Autism

First off, I'm sorry that you are having to deal with this. But it's not the end of the world! :) Obviously your son has some struggles in his development, though. And even if you don't like the word "Autism", it would be detrimental to his development if you ignored this! You still have to deal with all of the issues he has, that have brought him to be diagnosed. That is the only way that you can help him to live up to his FULL potential. My son is 3, and he was diagnosed just after his birthday. He has been in special preschool since about that time, but has been seeing speech and OT therapists for a little over a year now. His regular pediatrician referred us to our state's "early intervention" program, which set us up with free services, to get him started. The sooner you get your son help, the better off he will be! :) Here are some links that might be helpful to you: http://www.autismspeaks.org/ AutismSpeaks.Org http://www.autism-pdd.net/ Autism-PDD.net Also, an autism forum that has a lot of great information, as well: http://www.autismweb.com/forum/ AutismWeb.com/Forum If you have anymore questions, just ask. :) My son has made a lot of improvements just being in his special preschool. So the sooner you can get your son help- be it school, therapy, etc- the better for him, and the better for you. :) Best of luck to you!

Hi! I just wanted to add that your child's life is not over! There is nothing that says your child can't live up to his full potential! As a parent who struggled with this, the "labels," and mourned that my daughter is autistic, once I accepted that she needed help, boy, did the weight come off my shoulders! It will take you a while to accept this, but when you do, you will be ready to take on the challenges of helping your child. My daughter is also going to developmental preschool and she has made huge strides! She will probably go to kindergarten next year. She was originally thought to be high functioning autistic, but at a recent Genetics Clinic, they told us PDD-NOS, and not serious at that. They expect her to be caught up in a few years or less (she had a language delay, and my family doctor was brave enough to call my attention to it and ask me to get help for my daughter - Bless his heart!). Things aren't really as "bleak" as they look now. While the movie Rainman brought Autism to the forefront, it also "typecast" all people with autism as being like Raymond. This is not true! Don't let the labels scare you, they exist to help professonals know what your child needs. No two autistics are exactly alike. Your child is an individual and will be cared for based on his particular needs. I hope this helps! Don't worry - things will get better from here! :-)

Hi! Hey, want to hear something encouraging? My little one is PDD-NOS, as I've stated before. Last night she wrote a letter to her grandparents. Yes, she WROTE a letter - a 3 page letter! All I did was tell her how to spell the words and help her write the letter G. She's only 4! If you have any doubts about what your child will be able to do, perhaps this will put them to rest! Early diagnosis is the best thing for your son - it will give him the best chance to start overcoming it! :-)

My son's diagnosis is PDD-NOS. In my experience, you absolutely cannot ignore the diagnosis, as it will affect him his whole life. If you ignore the diagnosis, you will try to discipline your child the way you would a neurotypical child, with potentially disasterous results. Please read everything that you can find on high-functioning autism, PDD-NOS and Asperger syndrome. You may find that your son has characteristics of each. For instance, my son has a lot of Asperger traits, but is definitely not someone with Asperger syndrome. By learning about Asperger Syndrome, I was able to learn techniques that help me to deal with those traits. You can't see the label as an excuse or a negative thing. You need to see it as a starting point. "ok, now we know what it is, let's see what we can do about it".