You are here:

Autism/motor problems in autism

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/11/2007


Question
My daughter was diagnosed with autism and severe learning difficulties at two years of age after a period of regression from typical development.My daughter lost all her skills and is now 6 and completely non verbal and no other forms of communication,she has also regressed physically and can no longer do the most basic of things.Apart from walking she cannot climb,run,balance,floorwork,she is also frightened of movement which makes working on her regaining her skills really difficult.I have not met another parent having the same problems which is usually where i would gain most advice.Have you any suggestions or any therapies you know of i could use.many thanks for your time sharon.

Answer
If I were you I would probably see another specialist to find out

a)if she really has autism since her symptoms could also suggest Rett's syndrome (regression, moter problems), which is a disorder related to autism only affecting girls (have a look at http://www.rettsyndrome.org/ to see if it sounds familiar)

b) if she has autism but also another disability which affects her motor planning and movement in general which is/was masked so much by her autism when she first was diagnosed that the doctors didn't notice it.

c)if she has so many sensory integration issues going on that it affects her motor abilities (not being able to feel one's hands and/or feet normally or being able to determine where they are in space could lead to motor problems too). I think an OT could help with this.
There are some things that can be done (therapeutical brushing, using weighted vests etc.).
Since I also don't feel my body very well I have tried using ankle and wrist weights (they are too heavy for me though) and I like wearing relatively heavy shoes. I also use a small trampoline ("rebounder") to get some vestibular input which I enjoy alot.   

I hope this helps,

C.

Autism

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Celtica

Expertise


*DISCLAIMER*

Please note I am not a healthcare professional or a doctor.
I cannot provide a diagnosis or give any medical advice.
Therefore I cannot answer questions like "is my child autistic ?" other than by telling you to go and see a specialist
================================================================

Please be aware that if you are in the US it will usually take at least 24 hours until I can answer your question, as I'm in Europe and don't have access to my email during the day. I also cannot answer questions concerning the US educational or law system (other than by looking up things on google, but that's probably not the expertise you need), as I'm not in the US.
================================================================

Please also be aware that I'm a person with autism. My answers may sometimes be very blunt and direct and I may tell you things you won't like to hear. Diplomacy is certainly not among my talents. I'm never being rude on purpose, and I always try not to hurt or offend people, but it has happened before and may happen again. It's NEVER on purpose. I just want to help.
=======================================================================

What I *can* do for you is gather information on any aspect of autism and therapy of autism you're interested in and give you my personal oppinion about it (if you want to hear it) or, if it applies, tell you about my personal experience. I can answer all questions about what life is like for an autistic person.

I can also answer questions asked in German or French (but will have to answer in English to questions asked in French as my French is a bit rusty).

Ich beantworte gerne auch Fragen auf Deutsch.

Vous pouvez poser des questions en Francais, si cela ne vous dérange pas que je responds en anglais.

Experience


As I'm not doing well right now and am not in the shape of answering questions well - I recieved a few low ratings lately - I'll take a break from AllExperts for the next few weeks/until I'm doing better

I am an adult diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome/High Functioning Autism and ADD.

In the past years I have also read a lot about autism and its comorbid conditions and related subjects (as I am experiencing symptoms of most of these or know others who do) , so I have accumulated a lot of layman knowledge in this area (AD(H)D, Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, sleep disorders, allergies, sensory integration dysfunction, learning difficulties, left/right-brain, giftedness, Irlen Syndrome, prism glasses, executive dysfunction (aka. "inertia"), "special" diets).

Education/Credentials
None in the field of autism, apart from being autistic myself !

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.