Advice needed please!!!!

Hi all again as you will see from my first post that my son's paeditrician appointment has been, last week in fact. She basically agreed with everything I said and all the worries I had which was very bitter sweet as I was there for her to agree with me but in the back of my mind for her to tell me I was worrying over nothing. If you know what I mean!!! Anyway he turns 2 on Monday and will be referred to child development team probably in sept so again another lovely 12 weeks or so of waiting. I'm under no illusions that this whole journey will take time but if anyone can just try and explain what will be happening through the next steps I would really appreciate any advice or info. since feb when it just clicked that he may have autism there have been bad days when all I constantly do is try and research as much information as possible and then other days when my little man surprises me for example yesterday we downloaded an app with shapes and in order to show the shapes you had to burst balloons little man took no time at all in figuring out what to do and even used his own finger instead of trying to use mine. This was such a great feeling also as I dropped him off at nanna I went back to the car to get his pram when all I heard was ma ma I can't explain how amazing that felt. Today has not been a good day however he has been very disengaged but hey you can't win them all. So sorry for going on and on and what I'm really asking is what can I expect from this referral in sept or how many speech hours occupational hours etc? Also we have applied for 2 year funding as of sept for an extra 10 hours of nusery (he already does 10 at the min) which I think is doing him good. My HV did say don't get my hopes up for funding but I am prepared for a fight if I believe the benefits are thehim for him which I do.

again sorry for the lengthy post but any replies will be much appreciated.

xxx

Hi again - once my son started talking he didn't give up, despite having poor pronounciation at 1st.   Speech therapy sorted that out.  He could write before he could speak.  He now has quite a large vocabulary.  He has fav things he likes to talk about/have a laugh about so he can be repetetive.  He surprises me with what he does understand + equally he can surprise me with what he doesn't understand.  He still has difficulty putting longer sequences of events together.  So he can sometimes only see a partial picture of a situation/what happened.

I really liked the story about the yogurts.  My son would do something similar.  He wanted to know about each tin/packet.  He would line them up + use my finger to point at each 1. So this way we could expand his education by pointing at the pictures + saying what it was + pointing at the words.  He sounds a practical little soul, like my son.   Play to his interests!

Hi Crystal,

Many thanks for your reply. Can I ask how your son is now and how are his communication skills? I will definetely look at buying some flash/pec cards and see how we go. My son loves the tv and especially Mickey Mouse clubhouse however not that interested in the mountain of toys we have bought mickey related!! He does enjoy playing with his cars and garage!! He has been babbling lately but nothing understandable. He is such a happy well behaved little boy and has a great sleep routine as he has since 5 months old. It's good to know that we are all not alone. The thing I am struggling with is the not knowing what the future will bring but hey who does?? He gives kisses when you ask him but not sure if that's just to get whoever out the way so he can get back to doing his own little thing!! In the past few weeks he has begun going to the fridge and bringing yogurts to us when he wants one (a very big step for us). I do struggle sometimes with the not knowing and then others I am very positive and as a family we will face whatever we have to deal with.

Once again thanks for your reply its nice to know they're is somewhere to come for help and advice!

Take care

Amanda x

Hi - my son was diagnosed at 2.9 yrs so yours isn't too young to start the process.  Sounds like the professionals are putting things in place, including speech therapy, so please don't think he/you are being left behind.  I know 12 weeks seems forever, but it isn't!  As long as things are progressing satisfactorily - no postponements etc - then concentrate on what you can do to support him in the meantime.....see para 3.

He sounds fairly similar to how my son was at that age.  Whilst non-verba,l he did understand single words + simple instructions.  He also liked numbers, Thomas the Tank Engine, jigsaws, physical activities, had a good appetite + sense of humour.  He didn't talk till he was 5.  I'm telling you this because I think initially I got totally caught up with the diagnosis, with the autism, + almost lost sight of the little individual he was for a while.

  There's loads of info via the home page which will point you in the right direction to help your son.  PECS are helpful, especially for non-verbal children as they can look at the pictures to see their daily routine.  What are his interests?  These are a way to connect with him + also educate him by expanding, bit by bit, on a particular interest.  The nas has a helpline if you want to speak to someone.  It can be busy so you may have to try more than once.   He's still the little boy he always was, so try to relax a little + enjoy your time with him.  Whilst undue delays are not advisable, being in a rush won't help either!   I hope things go smoothly with the diagnostic process + you can also pop back on here whenever you want to let us know how things are.