ASD traits before the Age of 3

[Lindyloo]

Hi,

 

After over 2 years of waiting Luke is finally being assessed, and is going through the full diagnostic process.

 

So far we have had cognitive tests, home visits, sessions with the clinical psychologist. He still has a speech and language assessment to go.

 

One of the comments that has been made that almost everything points to Aspergers. However, the thing that does not tick the right box is that he did show definite ASD tendencies even as a baby. We have been told that with Aspergers things do not usually become noticeable until the age of 3.

 

Did any of you with children with a diagnosis of Aspergers see traits when they were less than 3? Could this cause a problem with us getting him properly diagnosed? He also does not quite fit in with HFA either, because there was no language delay.

 

If anyone could put my mind at rest ...... I am dreading them coming back and saying that because all the 'diagnostic' boxes are not ticked, they can not say what exactly he does have.

 

Thanks,

Linda

 

 

 

 

[Karen A]

Hi.I think it is unusual for AS to be diagnosed where difficulties were noted before the age of 3.This is because in AS speech development is regarded as within the normal range or advanced.Usually if ASD is suspected before the age of 3 it is because speech development is delayed.

So if there is evidence of ASD before the age of three it is more likely that ASD would be the eventual diagnosis.

However I would think that if speeech development was normal or advanced and the other criteria for AS are met then there is nothing within the criteria to say that a diagnosis of AS could not be made just because there were other ASD traits observed before three.

I hope that is not just more confusing.

If so perhaps someone else could explain more clearly.

I have edited now having followed what others have said.

When we had the 3di there were several things that were signs of AS that we could say we noticed even when Ben was little.We just did not know they might be AS.The obvious example was advanced language and ability to comment in absolute detail on things that Ben saw.We thought that because Ben shared a house with three adults he just benefited from lots of adult conversation. Karen.

Edited April 23, 2009 by Karen A

[bid]

Yes, although at the time because he was baby #1 I dismissed things or blamed myself. Some examples, that I remember talking about during his dx assessment...

 

1. After about 10 months stopped lifting up his arms to be picked up

 

2. Poor eye contact

 

3. Tip-toe walking

 

4. Precocious language development

 

5. Absolutely no reciprocal or symbolic play (I thought it was my fault)

 

6. As a baby just slept and woke to be fed. I thought new babies were a doddle, but later his special needs HV explained that some ASD babies simply don't seek any interaction.

 

7. This is a difficult one to explain, but as a new baby there was no two-way thing going on with me. I later realised with babies #2, 3 and 4 that even tiny brand new babies try to interact with their mums/dads.

 

8. Needed reins until he was over 4.

 

9. Found a box of lego (not Duplo) at 3 and started to build the most amazing, intricate and always completely symmetrical space ships (still does! )

 

I feel a bit teary now...

 

Bid

Edited April 23, 2009 by bid

[Karen A]

Yes, although at the time because he was baby #1 I dismissed things or blamed myself. Some examples, that I remember talking about during his dx assessment...

 

 

 

I feel a bit teary now...

 

Bid

 

<'> <'> It never feels competely ok then.I will stop beating myself up now.......Karen.

 

[skye]

I sought the advice of the local child psychologists before my DD was 2. She was head banging and would not let me cuddle her or tend to her when she hurt herself. I was shuffled off to some parenting courses. She was always a bit different and I could always tell there was something that was different about her. She also walked on tiptoes as soon as she could walk and licked everything all the time including me. It drove me crazy. I am so mad that the professionals didn't figure things out any sooner than they did! I do believe that my DD did display traits even as a baby. We are currently under assessment for AS. I hope this helps.

Edited April 23, 2009 by skye

[oxgirl]

I saw signs in my lad when he was very tiny and he was later dx with AS. I remember holding him up level with my face when he had only recently started to have head control, four or five months or so. Every time I tried to look in his eyes he deliberately moved his head to the side and when I moved with him to see his face, he'd turn his head the other way to avoid me. The word 'autism' just popped into my head from nowhere. I noticed more and more before he was 2 but nobody would listen and just said he was the perfect baby. By 3 I was severely worried and was desperate for some answers and people finally started to listen when he was at nursery school, 4.5.

 

~ Mel ~

[Kazzen161]

Looking back, yes there were signs, but I just thought that was what my children were like. If he had not been my first child, I would have been more worried.

 

eg: he never used baby language - it was always the proper names. He had an obsession with hoovers and cables/plugs from when he was a toddler. He found groups of other children hard to cope with.

