Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 12:49     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Hypersensitive to noises. Delayed potty training. GERD. Echolalia in some sitautions.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 10:58     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Diagnosed age 7-8. A lot of what has been mentioned here. Our child was in daycare and preschool. They noted oddities. We had some misdiagnosis. One item that no one here has mentioned that stands out for me is that DS really didn't know "how" to play with something. He could build, take apart, organize, collect etc. but didn't really play with toys. Didn't initiate pretend play. While me might put together a train track and organize the trains (or let others play on it) he did't drive around the trains, make noises or stories about what they were doing, just build, rebuild, take apart and put away.


Can you elaborate on the "oddities" noted by preschool?



Lack of body space awareness. Stimulant seeker and in other instances avoider---usually extremes. Poor fine motor skills coordination. Texture issues. Fascination with parts of objects, rather than the whole.
Overall, though, happy child. Made eye contact. Liked to be hugged, held, etc.


Joint attention?


Wow this sounds just like my kid. Yes curious, did he have joint attention? Mine does but if he did not I would definitely be thinking autism.



Had to read up a bit on the joint attention. I would say it varies, based on preferred peers/adults and those that DS does not prefer. DS has been in a lot of therapies over the years, so perhaps those combined with early interventions (OT, infant and toddlers, etc.) have helped in this area.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 10:22     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:Also, intense fascination with Thomas trains that did not ebb, lining cars up in rows, and a love of spinning.


Lego obsession, odd, age-inappropriate interest in words/vocabulary, inability to pick up on social cues; talks non-stop about one subject (Legos) and doesn't notice that listener's interest is waning, obsession with "rules" of games - difficult to relax and play a game with others without deeming something against the rules, for instance. Can't complete a game without an argument.

Heightened sensitivity to stimuli - extremely sensitive to smells, taste, texture, ambient noise. Extremely picky eater and prone to ritualistic behavior (can't eat unless food doesn't touch, is on the right plate, etc.). Can become abnormally thin. Growth may cease...no change in shoe size, for instance for a year.

Defiance - almost attracted to dangerous play. If warned against doing something, will attempt. Might run in front of a car if told to stop for the car. Oppositional defiant.

Possibly odd gait. Just an uncoordinated walk and awkward run. Noticeable among group of same age peers.

Craves routine. Schedule disruption can cause tantrums or emotional outbursts, defiance. Something as simple as running late for school or a two hour delay is untenable.

Keen interest in esoterica.


Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 10:07     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:I just don't get this. What does hfa with excellent jpint attention look like.


My kid with ASD was diagnosed when he was 4 bc he would not play, engage with peers. No speech delay except for pragmatics. Fully mainstreamed at school. DS goes to an immersion language school. Does well academically and needs no supports in that area. Has IEP for speech/ social skills and OT, fine motor issues. Had no behavior issues until this year, 2nd grade, when the School did a FBA and got him a behavioral plan. He does great with the behavioral plan. Never had behavioral problems at home.

Has trouble reading nonverbal social cues. Has excellent abstract reasoning and analytical thinking ability but flunked all the questions that deal with practical/social norms in his neuropsych testing.

Has obsessive interests and repetitive behaviors. Likes routines and tends to be inflexible.

His eye contact is normal.

Our developmental pediatrician called DS "classic Asperger's" when he was first diagnosed at 4 and that's still a good description... But this is just one kid with AS and if you've met one kid with ASD, you've met one kid with ASD.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 09:38     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
I just don't get this. What does hfa with excellent jpint attention look like.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 09:16     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that ASD is a spectrum disorder. When people say "lack of joint attention", it does not mean a complete lack of joint attention. Only kids on the severe end of autism have little to no joint attention.

Many kids with HFA show joint attention maybe not as much as their NT peers but they can demonstrate joint attention.


Well what's a lot then and what's just occasional? My kid does it constantly, like watch me, look here, see this, do this, etc. All day but has all of the other issues mentioned. We were think add.


Simply put, you cannot rule out HFA bc your child demonstrates joint attention. Joint attention by itself is not a "test" for HFA.

My kid who most definitely has HFA has excellent joint attention. He also has ADHD. You can have both ASD and ADHD. This is a pretty common profile.

I guess I'm confused. What are the deficits then? IN joint attention? And how isn't this severe adhd?

Joint attention deficits are a hallmark of autism. Plenty of research on this.


Yes it is but you can still have autism with very minimal deficits in joint attention. My kid with Asperger's has excellent joint attention.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 08:15     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Our first signs were the acute sensory issues, screaming when we tried to dress him as a toddler and the fact that once he learned how to walk he would drag us around by the hand to get us to get him things, etc. rather than using language, pointing, etc. Also, he used to lick things and people. (Now he's in college -- so if all this sounds really worrying, don't panic. He outgrew a lot of it -- but he was always an odd baby and an odd child.)
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 08:14     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that ASD is a spectrum disorder. When people say "lack of joint attention", it does not mean a complete lack of joint attention. Only kids on the severe end of autism have little to no joint attention.

