ADHD or autism?

[mandii]

Hey ladies my 2yr old son Cian wont talk, he will say the odd word every so often but never joins them to form small statements, he just babbles, he cant focus on anything longer than a few minutes, his tempers are unreal i have never seen a 2yr old with a temper so bad, his milestones such as walking, crawling etc were all late, he has an appointment with the doctor in a fortnight to be evaluated for ADHD or autism, does any mummies of children with these conditions think my son may have one of them?

xxx

 

[katey123]

It sounds abit unusual as ADHD doesn't usually appear 'til the age of 3 years . But I guess it could be something else on the Austic spectum I'm afraid I wouldn't know much about other conditions .
On the other hand my daughter who does not have ADHD turned 2 years old and wouldn't say a word ,she wouldn't even try then suddenly 4 months later she is chatting away in full sentences saying clear words like cucumber and thankyou and counting to ten . So may be don't worry to soon.
My son was also talking by 2 1/2 years and was excelling at maths in school at the age of 4 and 5 years before his diagnoses of ADHD . But I really did notice a real change in him at the age of 3 , he turned into a monster over night .Hope may be this helps you alittle good luck xx.

 

[mandii]

my son is 2yrs and almost 5 months old and doesnt talk, he doesnt understand how to let me know he has done the toilet so i cant begin to potty train him till he realises whats happening, hes supposed to be starting nursery when he is 3 and if hes not potty trained perfectly by then he wont be allowed in xx

 

[lisey27]

Hiya,
My son has autism and its such a complex and large spectrum, nobody apart from speacialists can tell you if they feel your son is on the spectrum because it is so vast. I think its terrible that the nursery won't accept him unless he is potty trained. Have you spoke to them about your concerns and the fact that he is seeing the doctor regarding this? maybe they will make an exception. I hope they do xx

 

[katey123]

Some children just aren't up to the speed of others , I'm in no hurry to potty train a child who doesn't understand what is happening as it will only cause more harm than good , if that's the schools policy then they'll have to wait for him . I worked in a pre school and the upset these little accidents the children have is sometimes really distressing for the child, I believe it's really important to be lead by the child and not what the school and others tell you.
Every one of my 5 children have been at different ages when they became ready to potty train but they were all dry by 3.5 years . Try not to worry xx

 

[inky]

I wouldn't worry too much, not being able to communicate your wants and needs must be very frustrating - might explain the temper? My son is 2 next month and although he tries his best he can't form full words yet, although he understands everything I say. Every child develops at their own pace, and 2 years old seems a little young to be thinking about autism or ADHD just yet. See what your doctor says tho I guess x

 

[titch]

I'm sorry you're going through this, you must be so worried.

I used to work on an autism diagnostic team. You're very unlikely to get any kind of diagnosis at your first doctors appointment. Its the start of a process of a team of professionals getting to know your son, and watching how he develops over time, it could very easily take years and you may get to the end and they discharge as they're happy with his development. What's more important than a specific diagnosis is that you access some relevant therapies, it seems like communication is your main concern so your doctor will refer you to see a speech and language therapist. They will likely work on finding a way to teach your son to communicate non-verbally at first, this should help with his frustration and often speech naturally follows once youeliminate the frustration and the child realises how much better it is to just communicate what they want! All the research shows the sooner all the different therapies start the better the child does long term so although it may seem scary, and like you'd rather just wait and hope things fall into place,my top tip is to accept every referral offered, get the therapies, they won't do anything that will harm his development. Take the time to understand the therapies they show you, you are your childs best therapist, you know your child best and what you do everyday, just the little things will make such a big difference. You will be able to be very proud of your boy AND yourself when you look back on this.

I hope that helps, if you want to rant, ask questions or have a cyber-shoulder to cry on, let me know. I can't claim to have been there myself, but I've supported countless parents through this and seen the process pan out. It would be ace if they can refer you to a parent support group so you can meet other people who are going through similar things x

 

[titch]

Oh and when you do see the speech therapist, mention the toilet training thing, they will be able to make it a goal to find a way for him to communicate to you that he needs to go x

 

[titch]

Hi Mandii how are things going? have you had many appointments come through yet?