Autism Spectum Disorders

Hi M.,

You've already gotten a lot of good advice. I just want to let you know that I work with children with special needs. I am a yoga therapist and work individually with children. I have seen some great results with children becoming more aware of their bodies, increasing speech, increasing motor skill, and ability to focus and concentrate on a single task.

If you are interested in learning about the therapy, please see my website:
www.yogapotential.com

Peace and Joy,
M.

My son was diagnosed with aspergers at three. I personally do not believe they recover, but I do believe you can teach them the skills to cope with their disorder and then it appears that they have "recovered". Early intervention is the key. Utilize PPCD and get a second opinion from a doctor outside the school district. You can usually get your insurance to pay for OT, Speech and play therapy for social skills. Good luck!

There are a million emotions going through you right now. I know from experience. I encourage you to not delay and start any services offered and then some. If he is 4 - one immediate action (free) is the PPCD program with your school distict. ABA therapy (Applied Behavior Analysis) is your very best option (start NOW). Starting NOW, with him being 4 years old, increases results.

I recently met a woman who is a nutrition coach who specializes in helping kids with Autism and Aspergers. Christina Allen lives in Flower Mound. Here's her contact info:

My website is: www.yourinnereco.com

And www.bellyveggies.com

Hope this helps in yet another aspect of the treatment!
Bev

My gut feeling is to observe your son CAREFULLY.Make as asure as possible of what you see and how you"diagnose" it..Also do not be one bit hesitant about seeking a second opinion. THEN you'll know better what to do.

I have 2 children on the spectrum, 1 with Asperger and 1 PDD-NOS. The worst part for me in the beginning was accepting that this was going to be a part of our life and that I was hampering my son's development if I tried to deny it. Personally, I don't trust the public ISD. That's just my personal opinion. Take what is offered but don't hesitate to outside of the ISD to try other services. I don't know where you are located, but there is a PT/OT center in Rockwall called Excel Pediatric Therapy that was very helpful for my son and also our church, Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, has a special class on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings for kids like ours. It is very important to find your support system in friends, family, and other moms who "know" what it's like to have a child on the spectrum. Educate yourself, know your child, take a deep breath, and be his advocate.

Oh, back to your original question. At 2 years old my son didn't speak, screamed til he was 4, didn't make eye contact, had a obsession with one particular movie. Now he's 11 and if I didn't tell you he was Asperger you wouldn't know it. You might think he was a little "quirky", but you wouldn't know it was Asperger. Be encouraged--it's gonna be okay.

My son was diagnosed with the same thing, He is 3 he started scholl in August, only being able to say one word. Now he can say about 19 and he can count to 15. I also was told that my som will not remain on the spectrum. They said he was only brushed with Autism.

I'm hope this helps, and I hope you and your son the best.

Hello,

My name is L., and my son was also diagnosed with PDD-NOS. He scored in the "mild" range on the spectrum. He is 3 1/2 and is attending the Eagle Mountain school system special development center. He is making alot of improvement and they are talking about putting him in the regular preschool class next year with main stream students. So hopefully when/if he is tested again he will not be on the spectrum. So, I guess the answer to your question...yes kids can score on the spectrum and then with therapy etc. can be "recovered", and score off of the spectrum completely.

I wanted to ask you where you lived...I thought if you were close it would be nice to get together sometime. I have never met anyone personally going thru what we are, and it would be nice to be able to talk to someone that really knows what I am going thru too.

My daughter was diagonoised at age 3 by her neurologist. The school district gave her the same label due to age. Get all the services you can. There was not much 14 years ago.. We lost the autism code for school support during a 3 year reevaluation. she was coded severe ADD with "autistic tendancies" We kept some support services but lost O.T., and she was to travel from the elementary classroom to resource room for help in each class. Not good.. 3 years later and a different school district, she was tested by an austism team and was coded asbergers syndrome.. by this time the 16 point delay was very evident and my daughter's self esteme was shot.. so yes it can happen, don't let them take any services away from your child.. the earlier you get skills taught and learned, the easier it will be for everyone. Asbergers is a medical diagnoises, always there... The school district only determines the "educational need for something different to learn in school" Does not always mean they will agree with the medical doctor...

Some kids do recover from autism. I only personally know of children who recovered using biomedical intervention. There may be some who recover using ABA therapy only but I don't know any. With every one in 100 kids autistic there are lots of support groups around. Read Dr. Bock's book Healing The New Childhood Epidemics or Jenny McCarthy and Dr Kartzinel's Healing and Preventing Autism. You can probably find both in your library. I have a friend whose child got a severe ADHD diagnosis by the school and a moderate autism diagnosis by an outside evaluator. She now homeschools. Learn the law for IEP meetings and meet some parents to help you along the journey.

Hello, my son was diagnosed with the same thing at 4 years of age. He is now 7 and thriving in 1st grade. I had always heard their is no way to "cure" autism but I do think there are ways to make it less apparent. My son did intense ABA therapy for a year and a half and it did wonders. Not only do they give them the tools to better figure out the world, but they also work on academics to get them up to speed with their peers. My son did not talk until he was 3 and that delay alone set him back from his peers.
We have not taken my son back to be re-tested because we feel that it really wouldn;t change anything for us even if we were told he is no longer on the spectrum. Our test is that he is thriving and able to interact socially with others and is on level with his academics and excelling in areas that he had issues with before.
I hope that helps some. I will say early intervention is key. The brain starts forming connections after 7 years of age and it is harder to re-train after those connections are made.
G.

There is alot of hope!! My husband is a DAN! Doctor in Mansfield and is watching these children recover from a lot worse that what it seems you are going through! Chin up! It's good to find out now and research the causes so that he can have a VERY BRIGHT FUTURE!!! If you are ever in need of a Defeat Autism Now! Doc, his name is Dr. Todd Elsner, and his number is ###-###-####, he is accepting new patients at this time. Good Luck!

Biomedical can make a huge difference. I am walking this road with my twin boys who recently turned three. They are getting speech and just recently started ABA, but I can tell you from what I have seen so far that the biomedical things we are working on put their bodies and minds in a place where they can get so much more out of the therapies. I would be happy to share all the resources and things I have found that have helped over the past year. Just send me a private message if you are interested.

dear mom ,i believe your son may be able with the help of many people going to be fine.my daughter had the diagnosis of adhd with pdd/nos but now is listed as adhd with residual austic traits.we had a speech therapist come to our house after ppcd for one hour a week so in 2 years no more speech classes.we sent her to The Warren Center for friendship group for 2 years where she was dismissed .we believe the social skills she recieved there really made her seem 95 typical.we even took to parties from typical kids where no one knew that yas was austic,however the other kids were the ones needing social skills.we have taken her to the devepment pedi,allergist,ent,and lung specialist to make her ''feel'' better.when even removed aldenoids,tonsils,and added tubes in ears. i walked awayfrom being a bilingual sp ed assistant teacher but i can honestly tell you that it was worth hearing of her current diagnosis!!!!

Hi M., I know of mom who have used a nutritional supplements and gotten result, let me know if you would like to connect with these moms.

Best wishes.

A.

Hi - I really enjoyed reading your post & the responses from others. I was wondering if you could tell me that the signs were for your son with barely being on the spectrum (I'm sorry I don't understand the acroymns a lot of people use). Also what is the difference between barely being on the spectrum and say Asperger's?