My cousin’s son turned 2 in August. I had met him as an 16 month old. He was then a very active toddler. He started walking at 10 months, made appropriate cooing sounds, had good eye contact, played with toys (I did not observe any pretend play at that time). He even had a vocabulary of 8 words. It looks like he has regressed. He has not started talking yet, does not respond to name or follow directions, spins around in circles, does not point at things (I don’t think he ever has). Lately he has started grouping his toys together almost line like but not quite and got very upset when my toddler picked up a little picture book from the collection. Do you think he is autistic ? My cousin moved to our state 2 months ago since her husband got a great job here. The fact that we were family with same age kids also helped a lot. Now she is freaked out. She talked to the state EI and they sent some one home to evaluate the kid . The evaluator(?) said that more testing including a hearing test needs to be done and that some one would contact them soon. The child’s score(?) showed autistic tendencies. This took place 4 days ago. Her hubby was away on work-related stuff when the initial eval was done but will be returning today. She has been crying nonstop and been very depressed. So any parents with autistic kids here who can give some advice?
How can we support them
Challenges your kids faced as toddlers and how they coped.
Daycare problems.
How did you teach them?
Cost of various therapies and how they helped.
Links to good blogs/resources.
Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated. We live in the US and any info on available options here are very welcome.
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers...Please help!
I am sorry to hear about your nephew and though I cannot offer any help, I have read that Early intervention in toddlers helps a lot overall with Autism. InshaAllah your cousin will find the strength to cope with this.
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers...Please help!
there was a drama on Indian channels called 'antara'...i liked the show.,..watched sometimes...the girl, named Antara, is an autistic child...her parents go thru a lot to make their daughter's life more liveable and less stressful. i did NOT watch the endso i dunno how it all ended. it was a good show which could have been made much better...Bollywood masala ruined it!
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers…Please help!
^ Watching indian dramas is not going to help the mother of an autistic child!!!
My cousins son is autistic. There are endless things you can do to help autistic children. There are programs specially designed for autistic children. Therapy will also help. And though parents of children with autism are told it’s incurable, starting treatment early on will help! Autistic children can overcome a lot and learn new skills with the right treatment.
I hope there’s nothing to worry about! I will pray for you cousins son
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers...Please help!
^ Watching indian dramas is not going to help the mother of an autistic child!!!
kiuN? madad kiuN nahiiN mil saktii? it was a good drama minus bollywood crap...the subject was dealt with professionally!
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers...Please help!
early intervention is the key, tell your cousin not to cry or get depressed, he sounds like a high functioning child which means with little help they will live pretty normal life. children with autism respond best to a schedule, if something is not part of the schedule, it will upset them. if a new person is coming forvisit, prepare the child beforehand, tell who will be visiting, there might be a friend he can play with, etc. sit with the two kids and help them play together. try to buld strong relationship with the child.
there are lot of online resources you can look at, you will find some great suggestions.
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers…Please help!
Three years ago I was where you cousin is now when my daughter was also diagnosed after evaluations. I felt the same the way. A dear guppan helped me to see that that it may feel like the end of the world but it’s not.
Early intervention is KEY. At age 2 the child is eligible for in home speech, OT and other therapies which work wonders. I can’t stress this enough but the earlier she starts the better her chances are to tackle the autistic behaviors.
Along with therapies, I would look into the DAN protocol and the GFCF diet.
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers...Please help!
Your cousin and her child are in my prayers.
My nephew has a child that lives with much greater challenges than your nephew appears to have. I'm sure that with all the support that is available for parents and their autistic children, the family will soon adjust to the new routines......iA.
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers...Please help!
Thanks everyone who replied.
njgal, If you don't mind sharing can you tell about how your LO is faring now. How old was she when she was diagnosed? Which therapy does she attend ? What is the out-of-pocket expenditure for such therapies ? My cousin is a stay-at-home mom and her husband is in mathematics research. She is not sure if they can afford many of the necessary therapies unless she also starts working . Ofcourse then she will have less time with her son esp in the present scenario. That also leads to the question of daycare and how the toddler may suddenly adjust to new surroundings with non-autistic children around. I understand if you may feel averse to discussing in the public forum.
Re: Parents and relatives of Autistic toddlers...Please help!
ps. kids dont know at this young age if they are autistic or not let alone what their peers are. If your friend goes with a childcare center, she will have to discuss her child's scenario with the administration. Administration, teacher, parents, and sometimes therapist come up with a plan to help the child be successful in the a school setting.