[pearl]

Yes, I definitely noticed things but put it down initially to JP being a boy. My first, S, was a girl. Nothing "definitive", & if he hadn't been dx'd I expect I'd have forgotten them by now, but stuff like:

 

very hypersensitive & "jumpy" baby - hated noise

 

looked "alone" in baby creche - wanted to be alone in playpen so he could observe others safely

 

obsessions from an early age - strong attachment to several hard plastic toys that went everywhere with him

 

content to lie alone in his cot for long periods - I feel so guilty that I often let him do that to get a break as he was so demanding otherwise

 

My dad saying to me, theres something wrong - he doesnt listen to you when you speak to him & he is in a world of his own

 

All this was before playgroup at 3 - and playgroup ladies dismissed my concerns. It wasn't till he started reception class at 4 that people realised I wasn't imagining it.

Edited April 23, 2009 by pearl

[cmuir]

Hi

 

I felt certain there was something wrong with my son from the age of 15 months old. He'd bang his head off he walls and the tantrums were horrendous - they'd last forever and would occur for no obvious reason. Those were the most obvious things, but in hindsight, eye contact, dislike of changes in routine, hypersensitivity, lack of sleep, hyperactivity, lack of affection, etc were all present. It wasn't until R was almost 3 that I felt sure it was AS. He wasn't diagnosed for a further year and a half. Like you, I was told that there was a reluctance to diagnose anything before the age of 3 because it would become more obvious and developmental targets were more easily measured, etc. At that time, our HV and GP were emphatic that R didn't have AS and so it was an uphill struggle. It's so difficult not to be impatient when you may be at the end of your tether or are sick with worry. However, it's only now that I can look back and see that it takes so much time because there are often numerous individuals involved within their different areas of expertise, etc and also it's only when the child becomes older that the signs become more obvious. (But, I am bitter about being treated like a neuroic stressed out mother for too long!)

 

Caroline

Edited April 23, 2009 by cmuir

[Sally44]

Can you be more clear and tell us what signs you saw prior to age 3?

My understanding is that the only difference between the two diagnosis of ASD and AS is the language development being typical up to age 3.

Things that I noticed with my son prior to age 3 were absolute terror if anyone apart from myself picked him up. This included his father as well.

He didn't play with toys at all until he was about 2+.

He would climb into the wardrobe, but would never attempt to climb the stairs.

He only enjoyed playing with lego and puzzles, and was way ahead in those areas.

He didn't demand my attention. He only came to me if he wanted a drink or something to eat or the TV on.

He didn't chat socially.

Obviously tantrums, all the time! And so contradictory eg. I would ask him 'do you want X' and he would say 'no', so I'd go to put it away and all hell would break loose.

My son can make eye contact, but as soon as he is concentrating on what he wants to say he has to look away.

He would also bang his head on the wall/floor, scratch at his face or hit himself in the face. And all consuming RAGE.

Lots of sensory behaviour ie. appearing deaf, covering ears, problems with smells, taste, textures of food.

He would vomit automatically if he got upset.

Refusal to leave the house.

His language progressed to two word combinations, then at age 3 he suddenly began repeating whole TV/DVD dialogues. And this would be word perfect, however he didn't have the understanding behind it.

He talks with an American accent.

There was discussion about which diagnosis he would get. I felt that eventhough his language was advanced by age 3 it was echolalic, and therefore not typical language development. The Paediatrician agreed. My son also doesn't appear to have the obsessions that those with AS can have.

The only thing I would say, (and other parents please don't jump on me for saying this), but if there is any doubt about diagnosis, I personally would push for a diagnosis of ASD rather than AS because children with AS are assumed to be much more capable, typically academic etc and don't get the level of supports that a similar child with a diagnosis of an ASD might get.

[Karen A]

Hi,

 

After over 2 years of waiting Luke is finally being assessed, and is going through the full diagnostic process.

 

So far we have had cognitive tests, home visits, sessions with the clinical psychologist. He still has a speech and language assessment to go.

 

One of the comments that has been made that almost everything points to Aspergers. However, the thing that does not tick the right box is that he did show definite ASD tendencies even as a baby. We have been told that with Aspergers things do not usually become noticeable until the age of 3.

 

Did any of you with children with a diagnosis of Aspergers see traits when they were less than 3? Could this cause a problem with us getting him properly diagnosed? He also does not quite fit in with HFA either, because there was no language delay.

 

If anyone could put my mind at rest ...... I am dreading them coming back and saying that because all the 'diagnostic' boxes are not ticked, they can not say what exactly he does have.

