For some reason when people asked if Noah spins I thought they meant him physically...I didn't realise they meant toys.

He spins everything he can, or he will lay with his head against the ground and roll small cars back and forth...

The towel thing...blankets or towels he shakes while standing up, it's actually the best way to get him to practice walking...I had no idea this was "stimming"...

He also chews...his thumb is actually deformed from him chewing it, and the finish on his crib has been chewed off along the top and side rails...

I know he has sensory issues too

He has several repetative behaviours, I basically have to be on him at all times in order for him to do anything productive...like hand over hand play and constant re-direction...

Plus the fact that he is way behind his peers with DS who are the same age...he has no signs and only a handful of babble sounds (which are again repeated over and over..)

He also licks railings, looks under doors, closes all doors, looks at the edge of the stove and cupboards, looks out of the bottom or sides of his eyes...I actually have to make sure I push his face out of the way of the corner of the fridge everytime I close it...the second I open the fridge he crawls as quickly as he can to push his face in it..

All of this is constant...he also hits himself, bangs his head against his crib, or my chest when I hold in him a sitting position

He is waiting on the list for an assessment...but even that we probably won't see until January...

Does this sound like autism to anyone else?

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Mom to: Nicholas (May/02), Nathan (April/04), Charlene (June/06), Noah (DS) (May/07), Jesse Lynn (July/08 ), Tessa (Apr/10)

He certainly seems to be showing the signs of PDD. If I had to guess based on what you described I would say yes that he has PDD.

This is Mikey stimming:

http://www.randomthinking.info/wordpress/2007/10/06/mikey-stimming/

_________________
Tom

Dad to Beth (17) and Mikey (13 - Ds and PDD-NOS)
My Blog - Random Thinking
Find me on Facebook
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Yup, it does sound like autistic behaviour to me...

We checked Matt alongside this - it may help you?

http://www.autism-pdd.net/checklist.html

_________________
Helen

Mum to ...
Rachael Kinza (25/07/01), Matthew Isaac - DS & Autism - (14/06/03) and Hannah Cerys (14/06/05) - my gorgeous kids!

Noah can check off most of the requirements...

I think the only one he couldn't was the one for a child who can talk...which he can't.

I'm wondering though, how do they plan to measure his IQ when he can't talk? He doesn't really gesture or point or well...anything like that.

Oh and we have to give him melatonin just to get him to sleep for most of the night, but he'll still wake up when it's pitch black outside and bang his crib, laugh at nothing and make some just odd sort of primal noises.

He doesn't seem to understand facial queues either, like if I'm obviously displeased with him he will smile and laugh, and then out of nowhere he will copy the face but he isn't displeased. It really makes no real sense.

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Mom to: Nicholas (May/02), Nathan (April/04), Charlene (June/06), Noah (DS) (May/07), Jesse Lynn (July/08 ), Tessa (Apr/10)

TheBradyBunch wrote:

He spins everything he can, or he will lay with his head against the ground and roll small cars back and forth... The towel thing...blankets or towels he shakes while standing up. He also chews this thumb.. He also licks railings, looks under doors, closes all doors.

Austin does these things also. He also rocks back and fourth on the floor and bumps when he sits in a chair. I have asked a few times if these are issues and my answer was no. Should I be worried, and look more into it?

_________________
~Christine~
Mom of 6
Brandon ADD/ADHD 17, Chelsea 14, Connor 12, Logan 6, Cody 4 & Austin 1 ( DS & Hirschsprungs pull through 12/8/08 )
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/austinpaquin

They could be sensory issues. He's a little young to diagnose with PDD.

_________________
Tom

Dad to Beth (17) and Mikey (13 - Ds and PDD-NOS)
My Blog - Random Thinking
Find me on Facebook
Find me on Twitter as tgpaul

With Austin, if he only does those things, but his social interaction is good, then I would suggest you keep an eye on him, but don't worry too much. We were told that a child needs to be 'deficient' in all three areas of development to be considered autistic.

Like Noah, Matt will laugh at 'nothing' and it comes from nowhere, but not respond to other people's facial expressions. At least, that's what he did when he was 3. Now he has learned to laugh when we laugh, and it's wonderful.

Matt doesn't talk, and has only recently - in the past year - learnt to sign again. And this is limited to 4 or 5 signs which he does, usually, on cue. He says no words, just kind of grunts and moans! In terms of IQ, it is hard to measure as it relies on the child understanding language to complete a task.

Can you push for an assessment of Noah ASAP? It sounds like he could benefit from more early intervention.

_________________
Helen

Mum to ...
Rachael Kinza (25/07/01), Matthew Isaac - DS & Autism - (14/06/03) and Hannah Cerys (14/06/05) - my gorgeous kids!

I can't get assessment any sooner...unfortunately the waitlist is long and I don't have the $1500 it would cost to pay for one myself. He is on the cancellation list though, so hopefully that will get him sooner...but people don't usually cancel.

If he does get his diagnosis, it would open up funding so I could hire a therapist to work with him, I too think the sooner the better

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Mom to: Nicholas (May/02), Nathan (April/04), Charlene (June/06), Noah (DS) (May/07), Jesse Lynn (July/08 ), Tessa (Apr/10)