep this short as possiable. My 4 yr old son has a severe speacelay, has had tubes ...
  A: Not all autistic kids are socially withdrawn, especially towards adults. It sounds to me like your ...
autistic teenager7/31/2009
  Q: can a lower end of spectrum child lie and continue that lie over a long period.and also add further ...
  A: It depends on the individual. Lying is difficult for autistic people (even I have trouble lying, and ...
autism suspection7/30/2009
  Q: My problem is he is not communicating as an average 2 year old should although is able to say ...
  A: Your son doesn't sound like an autistic child - he is sociable, makes eye contact and uses gestures ...
teeange agression5/11/2009
  Q: My son was diagnosed with ADHD,Autistic,Developmentally delayed,PDD,Occ. I list all the labels ...
  A: Hormones are often the suggested explanation for this kind of behavior change, and no doubt do play ...
What's missing?4/12/2009
  Q: I'm a mother of a young man with Asperger's. I'm one of the other autism experts @ AllExperts.com ...
  A: In terms of features of high functioning autism, I'd say that it's mainly executive dysfunction that ...
Why?3/27/2009
  Q: Why. why do jerks say humans arnt human if ther human. repeditovly stupid "phyciotrists" say i have ...
  A: Firstly, I'm not a psychiatrist. I'm a autistic rights activist. I'd like to become a psychiatrist ...
Why?3/19/2009
  Q: Why. why do jerks say humans arnt human if ther human. repeditovly stupid "phyciotrists" say i have ...
  A: I don't know the answer. I know I've been the recipient of that sort of thing myself (for example ...
bahavior issues1/30/2009
  Q: I have a 9 year old son with PDD-NOS. I have a 2 part question. Can you tell me why these children ...
  A: Most peoples' brains are designed to notice and pay attention to eyes. Since many autistics are ...
PDD-NOS/AS? HELP!1/28/2009
  Q: My son will be 4 in May. Ever since the birth of our daughter in July 2008, we have noticed a huge ...
  A: It takes a lot of skill to diagnose a child as autistic, because of the variability in how autism ...
Autism Diagnosis 3.5 yr old child1/27/2009
  Q: am writing about my son who is 40 months old. He has been having good motor skills and upto 30 month ...
  A: Autism can be associated with a lot of variability. For example it seems that some autistic people ...
Autism Diagnosis 3.5 yr old child1/27/2009
  Q: am writing about my son who is 40 months old. He has been having good motor skills and upto 30 ...
  A: There is a stereotype that autistic people are either high functioning or low functioning, but in ...
PDD-NOS/AS? HELP!1/26/2009
  Q: My son will be 4 in May. Ever since the birth of our daughter in July 2008, we have noticed a huge ...
  A: ADHD is defined by inattentiveness (distractibility) with/without hyperactivity. Many ADHD kids also ...
PDD-NOS/AS? HELP!1/23/2009
  Q: My son will be 4 in May. Ever since the birth of our daughter in July 2008, we have noticed a huge ...
  A: Regarding whether a sibling's birth or some other upsetting event can bring out autism... that used ...
Problem in speaking‏1/23/2009
  Q: My son is 5 years old. He is having problem in speaking the following words – R, K. He says L to R ...
  A: Those are fairly common mispronunciations for a young child, and most kids outgrow it. It's not as ...
Behavior?11/12/2008
  Q: This is a 5 year old boy with autism. He likes to tease or provoke other kids and adults. He likes ...
  A: It sounds like he is probably a fairly sociable kid who doesn't know how to get positive attention ...
Behavior of Autistic child10/31/2008
  Q: My 6 year old grandson is very hard to transition from one task to another especially dressing and ...
  A: Sorry it took so long to answer. I've been unexpectedly busy the past few days. I have the same ...
emotional effects of autism10/25/2008
  Q: I am trying to gain a better understanding of autism for two main reasons. First and foremost I am ...
  A: Regarding emotional effects of autism, because I'm not sure what you mean, I'll answer according to ...
how to cope10/8/2008
  Q: I have been throw out of home because behavior problems I live in a salvation army hostel with ...
  A: I did some research and found a few things that might help you. Firstly, Tony Attwood (who is an ...
how to cope10/4/2008
  Q: I have been throw out of home because behavior problems I live in a salvation army hostel with ...
  A: Oh, what a tough situation to be in. Firstly, remember that it's not your fault you were kicked out. ...
I have an autist teenager9/22/2008
  Q: she is autistic. i live with my husband and 2 older kids. My dather Michelle is not a little girl ...
  A: Here is a link you might find helpful. It annoys me because as usual they assume everyone has sexual ...
symptoms of autism in my twin sons9/14/2008
  Q: they say only a few words like pop plane dinner and cake. They rarley seem interested in playing ...
  A: They certainly sound autistic. I'm not qualified to give a diagnosis, particularly of two children I ...
PDD, Bipolar, OCD9/13/2008
  Q: My 7 year old son was diagnosed with PDD at age 3 and a half. He developed normally until 3, when ...
  A: Sounds like a difficult situation. One thing I'd like to ask is if Heller Syndrome (also called ...
Asperger's Syndrome, ADHD, and OCD9/9/2008
  Q: my name's BJ, and I'm currently 14 years old and am a freshman in HS, and I was just wondering, I ...
  A: I don't know any actual numbers, but I do know that giftedness and the autistic spectrum seem to be ...
My autistic son wants to wear a wig and dresses8/11/2008
  Q: Over the last few days my 10 year old son has started wearing his sister's dressing up wig and ...
  A: I haven't heard of this specific kind of behavior with other autistics. The fact that he got upset ...
Infants8/9/2008
  Q: my son is 9 weeks old now and he is displaying some early signs of autism that have me worried. It ...
  A: He might be autistic - certainly, those are common early signs reported by parents of autistic kids ...
6 yr old boy with behavior problems7/30/2008
  Q: I have an autistic 6 yr old boy who this summer has started to play with his saliva. He gathers ...
  A: I'm not sure, but I have several ideas. Regarding playing with spit, my guess is that he likes the ...

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Ettina

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Expertise

I can't answer 'biomed' questions. I can answer questions about behavior, what it's like to be autistic, specific subtypes (especially PDA) and educational methods

Experience

I have PDA, a form of autism. I have also read a lot about autism, from the internet, books and medical journals. I've also worked with autistic kids as a volunteer.

Education/Credentials
Just high school.

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