Many kids with HFA show joint attention maybe not as much as their NT peers but they can demonstrate joint attention.


Well what's a lot then and what's just occasional? My kid does it constantly, like watch me, look here, see this, do this, etc. All day but has all of the other issues mentioned. We were think add.


Simply put, you cannot rule out HFA bc your child demonstrates joint attention. Joint attention by itself is not a "test" for HFA.

My kid who most definitely has HFA has excellent joint attention. He also has ADHD. You can have both ASD and ADHD. This is a pretty common profile.


Joint attention deficits are a hallmark of autism. Plenty of research on this.


Yes it is but you can still have autism with very minimal deficits in joint attention. My kid with Asperger's has excellent joint attention.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 08:13     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that ASD is a spectrum disorder. When people say "lack of joint attention", it does not mean a complete lack of joint attention. Only kids on the severe end of autism have little to no joint attention.

Many kids with HFA show joint attention maybe not as much as their NT peers but they can demonstrate joint attention.


Well what's a lot then and what's just occasional? My kid does it constantly, like watch me, look here, see this, do this, etc. All day but has all of the other issues mentioned. We were think add.


Simply put, you cannot rule out HFA bc your child demonstrates joint attention. Joint attention by itself is not a "test" for HFA.

My kid who most definitely has HFA has excellent joint attention. He also has ADHD. You can have both ASD and ADHD. This is a pretty common profile.


Joint attention deficits are a hallmark of autism. Plenty of research on this.


Can someone give concrete examples of this in a toddler?
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 08:10     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that ASD is a spectrum disorder. When people say "lack of joint attention", it does not mean a complete lack of joint attention. Only kids on the severe end of autism have little to no joint attention.

Many kids with HFA show joint attention maybe not as much as their NT peers but they can demonstrate joint attention.


Well what's a lot then and what's just occasional? My kid does it constantly, like watch me, look here, see this, do this, etc. All day but has all of the other issues mentioned. We were think add.


Simply put, you cannot rule out HFA bc your child demonstrates joint attention. Joint attention by itself is not a "test" for HFA.

My kid who most definitely has HFA has excellent joint attention. He also has ADHD. You can have both ASD and ADHD. This is a pretty common profile.


Joint attention deficits are a hallmark of autism. Plenty of research on this.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 08:07     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that ASD is a spectrum disorder. When people say "lack of joint attention", it does not mean a complete lack of joint attention. Only kids on the severe end of autism have little to no joint attention.

Many kids with HFA show joint attention maybe not as much as their NT peers but they can demonstrate joint attention.


Well what's a lot then and what's just occasional? My kid does it constantly, like watch me, look here, see this, do this, etc. All day but has all of the other issues mentioned. We were think add.


Simply put, you cannot rule out HFA bc your child demonstrates joint attention. Joint attention by itself is not a "test" for HFA.

My kid who most definitely has HFA has excellent joint attention. He also has ADHD. You can have both ASD and ADHD. This is a pretty common profile.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 02:27     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
OP again - I just took the MCHAT but the problem I have with it is that all the questions are either/or. My son falls somewhere on a spectrum. Like, there’s the question which asks if you’ve ever wondered if your child is deaf. I haven’t ever wondered if my son is deaf but I assume he ignores me 80% of the time... as in, he is frequently completely unresponsive to me. How does one account for things like this? I know he can hear me. I felt like there were lots of answers like that.
Anonymous
Post 02/24/2015 02:08     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
I think that the problem with the early ages is that so much changes, very quickly. I did the MCHAT for DS at 18 months. His score was very high risk. I did the same test, at a little past 2 and it came back very low risk.
Like another poster said, if your child is delayed Autism does not always need to be the reason.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2015 23:38     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that ASD is a spectrum disorder. When people say "lack of joint attention", it does not mean a complete lack of joint attention. Only kids on the severe end of autism have little to no joint attention.

Many kids with HFA show joint attention maybe not as much as their NT peers but they can demonstrate joint attention.


Well what's a lot then and what's just occasional? My kid does it constantly, like watch me, look here, see this, do this, etc. All day but has all of the other issues mentioned. We were think add.
Anonymous
Post 02/23/2015 21:49     Subject: HFA what were the first signs????
Keep in mind that ASD is a spectrum disorder. When people say "lack of joint attention", it does not mean a complete lack of joint attention. Only kids on the severe end of autism have little to no joint attention.

Many kids with HFA show joint attention maybe not as much as their NT peers but they can demonstrate joint attention.