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Need Urgent Advice...we are clueless

aboutorrin
I am working in Woking (Surrey) and we are returning citizens from Australia. Our son has just turned two and we are seeing some unusual behavior in him which has traits of Autism. These include:
  • Does not respond to name calling.
  • Lack of eye contact
  • Regression in speech - loss of 3 meaningful words and gestures such as clapping, waving, etc.
  • No meaningful playing with toys - everything goes to the mouth or he throws it back
  • Does not point to objects or notices objects when we point at it.
  • Does not speak any more than (mama, papa) 
  • Gazes in blank and at bright light
  • Keeps to himself - keeps running and jumping and shouting at times

We are very concerned parents and we URGENTLY need advice on the following:

1. How. do we decide which therapy to go for.
2. Do we wait till he is formally diagnosed and assessed by the NHS? I hear it takes months.
3. Do we start ABA or similar therapy while we wait
4. Where do we find these basic guidance?
 We are very concerned parents and your response to the above questions are very VITAL.

  • You guys can do a number of things at home to help him out without it being an "official" therapy e.g.

    - play people games (peekaboo, round and round the garden, hide and seek, chasing games etc) to develop eye contact and social comm skills

    - use snack times and meal times to encourage initiation and requesting (developing lang/comm skills) e.g. Put a motivating snack in a closed clear container and open/give snack after he has reached/pointed/looked at it. respond any body movement/gesture/vocalisation etc at first

    - use a "now and next" board to support his understanding of what is happening (relieving anxiety around change, routine etc and supporting his emotional state and behaviours) have an a4 sheet with "now" on one side and "next" on the other. take photos of moments in the day e.g. "Now" (photo of breakfast) "next" (photo of Thomas cartoons)

    - if he's finding it hard to look at photos/pictures, use relevant Items to show him what will happen next e.g. a soft toy for "bed time" a favourite plate for "lunch time" his scooter for "park" etc

    in the meantime get down to the GP ask for a referral for assessment. Waiting lists are long. Don't be too quick to jump onto one particular type of therapy or another - ABA in particular is considered controversial to say the least by many practitioners in the uk. is your son in any kind of preschool provisIon? 

  • Agree with above poster.  You are in panic mode right now.  Even as an adult the brain can have plasticity, at only 2 years old you don't need to be worrying yet.  It's true that the earlier intervention the better, but that doesn't mean it has to be from professionals.

    Start using PECS and reward charts and whatever else you can find that parents can do at home, but hold off on professional treatments because not all treatments are right for every individual and you need to be sure.

  • I recommend you contact the NAS Surrey Branch.  Their website is www.mugsy.org and the branch phone is 07423 435413.  You will be able to make contact with other local parents and find out what is available in your area.

    Personally I would not rush into therapies before you know what you are dealing with.  They can cost many thousands of pounds, and might not be right for your child. There is free help available through things like the Earlybird course once your child is diagnosed, and you can also learn a lot from talking to other parents and reading books.  (Look at the Jessica Kingsley Publishers website for autism books, as well as the NAS shop).  

  • I assume you have already seen you GP to ask for assessment? There may be other support available through your GP or the surgery, perhaps a health visitor, if you go back to your GP and ask they might be able to point you in the right direction. Then you can get advice on what strategies may help your son.

  • Thanks. But we have been told that assessment waiting periods taked over months and even more than 6 months. Since he is just two, we wonder whether its worth loosing this time when his brain is developing and plastic. The fact remains that we can clearly see that there are some development problems like speech delay, lack of eye contact and jumping and hand flapping. Do we need to wait for the formal assessment or just take private advice/ABA for addressing those obvious issues.

  • First steps, you need to see the GP or paediatrician and ask for the ASC assessment process to be started.  You can't start any therapy without knowing what his problems are and therefore which is the right therapy.  Speech and language will be assessed as part of the ASC assessment process.