Seeking Support and Information on Baby Autism

One of my nephews has Asperger's syndrome (?spelling) and one of the first things I remember that was 'off' is that he hated being swaddled as a baby - he couldn't stand to have blankets confining his arms and didn't like being held close and cuddled. (breastfeeding was a nightmare and my sister finally resorted to pumping and bottles) By the time he was one-two hugs were definitely on his terms only and always had 'personal space' issues where if anyone entered his area it threw him off and culd proke a tantrum

I'd be interesting in what sigs you are noticing at 2 months? My nephew wasn't diagnosed until he was 3 but I agree with the other posters - early intervention was wonderful and provided a lot of support for the parents - the early you can start to treat some of issues that better the results.

Good Luck :) P.S. There is a book we read back a few years ago that was very helpful I believe it was called the 'out of synch child' but I don't have the authors name handy..
P.s

Call your local early intervention. they can assess that stuff for free and anyone can request a consult...

Hi!
Children with Autism usually aren't diagnosed until about the age of 1 to 1 1/2. Your nephew is 2 months old...I'm interested to know what types of behavior he is showing?

Definitely have your sister talk w/her pediatrician and ask about early intervention. Tell your sister to tell them she would like him to be assessed...the earlier he is diagnosed, the better.

Much luck and prayers going your way......

What makes you think there is something wrong with the baby?

I agree with the other posts. Early intervention and getting a referral to a neuro-psych are two options. It never hurts to rule out anything, though at such a young age it may be hard to get a diagnosis, but at least the parents would be taking a proactive approach. In our family, we kept waiting for our son to get older thinking he would come around -- he didn't get diagnosed with PDD-NOS until after he turned 3. Denial is very hard to overcome, so continue to ask questions and don't let anyone put you off until you get the answers you need. Best to all involved and take care,
-J.

Hi D.-

I have a 3 1/2 year old son who was diagnosed with PDD-NOS (on the autism spectrum) when he was 2. He is very highly functional but is currently in the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) program at Mt. Pleasant Preschool.

Early signs are very often lack of eye contact. My son had good eye contact so we never thought of autism. Another sign is if he doesn't point to things when he wants something or doesn't look at something you are pointing to. Also, if he doesn't respond to his name being called. If he lines up his toys or doesn't play with his toys "appropriately"

My son was also fixated on spinning the wheels of his cars/trucks and he was fascinated witha tassle from one of my hooded sweatshirts. Delay in speech is a sign which was the first thing we noticed in our son. We started Early Intervention when he was 18 months for speech delay and he was later diagnosed at 2 years.

There is such a wide range of autism from highly functional to severe.

My biggest piece of advice is to have him referred to Early Intervention as soon as possible. Since my son was diagnosed at 2 we were eligible for in-home ABA therapy through the state until he was 3 - it did wonders for our son. He no longer spins wheels, he is highly social and his speech is coming along great!

Do not let a pediatrician try to say "boys talk late" - Early Intervention is a great resource and it will not hurt a child even if there turns out to be no diagnosis.

I will be happy to answer any other questions you may have - I have become an expert!

I have a cousin with autism and I'm also a teacher so I have seen this issue from both sides. That being said, there's no way you can tell if a newborn has autism and no one, not even early intervention, will diagnose a child that young. It's great that you want to be an advocate, but things like the baby not wanting to be swaddled are not good indicators of autism and could cause the baby's mother to worry for no good reason. The baby's pediatrician is the best one to diagnose any problems such as failure to thrive or any other issues that an infant might have.

if anything helps, my 5 year old has autism,at the age of 2 i noticed that he was going backwards with his speech. i used to videotape him from birth, now when i play those tapes,i see that he jerked with his legs and arms,that used to scared me,i felt something was wrong.i got early intervention when he was allmost 3,now i have a 4 month old, he does the same thing,hes been evaluated, so far hes o.k.i say if u feel something is wrong, get help,remember this, allways have eye contact and hug your baby alot