Autism Diagnosis

What stands out to me, is they diagnosed him after 45 MINUTES!! We thought my nephew might be on the spectrum, so my sister took him to a specialist. They looked at him many times and did many diagnostic testing. I don't know what all went into it, but they found he was not Autistic, but has a sensory disorder. I really can't believe they sat for that short of time and labeled him something so huge.

I think you should get a second opinion, that just doesn't sound right to me!

I just want to clear up a couple of things I saw in a post or two before I answer the original post. Autism is a spectrum disorder and encompasses anything from the most mild of symptoms to the most severe. PDD means Pervasive Development Disorder, and NOS means Not Otherwise Specified and in itself, PDD and PDD-NOS are diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Asperger's Disorder is form of Autism as well, and is often diagnosed with PDD-NOS. From Autism Speaks: "Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The other pervasive developmental disorders are PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not
Otherwise Specified), Asperger's Syndrome, Rett Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. Many parents and professionals refer to this group as Autism Spectrum Disorders."

Okay. Two years old is very young to have an Autism diagnosis. Sometimes it's crystal clear and there's absolutely no doubt, but in most instances it's nearly impossible. Speech delays alone do not diagnose ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). You need to hit several points on the DSM-IV (diagnostic criteria http://www.autism-watch.org/general/dsm.shtml ). Small children in general can ALL "show signs" of autism but the difference is that most of them outgrow them. Most children with speech delays catch up with their peers. Most children with social delays or learning delays or motor skill delays or milestone delays catch up with their peers in a reasonable amount of time.

When my middle daughter was in preschool at 4 years old, it became very apparent when compared with her entire class that she had many, many delays in every single area of development. At home we thought she was just shy and developing at her own pace in comparison with her older sister who has always excelled and was reading without anyone actively teaching her at 3 years old. We had her informally evaluated by the school district and got her special services, then over summer break saw a child psychiatrist who diagnosed her with PDD-NOS and Asperger's Disorder. She had all of the classic signs.

Now at 8 years old and 2nd grade (we held her back for a 2nd year of preschool) she's been confirmed with the diagnosis by her old pediatric neurologist (she also has Seizure Disorder and Migraine Disorder as well as Sensory Processing/Integration Disorder), and recently by her new pediatric neurologist who specializes in Autism and Behavioral Disorders. Now that she's 8 years old it's more apparent that the ASD is more serious than we thought, and her diagnosis has actually tightened up quite a bit. She's still PDD-NOS but is more typical ASD than Asperger's Disorder.

So for us, it went the other way.

I also feel that I need to clear something else up as a mother to a child with ASD. ASD people not only CAN laugh, but they DO laugh. They have emotions and feel very strongly. They express emotions, sometimes very strongly, and sometimes it's difficult to read their emotions. That's part of the social concerns actually.

Anyway, what you want to do is check the DSM-IV but also trust your instincts. Early intervention is key in therapies and special services as they help teach our children coping skills for their entire lives about living in a world that doesn't think the same way they do.

People who can help diagnose: Pediatric Neurologist that specializes in ASD; Pediatric Psychiatrist/Psychologist; Pediatric Behavioral Specialist. You can also ask the school through Birth To Three to evaluate your child, although the school can NOT make a diagnosis as it's illegal for them to do so. They can point you in the right direction and make suggestions but not diagnose.

Here are some reliable sites for information to get you started.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/screening.html
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/families.html
http://www.childbrain.com/pdd.shtml
http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/index.php
http://learningdisabilities.about.com/od/assessmentandtes...
http://www.autism-society.org/about-autism/

EDITED TO ADD: I also feel that I need to address that most people with ASD are very intelligent. Many are average intelligence, and many are extremely intelligent. You can Google this, but there are a lot of famous artists and geniuses throughout history who are and were suspected to be ASD and are/were very successful.

There ARE more diagnoses of ASD now than there were before, and there are many misdiagnoses, but the fact that there are more people being diagnosed isn't because of misdiagnoses or more people have it but more research and more doctors being educated on the subject. More parents are educated about ASD now as well and are pushing for evaluations more than before. A lot of people who would have been "the eccentric one" in the family were very likely Autistic if people think back on their childhood behaviors and adult tendencies and behaviors. Autism being a spectrum disorder is also not so obvious as to be a "visible" disability. So you do have to trust your instincts, but it's very important to get to a qualified professional to begin evaluations outside of school.

Accept any special services you can from the school, because once you decline them and turn services away and don't have them any more it's going to be nearly impossible to get them back if it turns out you need them down the road.

My son's autism spectrum diagnosis took 8 months and a giant team of specialists. I wouldn't settle for anything less.

