Cynthia Said:

When did you know your child was autistic?

We Answered:

My niece was diagnosed at 2 and a half. Her parents knew there was something wrong with her within weeks of her birth- had a lot of the delays that you described, among other problems. Keep pushing your pediatrician. You might want to visit this website for further resources:

http://www.autism-society.org/site/PageS…

Bottom line- trust your gut. You know if something is not right with your child. If someone says "oh there's nothing to worry about" ask them to explain why and show you the developmental guidelines and why your child is within those guidelines. If they can't do that, seek another doctor. It is a proven fact that austistic children benefit from early intervention.

Jimmy Said:

Christians only please!!!!?

We Answered:

You already said "I just knew I would get in", and yet at the first sign of trouble, you immediately became discouraged.

DID God reveal to you that you would get in, or not? Was it faith or presumption? If it was faith, hold fast to your faith.

If you prayed, then went ahead and just did what YOU wanted to do without knowing for certain that God wanted you there, then that is presumption, and leads to all kinds of sin (such as getting angry, for instance.)

So, you need to know that you truly DO know God's will, and stick with it. Paul had some kind of "thorm in the flesh", and he asked God three times to remove it, but God told him no! (*SHOCK*) God DOES say no to us sometimes.

But if you know He DID say yes, then "stay the course".

IS this God's way of saying this is not what He has planned for you? No one can answer that because no one can look into your heart and see your motivation or your connection with the Spirit. Again, if God DID speak in some manner to you and you received some kind of confirmation, then "Be very courageous" as God told Joshua at least 7 times.

God bless you as you seek His will for your life.

Guy Said:

When did you know your child was autistic?

We Answered:

It can be very hard to diagnosis autism in children under the age of two. The reasong for that is that most pediatricians hold to the +/- 6 month rule with kids under 24 months. Basically, this means being up to six months behind in what is considered average development is often not seen as anything to be concerned about. Since your child is going to be getting services, I would push your pediatrician for a referal to a developmental pediatrician..this specialist is certainly in a better position to determine what is "ok" as far as delays may go and what is reason for concern. I tell parents to push for a formal diagnosis if it is applicable. Some doctors are worried about "labelling" young kids with a diagnosis like autism. It is always better to have a diagnosis on your child's medical record. A formal diagnosis (which must come from a medical doctor..the diagnosis from child find or school sponsered testing will not always be enough) is needed to qualify for most state, local or federally sponsered programs. Addtionally, some insurance companies will use the lack of an official diagnosis as a way to deny requests for private speech, OT, etc. And, finally, without a formal diagnosis, it can be difficult to claim the costs for treatment you pay out of pocket when tax time comes around. Just remind them that a diagnosis can always be changed if future testing shows it to be incorrect.

As for when I knew...I started suspecting at 12 months when my son suddently started withdrawing. And, while he had never been a cuddly child, he suddenly could not bear physical contact. My pediatrician listened to my concerns, but because of where we were at the time (military stationed overseas) we had to wait several months to get into a specialist. By that point, my son had lost most of the words he had begun to use, but the clincher for me was when he took a spill and hit his forehead on a concrete floow. You could hear the thud, yet he simply got up and walked away. He was finally diagnosed around 22 months old. It can be done, but you will need an experienced developmental specialist.

Jack Said:

does anyone think that there are better treatments/ therapies/support/help for people in the u.s for people?

We Answered:

There are many websites out from u.k. and us and they are all different. The debate of whether medication works has been out for long time. It works for some people and sometimes even with medication the person never heals completely. I don't think you have an actual need for medication. Your problems mainly comes from the abuse and abuse can make people crazy so go on the www.alice-miller.com website and learn more about how that happens. And often medication numbs your ability to feel which is what you need to do in order to heal. in your case i'm strongly against medication. Like you have problem getting out of your apartment and i think that it has more to do with psychological reasons. You need to heal, face the truth, and re-program yourself, unlearn things and relearn new things.