 

Thanks,

Linda

 

Hi Linda.I thought I would say in order to try to help put your mind at rest.If your child ticks boxes regarding ASD but the team are finding it difficult to make a decision regarding whether the criteria for AS or ASD are more appropriate then it would be very likely that they will decide on one or the other.They are unlikely to say that because they are not sure which criteria fit bettter they will not give either diagnosis. Karen.

 

[chris54]

My son was diagnosed at the age of 7 and I will quote here from the most recent report we have.

 

"Autistic Spectrum Difficulties, specifically 'high functioning autism'------'his presentation is characteristic of Asperger's Syndrome'".

 

Knowing what we know now it is clear that there was something amiss from the day he was born(Too many thing to list), but it only really became become apparent to us and others that there was a real problem when he started preschool. He just stood out as being different.

Edited April 24, 2009 by chris54

[cmuir]

Can you be more clear and tell us what signs you saw prior to age 3?

My understanding is that the only difference between the two diagnosis of ASD and AS is the language development being typical up to age 3.

Things that I noticed with my son prior to age 3 were absolute terror if anyone apart from myself picked him up. This included his father as well.

He didn't play with toys at all until he was about 2+.

He would climb into the wardrobe, but would never attempt to climb the stairs.

He only enjoyed playing with lego and puzzles, and was way ahead in those areas.

He didn't demand my attention. He only came to me if he wanted a drink or something to eat or the TV on.

He didn't chat socially.

Obviously tantrums, all the time! And so contradictory eg. I would ask him 'do you want X' and he would say 'no', so I'd go to put it away and all hell would break loose.

My son can make eye contact, but as soon as he is concentrating on what he wants to say he has to look away.

He would also bang his head on the wall/floor, scratch at his face or hit himself in the face. And all consuming RAGE.

Lots of sensory behaviour ie. appearing deaf, covering ears, problems with smells, taste, textures of food.

He would vomit automatically if he got upset.

Refusal to leave the house.

His language progressed to two word combinations, then at age 3 he suddenly began repeating whole TV/DVD dialogues. And this would be word perfect, however he didn't have the understanding behind it.

He talks with an American accent.

There was discussion about which diagnosis he would get. I felt that eventhough his language was advanced by age 3 it was echolalic, and therefore not typical language development. The Paediatrician agreed. My son also doesn't appear to have the obsessions that those with AS can have.

The only thing I would say, (and other parents please don't jump on me for saying this), but if there is any doubt about diagnosis, I personally would push for a diagnosis of ASD rather than AS because children with AS are assumed to be much more capable, typically academic etc and don't get the level of supports that a similar child with a diagnosis of an ASD might get.

 

 

Hi

 

A lot of what you've said, I recognised in my own son before he was 3.

 

Just picking up on what Karen A has said ... My son didn't tick all the boxes and we were passed from pillar to post over a long period of time. I had enough of that and started through chance got to see a specialist who seemed to 'get' R completely. I'd also kept diaries, etc and was able to provide photocopies of the relevant bits and sent them in, in advance of appointments (so they'd have time to read them). I think all of that helped. R was eventually diagnosed with ASD and then it changed to AS. This was because it was felt he was having language difficulties which are not usually associated with AS, though he fitted the AS criteria on all other points.

 

Caroline

[Lindyloo]

Hi,

 

Thank you all very much for the replies. It has certainly put my mind at rest.

 

Luke is now 9, and as the clinical psychologist put it, apart from this age 3 thing, 'everything is fitting in to place'.

 

Even as a baby, Luke was different from his elder sister. He did not like to be held or cuddled, he was much happier just on his own in the play pen or cot. I remember this distinctly because this is something I was looking forward to. Big sister was a very cuddly baby, you could hold her for hours and even curl up and go to sleep cradling her. Luke would have none of this. He very rarely cried. When he did you know something was wrong, and even then he did not want any physical comfort. The only toys he was ever interested in were those with repetitive music, or the puzzle / shape sorter type toy. He would repeat the same activity over and over again. He has never ever been able to cope with any sort of 'imaginative' play. He never gave any eye contact, and I felt that there was never any closeness or interaction with him. He would never really communicate needs, even though he could. We can remember a specific incident when Luke was caught trying to get water from the toilet bowl with a cup, rather than asking us for a drink.

 

His language and other major milestones were met perfectly so there was never anything flagged. I just put it down to a boy / girl thing. That is until I noticed the other boys when he started nursery and school, and I realised that they were not like him at all.

 

Anyway, things are happening now. Hopefully we should have the answers we are looking for fairly soon.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to reply, and I may well be joining you officially very soon.

 

Linda