Does Anyone on Here Have a Child with Autism?

Hello I am new to this site but I understand what you are going through. My son is 7 years old he has PDD NOS. And as you know Autism goes from one exreme to the next my son was running to strangers it was so bad I was scared to take him anywere not for the behavior which was bad but for him running away from me. I didn't know want to do but finally he grow out of it. He will still talk to strangers but he will not run from me. My problem with him is he is not gentle enough to make friends. like sally i founded that my son also got along better with other children with autism.
Jenny

Children with autism respond differently depending on the child, but retreating and wanting to be by themselves seems to be a normal trait. You do need to force the issue with him being social, and encourage that like you have been. If they are left to retreat they can slip further away into their autism and may never recover. There are some autistic people who can grow up, attend college, and have a very close to normal life, but others will it seems suck into a black hole and once that happens it is very hard to pull them out. Just keep encouraging the social skills and doing play dates and have him join in when there is company. It will be better for him in the long run.

Hi M., I have a 16 year old brother who is autistic and I know it was hard for all of us in the family to deal with it. I would like to give you my mother's e-mail because i think she could help with your questions. Her name is Denise and her e-mail is ____@____.com

I have a nephew with autism. He is almost 17 now. He does not have very many friends because his communication skills are limited. Depending on how severe the case of autism is your child may only be friendly with family. My nephew loves his family but just ignores anyone else. There isn't really a whole lot you can do. But I do recommend making sure his siblings and other family members try to get close to him and play with him. I hope this helps. If you need anymore help let me know and I will ask my brother specific questions for you.

Honestly I don't know. My 4 year old daughter has autism but it's a very mild case of it. Once she started preschool she did so great she was like a completly different child. But she is still scared of the vaccum and lots of people around that she doesn't know. Your son might just be going through a phase right now. Have you asked his doctor about it? He is 4 so maybe he just wants to hide. My daughter likes to keep to herself too most of the time. I've noticed in class she'll mostly play with herself but her teacher says she's getting better with participating with the other kids. Thats why I say he might just be going through a phase. Is he in daycare or preschool? Preschool might be better for him than daycare. You can call the school he will go to for kindergarten and ask them if they have a preschool program there. Thats what I did. Turns out my daughter was perfect for it and she goes to preschool two days a week, all day and it didn't cost anything since she needed it. It has changed her completly. If thats not an option I would just say ask his doctor or therpist about his hiding. Hopefully it's just a phase, I know a lot of 4 year olds like to hide when others are around not just ones with autism so maybe he'll grow out of it. How does he do at family occasions like thanksgiving or x-mas? My daughter used to stay in her room the whole time during those times but not anymore, so it was just a phase with her. I hope this helps and if you want to talk more you can email me or personnal message me. You just have to hang in there. It does get better.

M.-

Hi, I am J.. My son is turning 2 today. He was diagnosed pdd-nos. I am a single mom, and he is my only child. My son really had no desire to play with other children until resently....If he sees another child...he will usually smile. I have noticed that he is more open to other children that are on the spectrum. I have been very intese with his therapies and such. I would love to chat with you so maybe we can talk about some of the different therapy option and such. my e-mail is ____@____.com so if you every want to chat. I live in wilmington, nc.

J.

M.
My son is 3 1/2 and was diagnosed with Autism in May '06. We were having the same issues you are having with your son. When visitors would come over (even grandparents) my son would run straight to his walk in closet, sit next to the toy box in the closet and play. We started playing hide and go seek (getting siblings involved to) while no visitors were present and playing it often. My son loved the counting to 10 part and eventually added "ready or not here I come" to his vocab. When this became the beloved game we introduced it right after a visitor would come in and he took off for his closet (getting the visitor involved in the game)We never pulled him from the closet, only let him hear his fun game being played outside his room. He would come out with a huge smile ready to play not careing who the visitor was.
We also taught him to shake hands with me dad and siblings. Every time he would approach one of us we would extend our hand , take his hand and shake saying "Well hello how are you doing" (the sillier the better) Do this often. Now when we go to the store, play dates, anywhere really he wants to shake everyone hand! The local pharmicist says he's practicing to be future president :) These things have really opened our son up to other people when before he only wanted to keep to himself. These things and so many more have opened up a whole new world of communication for him. Since he started interacting with other adults and children his vocabulary has increased ten fold! I hope this helps and I wish you the best!!!

I have a 9 y/o son with Autism. Unfortunatly, from my experience, there isnt much you can do that you arent doing already. Just continue to take him on playdates, and give him as many chances to interact as you can. My son just recently started playing WITH other children, instead of along side of them. He does occasionally like to have friends over. But he still goes in his room and shits the door everyday when he gets home from school. It does get better as time goes by. My only advice would be to do one-on-one play dates rather than ones with multiple children. (Unless thats how you alreadydo it) Just be patient and never lose faith!! Contact me if you have any questions or concerns. S.

I have a friend who son is 9 with autism. He likes to be by himself alot but him and my neice seems to get along well but she is younger then him. He has his momments. One minute he can be joking around then the next be dead serious. Since I am looking from the outside in I can tell you his parents has tried different play groups but with lil success his likes who he likes. Either way he is a interesting kid to babysit. I wish you the best of luck