TonnaRee
Member
Hi there. I am here today out of, I guess, desperation?
My grandson is 4 and is the light of my world. He is sweet, smart, funny, creative and generally wonderful. When he was an infant he had feeding issues and sleep issues. He had verbal delays, not speaking until just after his third birthday. He is now 4 and speaks although not clearly.
Because of the verbal delay, his pediatrician had the school district do an evaluation for him, and the school district has diagnosed him with autism. However, his mom (my daughter) and dad don't accept this diagnosis. They say he is strong willed, and maybe has ADHD, but not autism.
Well, first of all, the preschool the school district sent him to was a special ed preschool and it did wonders for him. He has always had trouble transitioning from one thing to the next, so the school gave him a checklist to use and it has worked wonders for him.
But now, school is out for the summer, and he has seemed to regress on some of the strides forward he had taken. He was at vacation bible school today, and they asked my daughter to take him home and not come back because the leaders can't handle him.
The problem today was that he wanted to sit by a friend and they told him no, so he got mad and went to sit by himself. Then they told him he had to come sit down right now or leave, and that sent him over the edge. He was screaming and crying and yelling, and could not calm down. So, now he is excluded. That makes me so sad!
So, my question is, is the school district right? Is he autistic? My daughter and son-in-law are afraid if they go with that diagnosis, "officially" that it will limit his future. But sometimes I wonder if they are right, and there is something else that he is struggling with.
The reasons why sometimes I wonder about autism being the correct diagnosis is that:
1. He is very artistic. He draws better than kids twice his age.
2. He likes playing with other kids.
3. Some of his behaviors seem to be just naughtiness. He talks back to adults, he refuses to listen and just does what he wants, etc.
The reasons I think autism might be the correct diagnosis are:
1. He has a very hard time transitioning from something he enjoys to something else, even if he enjoys the next activity too.
2. When he is upset and things go too far before he can calm down, he loses it. Screams, cries, yells at people, hits, and it takes at least a half an hour to settle down after these episodes.
3. He has a lot of "catch phrases", things he has heard others say and he uses them frequently. Things like "come on!" and "can you do me a favor?".
*sigh* I am hoping some of you on this forum can give me some advice and direction. I just want what is best for him and help him through some of these challenges.
Thanks for listening.
My grandson is 4 and is the light of my world. He is sweet, smart, funny, creative and generally wonderful. When he was an infant he had feeding issues and sleep issues. He had verbal delays, not speaking until just after his third birthday. He is now 4 and speaks although not clearly.
Because of the verbal delay, his pediatrician had the school district do an evaluation for him, and the school district has diagnosed him with autism. However, his mom (my daughter) and dad don't accept this diagnosis. They say he is strong willed, and maybe has ADHD, but not autism.
Well, first of all, the preschool the school district sent him to was a special ed preschool and it did wonders for him. He has always had trouble transitioning from one thing to the next, so the school gave him a checklist to use and it has worked wonders for him.
But now, school is out for the summer, and he has seemed to regress on some of the strides forward he had taken. He was at vacation bible school today, and they asked my daughter to take him home and not come back because the leaders can't handle him.
The problem today was that he wanted to sit by a friend and they told him no, so he got mad and went to sit by himself. Then they told him he had to come sit down right now or leave, and that sent him over the edge. He was screaming and crying and yelling, and could not calm down. So, now he is excluded. That makes me so sad!
So, my question is, is the school district right? Is he autistic? My daughter and son-in-law are afraid if they go with that diagnosis, "officially" that it will limit his future. But sometimes I wonder if they are right, and there is something else that he is struggling with.
The reasons why sometimes I wonder about autism being the correct diagnosis is that:
1. He is very artistic. He draws better than kids twice his age.
2. He likes playing with other kids.
3. Some of his behaviors seem to be just naughtiness. He talks back to adults, he refuses to listen and just does what he wants, etc.
The reasons I think autism might be the correct diagnosis are:
1. He has a very hard time transitioning from something he enjoys to something else, even if he enjoys the next activity too.
2. When he is upset and things go too far before he can calm down, he loses it. Screams, cries, yells at people, hits, and it takes at least a half an hour to settle down after these episodes.
3. He has a lot of "catch phrases", things he has heard others say and he uses them frequently. Things like "come on!" and "can you do me a favor?".
*sigh* I am hoping some of you on this forum can give me some advice and direction. I just want what is best for him and help him through some of these challenges.
Thanks for listening.
