New member.

Hi everyone.

New to the community and just looking for some opinions on my 3 year old son.

We were sent by our health visitor for an appointment about my sons speach and communications skills..he can repeat the odd word he hears but cant engage or use it to communicate with us at all.

He wont ask for a drink,a snack or anything.He used to say mam,dad,yes and no and a few other words but not in the way there meant to be.he hasent said them in about 5 month though.

When we were there she observed him playing for a good 45 minutes and gave him a physical examination ..at the end asked me if anyone had mentioned autism to me and I replied no.

She then asked me loads of other questions and how long has he been doing that with his hands..we call them his jazz hands and thought it was just a little quirk of his.she then said she thinks there is a possibility he has autism and that after being at nursery six weeks(due to start in april) if there is no change they will test his hearing  and investigate further.i was then told to go home and research the sighns of autism.

after reading through and having a good look online I found these that my son does.

Barley speaks

runs back and forth when exited or agitated,can last for hours sometimes.

waves,clenches his hands and watches his fingers dance

flicks his ears and tickles the corners of his eyes

wont play with others except daddy

bites and chews toys

is not potty trained and shows no understanding of it

has chewed holes in the arms of my sofa

has to have his meals between set times but not because of hunger

cant communicate if he is in pain at all

the list goes on really..i am convinced that he does indeed have autism.

The nursery he is to attend has called a meeting with me and my health visitor as he has to be watched constantly as he eats everything whether tastes bad or not and there is so many things in the nursery he could hurt himself with.

would love any opinions on this and thank you for reading.

P.S please excuse my bad spelling..never been my strong point.

  • Hi

    Thanks for replying.

    My health visitor has already refered us to the pediatrician who we have seen.she has now ordered blood tests and is also booking a hearing test 

    She was the one who autism was a big possibility.she seems to want to get the ball rolling pretty quick.

    I have a meeting with the nursery next week and there SEN teacher who isDesert️ keen to make a plan of action asap 

  • Hello there.

    As you are probably aware Autism is such a massive spectrum with many different traits and behaviours that can present similarly to so many other difficulties. I would personally seek my GP's advice and possibly request a referral. Be as open and as honest as you can with the nursery so they can support you and your son. I have just recently learnt that parents can themselves request Speech and Language therapy so it might be worth researching that option in your area?

    Probably not the most helpful of response but I couldn't just read and not reply. Good luck with it all.