My son is nearly 3 and has autism, he cannot communicate yet.?

Question

My son has autism, so when we go to new places he keeps crying and is upset, so anyone out there who has been through this problem, does it get better? what do you do to make him not upset? like when he gets his haircut,go shopping, taking a walk a different way? he pulls your hand for communication as he cannot speak,we have done a picture book of places and soon going to do pecs,will this help?

Answer 1

Many children with autism have problems with sensory integration disfunction. Read the book "The out of sync child."  It has many ways in which you can help your child cope with things. Trust me it is a Godsend. You mention that he doesn't like new things and gets upset when his routine is different. Many children with autism also have OCD obsessive cumpolsive disorder. Your son gets comfort out of a routine and when you change it it bothers him. Try talking to him before hand and preparing him. Perhaps you can have a special teddy that gives him comfort that speaks to him along the way and lets him know everything is ok. Children like things like that. Your son should soon be starting preschool. It is important that when he starts that he be evaluated through the school district. You can then get speech theropy through the school. It is also very important that you get him into an early intervention program for children with autism. Because their brains are still developing you can still work on reshaping different areas of the brain that may not be working very well. Get in contact with an occupational therepist. They will be of great help to you. Make sure that when he starts preschool that he be evaluated and gets an IEP individualized educational program. This will help your son get many of the services he will need. There sould also be a regional center near you that can help you with the schooling aspect and help you get help. Call your local school district and they should be able to help you.

Answer 2

TAARE ZAMEEN PAR

Latest bollywood movie by Aamir Khan, could be an appropriate answer.

Answer 3

Children with ASD have problems with change and can be quite obsessive about going the same way to the same places. They also have trouble with over stimulation in bright, crowded and noisy environments.

I think the picture idea could be a good one, IF, he can identify and object in a picture, which many ASD children his age cannot. PECS is a good system, but only if he can recognize objects in pictures. It is going to take some very specific training to get him to do that if he doesn't already.

One way to get him motivated to look at pictures is to remove everything from the environment that he likes. For instance toys should all be stored out of sight and food items should be available only upon request.

Take pictures of everything and when he leads you somewhere, show him two pictures, one of which you think he wants. If he can't point to a picture, take his hand and have him touch the picture of what you think he wants and then give it to him.

The point here is that he has to be highly motivated to even look at pictures, so removing things from the environment and having him request them is one of the best ways to get him to point to something. You are GOING to give him the item every time, whether he actually points to it or if you use hand over hand.

At this point in his life he is completely lost in a world that he cannot understand. His senses are flooded when things are complicated. One thing you can do to get you through going to the store or other places is to get a toy he likes that is highly stimulating and let him play with it in the car or grocery store. This will assist him with screening out the overwhelming sensory stiumlation.

We had a five year old boy who could not tolerate the lunchroom at school. As soon as he ate lunch, he would begin screaming and there was NOTHING you could do to stop him. We would have to carry him out of the lunchroom. So we had a spinner object that he truly loved and would play with for hours. As soon as he got done with lunch, we gave him the toy and he was fine.

If you really want to understand your child's view of the world, read "Thinking in Pictures" and "Animals in Translation" by Dr. Temple Grandin. She is a high functioning autistic woman who had written a number of books about the minds of autistic people. You will be completely enlightened and it is fascinating reading. They are available at your local library.

Good luck. It isn't an easy road you are traveling.

Answer 4

My son is 9 and is autistic.  Some things I can tell you is that individuals with autism have problems with change in their routines.  It is important to have a routine and stick to it.  One thing about being in a store or in other public places:  most children with autism also have sensory integration dysfunction (SID) and there could be something as simple as the sound of the lights (you may not hear it, but they do), the strength of the lights may hurt, the commotion with all the other shoppers, smells, sounds, sights all of it is too much for a child with autism to process.  Your life changes to meet his life --that is how it works when you have a child with autism.  

Set a routine -- have a picture chart of exactly what you are doing that day and keep to the chart and the routine.  If he has a routine or particular way he prefers to go for his walk, why upset him and change it?  Haircuts are typically a major issue for children with autism.  

Take time and do some research.  Find some other parents who can share information with you.  It will help you understand and help coping with the demands of raising an autistic child that much easier.  You will find some days aren't so bad and other days are not so good.

Answer 5

I have heard a number of stories about children starting to talk when they are 4-I have also seen some with near age appropriate communication near age 3 and others who don't start really communicating until they are older-using verbal language, picturs, sign--there was even a story on abc bews about a 13 year old that started typing to communicate 2 years ago-she said her teeth hurt nad she wanted to date...even explained what it felt like to have autism...

there is the full range-of people that are severely imparied and non communicative for life to the people with autism that are indistinguishable from others without autism..

At 3 there is still reason to hope that  a lot of progress will be made.

I've known a number of children that communicate excellently with Pecs-saying what they want-if they are sick, etc.....

haircuts tend to be difficult for a lot of people with autism-could be sensory issues-the feeling of less hair, the itch of the cut hair-the sound of the scissors.........

Many are very dependent on what is expected-like walking a certain way-I have known some children that adjusted-as they got older-we would tell them a head of time that a change was going to take place-and that helped ease the anxiety-now they can accept change-using pictures to visually display the route may help-show the picture of the next part of teh walk before changing direction-make small changes at first-and then go back to what is expected for the remainder of the trip.

Using a comfort object has also helped-I knew a 5 year old that loved a 'picnic' puzzle'-it went everywhere with us-luch, field trips, fire drills...

Answer 6

http://groups.msn.com/AUTISMsupportgroup...

This is one support group for parents of children with autism. I am sure there are many others. From what I have seen on television, about 40% of children with autism can be helped to communicate well by the age of 9 if they are involved with therapy for this.

Good luck, Rail

Answer 7

Have you asked for an Early Childhood Education/Early Intervention (EI) evaluation for your son? This can be done by calling your local school district. EI will provide services for your son via therapies and pre-school.