Possible autism?

[Anonymous]

I've had 2 caregivers tell me to get my child evaluated for autism. He is 4. He is a happy, active child most of the time but I've heard early intervention is key so I want to do all I can.

The only real signs I've seen are
-auditory & sensory issues but getting better through the years (fire trucks are scary, Christmas lights are scary, tags on clothes are extremely bothersome, wants hugs all the time)
-keeps asking questions he knows the answers to like "have you been to a fire station?" Me: "yes, we attended a birthday party at a fire station last weekend." son:"But mommy, have you been to a firestation?" Me:"you know the answer to that." son:"No, I don't."

Is the second bullet above normal for a 4, almost 5 year old? He is bilingual. I called Child Find for Fairfax county and that's the first thing they asked--if he is bilingual.

Teacher tells me he is repeating words in class, which I've never seen him do at home, and other kids don't want to be friends because he lacks the social skills. She quoted a child as "____, but you already SAID that."

I've called all kinds of Autism organizations and developmental pediatricians. NO ONE IS TAKING NEW PATIENTS. What is a parent to do?

[Anonymous]

Get a referral from regular ped.

[Anonymous]

To what doctor? My regular ped is happy to give me a referral. She said she can call Children's National. Is that the best option? She recommended a couple of people who do not need referrals but are not taking new patients either.

[Anonymous]

Ask for a referral to Children's Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Rockville. They do ADOS/ADI-R testing for ASD.

http://childrensnational.org/departments/center-for-autism-spectrum-disorderscasd

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I will do that. That is helpful.

[Anonymous]

I would get him evaluated just for the peace of mind, but I did want to tell you that my bilingual child who is 5,5 now and is definitely not autistic did a lot of things you are describing when he was 3-4. That was the time he was just starting to learn English at preschool. He used to ask me the same question several times and did a lot of other weird things. He grew out of it once he mastered talkng and reading in English. That said, his social skills were always good.

[Anonymous]

Perseveration -- which is what you are talking about -- happens with anxious children.

[Anonymous]

It could be anything. I'd go to an developmental ped. to start with. There are long waits usually.

[Anonymous]

Have him evaluated by developmental pediatricians and definitely pursue Child Find. My child was and still is exactly like that: extra hugs, obsessive behaviors and conversations. "What kind of a car do you drive?" even though that person has told him many times it's Nissan/Chevy/Toyota. Hates changes in routines. He does have friends, kids like him because he's smart but we can only have 1 on 1 playdates, otherwise, he's easily overwhelmed.

[Anonymous]

I have a similar child of the same age who has been extensively evaluated. While she has many autism-type traits, they were not enough to amount to an ASD diagnosis. But she did, eventually, get an IEP for "developmental delay." Helps a ton at school, not just because she gets services, but because the teachers now understand her issues better and are more sympathetic. Plus we supplement services privately.

Does you child have gross motor delays?

[Anonymous]

Pp, did you find diagnosis or treatment for your child?

[Anonymous]

Pp here, I meant to 18:57 poster

[Anonymous]

Not gross but he is definitely not athletic. We were attributing to genes since neither parent is athletic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp, did you find diagnosis or treatment for your child?

I am the 18:57. Yes, he was diagnosed with ASD when he was 6.

[Anonymous]

OP,

I would definitely get on a waitlist to see a developmental pediatrician at KKI or Children's to get a diagnosis of some sort. Contacting Child Find in the meantime is a good idea to see if he qualifies for free services. You can do this by calling your local elementary school.

Behaviors like this aren't always autism, but you need to see a developmental pediatrician to sort out what's what. GL.