That said, it's a huge spectrum. My son is brilliant, laughs, loves, and has friends. He's definitely on the spectrum though!

I wouldn't be ready to "own" that diagnosis at 3. Speech therapy, maybe. The rest can be sorted out later IF NEED BE.

Many children are "diagnosed" with something early on, only to have a more accurate diagnosis later in their childhood. True Autism is difficult to diagnose b/c it requires a persistent pattern of social and language delays.

Autism's "hallmark" surrounds langauge development, but it is not the only warning sign. Please take your child to another specialist and get a second opinion.

What kind of training did the person making the diagnosis have? Was it a developmental pediatrician? I've never heard of an autism misdiagnosis if it was made by a qualified professional. They are very careful to be certain before they throw that "A-Word" at parents. I think in your shoes I would seek another opinion/evaluation, as the person who "diagnosed" him may not have known what they were doing. My son has autism, and the developmental pediatrician did MUCH more than 45 minutes worth of evaluations before making the diagnosis. She evaluated him 3 times over 2 months before saying he was "at-risk" for an autism spectrum disorder, and then saw how he progressed in speech therapy for 6 months before saying that yes it was autism and not just a speech delay or general developmental delay. I don't think it is possible to diagnose in 45 minutes, but then again I am not a doctor, just a mom who's been living w/ autism for a decade. Does your son point at things that are across a room to draw your attention to it? Does he wave bye-bye? How is his eye contact? Does he seem to be over (or under) sensitive to things like sound, light, smells, textures, tastes? You are right, in that speech delay alone does NOT equal autism. On the other hand, there is a whole spectrum, and it can be hard to diagnose a child who is on the "higher functioning" end of the spectrum when they are very little, so it is worth getting another evaluation to see if you can find out for sure what issues you are dealing with, so you will know how to best help your son. With my son, people who just encounter him casually don't usually realize he has autism. He doesn't flap or do other stereotypical movements, he is bright and picks things up easily, he is friendly and happy, talks a lot, is smiling ALL the time, etc. You have to be around him for a while before his differences become apparent. Every child is SO different.
Best wishes to you and your son,
A.

I don't personally have a story, but my friend's son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 3, received therapies until they told her he was "done". He is now a 2nd grader and the school is completely unaware of his "diagnosis." I have another friend who has a son diagnosed with ODD at about 6, and now, at 8, they have diagnosed Aspergers. I have ANOTHER fiend woth a son originally diagnosed with PDD-NOS and now it's Aspergers. So......I think diagnoses can change.

Check out the Autisim Web sites like Autisim Speaks, contact them and ask questions. My granddaughter 8.5 yrs was diagnosed at about 3.5 yrs and went to Headstart and then my daughter got her into a thearpy program for after school and Saturdays. I have to admit that Wisconsin has the best program for Austistic children in the US and many other countries. Families have moved here to get their kids involved in these programs. But our budget crunch is bad and I'm afraid the programs may fade out.
Autistics are brilliant, however they process information differently and don't always interact well. Take heart in the knowledge that Bill Gates, Donald Trump and Dan Ackroyd have Aspergers Syndrom and Ackroyd also has Tourettes Syndrom. Just because your child has a diagnoses doesn't mean he won't have a successful life, it means he processes information differently and will need help in school. And a diagnoses at his age may not be accurate. You are your child's advocate--so start learning everything you can and advocate for your son and other children. Get a support group going--find out why Wisconsin is the only state with a good program for Austistics. If we can have such a program, why is it not available in all 50 states?

First, get a speech evaluation thru the Birth to Three Program in Ct. He
sounds like a normal kid to me. However, sometimes as Moms, we do not
see what others see. Not saying that his the case. Start with the speech
and go from there. Try and put the autism dx. on the back burner. It seems
like if a child looks the wrong way he is labeled. Good luck. My youngest
daughter, if born today, I am sure would be on the spectrum. Got her
the help she needed and today she is a surgical tech in the OR, EMT, and
volunteer firefighter so pls. let the label go for now. Good luck.

I would read Thomas Sowell's book, "Late Talking Children." He had a child that talked late and did a small study to see if, among late talking children, there were any similarities. One of the big similarities was a high IQ and parents who were analytical.

If you would like a developmental opinion, I offer free 1/2 screenings via Skype from a very different perspective than what you will get in typical school or medical setting.

In health,
S. L. G., Jr.
Exec. Director
Active Healing, Inc.
www.activehealing.org
____@____.com
###-###-####

Well, my son was never actually diagnosed with autism, but he does have some autistic "traits" including speech delays (he is 3 1/2). Despite his autistic traits he has always been very social and makes great eye contact etc. Turns out he has sensory processing disorder, and a lot of those kiddos can have speech delays. Definitely not saying that is what is going on with your kiddo, but that is what happened with us. My son is receiving therapy and we are seeing a lot of improvement in his speech and other areas. Good luck to you!

