Hi Moms,
I know I've asked a similar question before but it was more related to spd. My oldest son is a very mellow child so I'm unsure what I should expect for typical 2 year old behavior so here goes: My second child is 2 and receives early intervention for a expressive speech delay and for sensory. He has maybe slept all night twice he wakes 2-3 times on a good night w/ at least 2 of the times being what I believe are night terrors because you are unable to soothe him he will scream and yell, kick, sit, and walk in his room anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour without being able to comfort. His doctor is scheduling him for a sleep study. The other times he wakes up he wakes looking for us and just needs a little reassurance and to get tucked back in to bed. He transitions terribly when he goes from sleeping to waking for the day and then from being awake to sleeping he is unable to self comfort/soothe at all and its always mommy that he wants it makes it worse when daddy steps in we have tried cry it out several times and he cried from the time he woke during the night until I finally decided enough was enough he is even worse on the nights that his brother is w/ his biological father which is every other weekend. Now during the day he has hit the terrible twos and has awful tantrums but those I can deal with. When we go to playgroup he often will yell if another child gets near him and will go to play with something else away from the other children. He normally does well w/ circle time because he loves music and songs. My biggest concern is he does make eye contact sometimes but it usually seems like he's looking past you even though he's looking at you. When he does play with others its usually older kids and adults because he wants to play rough and climb on top of others and jump on them. He likes all of his toys to be left in certain places and even if he is not playing with it he doesn't want it moved from where he left it. The smallest things will set him off. He has a terrible time at playgroup if we aren't the first ones there it will set him off for the entire 2.5 hours he does much better when we are the first there and he can greet others as they come in. His speech is improving and he will talk with others he just has no desire to interact w/ children his age.He used to be a master at wooden puzzles and now won't do them and can't/won't turn the pieces to fit in correctly when he does do them. His speech is a little better now he is using 2 and 3 word sentences but it is awlays the same phrases and only says something new after someone else says itso he still uses only about the same 20-30 words to carry on a conversation. Just wondering what is normal and what types of behavior should be cause for concern.
call your ped today adn ask for an evaluatino or a referral to get an eval. Ive done preschool fro years and it soulnd like he needs additional services. Start with the Ped and go from there. My now 12 year old son had the exact same issues with not making eye contact and very litlle speech. He eventually outgrew 90% of it with lots of help from EI. Good luck and do whatever you need t odo to get additional help
I don't mean to alarm you, but did anyone providing EI do an evaluation?? You just described almost to a T every symptom of Autism. My son is very mildly autistic and receiving ABA through Beacon Services. I've read up a lot about it, and this seems very similar to your son??
This does not seem normal at all. I would have him evaluated through EI or by a Psychologist to rule out any underlying conditions. Hope everything turns out ok!
I have a 3 year old who never slept, has consitpation issues, and was exhibiting sensory processing issues... he is a complex child to say the least! It sounds to me like some of your son's issues are normal, some may be red flags. It's possible he likes older kids b/c he has an older brother- it's good you know how to ward off the things which set him off, like arriving early. My son had a very difficult time (still does) going into preschool with everyone already there, he would cling to me and get very oral with his tongue- it took him about 15 minutes to warm up, so he, too, does better with smaller groups at first. We had a full evaluation and there's a small chance he could end up on the autistic spectrum b/c of attention and fine motor but pysch thinks more likely possible non-verbal learning disorder (your son may have the same, it effects everything in their interaction, life etc. ) or that he will simply catch up- the full evaluation will be very helpful to you. Also, our son just had his adnoids out and ear tubes in. Our pedi had said we were going to see a world of difference in behaviour. While the surgery and recovery were awful, we are suddenly seeing drastic improvement- from sensory issues to behaviour, to focus. He will need some help with speech, but, knock on wood, for the first time in his life he's sleeping through the night. Anyway, I bring this up b/c our pedi mentioned a child she was seeing who they thought might be autisitc, he got the surgery and was 90 percent better- no sign of autism. It's worth having him checked out, particularly the adnoids (and possible sleep apena?) we went to children's for the slepe clinic and children's for ENT. good luck, thoughts are with you.
As you are already receiving services from an early intervention program, you may ask for a full evaluation of your child. Many of the things you mention point to what may be a spectum disorder. Have you tried a weighted blanket to aid in sleeping? Consistency in preparing for bed, actual bedtime (i.e. 7:30pm; 8pm) , meals, etc. help many young children who need to know what will happen next.
"At some point in childhood, about two-thirds of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are affected by sleep problems; these most commonly include symptoms of insomnia such as difficulty in falling asleep, frequent nocturnal awakenings, and early morning awakenings. Sleep problems are associated with difficult behaviors and family stress, and are often a focus of clinical attention over and above the primary ASD diagnosis."
Hi Rachel. Sounds like a stressful situation for the whole family! My friend Regina's son has sensory integration disorder and she he's had great results with a nutritional supplement. I'd be happy to connect you with her. J. H
