Beginning to think we all have ASD

[petal4]

Hi all, It's nice to meet you all and it's great that I've finally found a forum which seems to have pretty quick response times.

 

Just wanted to introduce myself, my name is Hayley, I'm 34 and I have 2 children, a daughter who is 11 and a son who is 3.

 

I'm here because I've been doing research on Autism/Aspergers, mainly because I have many concerns over my 3yr old son.

 

Upon reading what I have over the past weeks, I'm beginning to realise I show a lot of the signs of Aspergers. I also received a phonecall from my daughters father (who hasn't played a big part in her life but recently became interested again after years of nothing) to say he has concerns that our daughter is Autistic. Her father used to be a support worker for kids with ASD's and so he does know a lot about it. The only trouble is the behaviours she exhibits at his house, she doesn't exhibit at home. Surely an autistic child can't pick and choose when to be autistic? I'm beginning to believe that some of my "ways" are just rubbing off on her but that she's not actually autistic herself.

 

I will definitely come back and write more later but I have to leave shortly to take my son to pre-school.

 

Just popped on quick to say hello and I look forward to getting to know you all.

[RainbowsButterflies]

Hi Hayley,

 

I'm trying to get a referral for an assessment for Aspergers/PDA myself, and I am concerned that my daughter (nearly 3) is showing some of my behaviours as well. It's difficult to work out whether it's age appropriate behaviour, copied behaviour of if she has some underlying issues herself (e.g. getting agitated when it's noisy, going non-verbal when upset, she is very pedantic about certain things, has a strong aversion to being told to do something - to the extent where she would seemingly rather get in trouble than do something trivial).

 

Can't offer a lot of support as I'm only at the start of the process myself, but just wanted to let you know you're not alone.

[coolblue]

The only trouble is the behaviours she exhibits at his house, she doesn't exhibit at home. Surely an autistic child can't pick and choose when to be autistic? I'm beginning to believe that some of my "ways" are just rubbing off on her but that she's not actually autistic herself.

 

 

 

 

Hi Hayley

 

It's important to keep in mind that 'autism' is a set of symptoms. Like any other set of symptoms with a physical cause, the symptoms can vary within the same person depending on all kinds of factors. If you have flu, for example, one minute you feel as if you're dying and fifteen minutes after taking a pain-killer you feel much better. It doesn't mean that fifteen minutes ago you had flu and now you don't.

 

Around 50% of people's behaviour is caused by genetic factors, so it's quite difficult to determine whether a child behaves in a certain way because of some genetic cause, or whether they have picked up the 'ways' of a parent.

 

People with autism often have unusual sensory responses. It's quite possible that the smell of another house, or the food eaten in it, or even someone else's voice, might trigger autistic behaviour in your daughter. My son, for example, who has auditory processing problems, tends to respond better to women's voices than to men's voices, but can't bear the voices of young children. He becomes very autistic when young children are around. It could be something to do with preferring women to men and not liking young children, but I suspect it's because he can hear higher pitched tones better, but very high-pitched voices hurt his ears.

 

Your daughter is still very young and if her behaviour is so variable it's likely that any professional will be reluctant to diagnose her, unless a diagnosis will give access to any additional support - which tends to be a bit luck of the draw - so I'd be tempted to just keep an open mind and keep an eye on her.

 

cb

[trekster]

Hello Hayley and welcome to the boards

 

If your daughters father thinks independently that your daughter could be on the spectrum then

i would say that is a clear indication that something is different about your daughter.

 

My signature includes other complications of being on the spectrum which Tyndall's park hospital

in Bristol had to see through to detect any signs of Aspergers/autism. They were an excellent

place for my gran and I to attend when we needed to know what made me tick.

 

i was diagnosed age 16 after i had developed compensatory behaviours for dealing with my Aspergers

and also other peoples attitudes towards me. i am still learning some newer strategies but as 'old

habits die hard' it is a very difficult process over 15 years later. The earlier the assessment and

diagnosis the better.

 

This link from the NAS might help you;

 

http://www.autism.org.uk/en-gb/about-autism/autism-and-asperger-syndrome-an-introduction.aspx