Autism has a very Broad spectrum...there is High functioning and lower functioning. A lot of diagnosis's fall "on the spectrum"
I would also like to tell you that children with Autism can laugh and can be affectionate just as other kids can, there are a lot of stereotypes about what Autism is and isn't. I am not saying this in a mean way, but I think if you are concerned you should go for a second opinion, and regardless of your son's diagnosis I would educate yourself about Autism.
Before my niece was born I knew very little about Autism, my niece is now 8 and is what is considered to be low functioning, she smiles, laughs, plays and sometimes is even affectionate, she has very low verbal skills but has moments of brilliance. She is cherished by all of us, would I love to see her capable of more? Of course. My other niece is also on the spectrum, but hers is a mild Asperger's. My own son will be 4 in June, he was diagnosed as being on the Autism spectrum, he failed testing called the M-CHAT and he had a Full year of intense therapy ( Mainly ABA, but also speech therapy) Alex's biggest area of delay was/is speech.
I would suggest if you have not to look into ABA therapy, I saw more improvement from that than anything, although speech therapy is important as well. It is amazing how many things fall into place when they have the words they need to be able to communicate with. Utilize whatever is necesary to broaden your ability to communicate with your son. We used sign language which he picked up on so quickly! We also started using the PECS system ( basically like a picture exchange system) I know it sounds complicated for a 2 year old but it is really awesome it can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it, we had Poster boards with Real pictures of things like snack choices he could point to and eventually we had a flip book that had a velcro strip that he could request everything from what book he wanted read to what he wanted for snack or what movie he wanted put on. We also used it for transitions, it is bathtime now, it is time to go....because a lot of times if his speech is delayed there can also be a shut down of what he understands from you as well.
If someone sat me down a year and a half ago and could show me what progress my son has made now to this date, I would not have believed it possible. Early intervention can do amazing things, I would not say that my son was mis-diagnosed, nor do I know what the future holds for him...but I think being pro-active and doing all you can do for your son can by no means hurt, it can Only help.
Also not that I am sure you have not, but just in case...make sure they have tested his hearing.
Lots of luck to you and your son.

My brother was delayed. My mom just knew that he had something wrong because at 2y he barely spoke, only knew a handful of words. My sister (4 at the time) had been having full conversations at 2y. So mom just knew something was wrong with my brother. The dr. set up testing with the county, the county said that he appeared very bright, but that they just didn't see the autism signs, etc.

Turns out that it was just his personality! He is a very laid back, go with the flow person. Our sister was always volunteering answers and talking, and he just never tried to put his two cents in.

When he was 7y, Dad was babysitting. Dad always gets distracted and forgets to eat lunch. Well he forgot and so brother didn't get any lunch either. They had been home all day, and brother was playing in the living room in sight of the kitchen and food. He never said anything about being hungry. When the girls got home brother burst into tears. I'm SO hungry! My Dad was shocked and hurt. We've been right here. Why didn't you remind me or tell me that you were hungry?? Answer: Because Mom always asks.

He is still that way at 22. It wasn't until he was 18y and graduating HS that he spoke up and said that he didn't want a chocolate cake for graduation because he hates chocolate! What? Why do you think I always have candy from Halloween and Christmas months later?

It wasn't until last year at Thanksgiving (20y) when mom asked why he only had Turkey and a roll on his plate, that he spoke up and said that he doesn't like any of the veggies that mom fixes, EVERY year!!

The fact that your son IS saying more is a good thing. Continue to work with him. Don't make assumptions, and don't respond to grunts, and sounds. Make him ask for things he wants using full words.

M.

My nephew has been diagnosed as on the Autism spectrum. At age 9 he went through 8 HOURS of evaluations to reach this diagnosis.

This child's older brother had a serious speech delay when he was younger. He is not the Valedictorian of his high school class.

I don't believe you have a final, definitive diagnosis of your son at age 2. I would suggest getting him the help he needs to address his speech challenges now, and see what the future brings.

An early diagnosis of autism, even if it's wrong, is actually a good thing. It gets your son all of the services available to him. They can completely remove the diagnosis at a later time. It DOES happen and I've seen it happen more then one would think. Just because your son has a speech delay, does not mean that he'll have other delays as well. Utilize all of the services available to your son, then get him re-evaluted when you feel he's ready. It's a scary diagnosis, but again it is overdiagnosed and/or misdiagnosed. Good luck to you!

It took several visits and a couple of months at school with a specialist to diagnose my nephew as being on the spectrum. We knew it already, but they MADE SURE that that's what it was before they said anything.