Diaper Swappers

alexmama · 07-06-2012, 11:29 AM

Update: Alexander had his neurologist appt this morning and after an hour long visit and tons of questions i was told he is meeting everyone milestone for his age and his development is on track! The Dr. wants to see him again at one year but said he anticipates no issues. Thank you for all of the encouragement and support it meant a lot.

my youngest DS is 5 months old and at his 4 month appt his pedi insisted he see a neurologist a.s.a.p and she even made an appt with her colleague for us while we were still there. we go this coming Wednesday and I am a little nervous, Alexander is such a sweet child but he displays some behaviors at times that worry us. he is very uncomfortable around loud noises or bright lights, he likes to see people but if anyone other than me or DP touch him he freaks out cries. He has trouble with his physical development he can hold his head for a few sec but not much longer and he constantly keeps his hands and arms scrunched up by his head kinda like cute little bird wings. My other children were able to move freely at this point, interact with people and such. When the neurologist sent us the forms to fill out pre appt I noticed that him and all his colleagues were autism and spectrum disorder specialist so I am wondering if that's why pedi is sending us, I'm very nervous all together. So if your child is on the spectrum were there specific signs they displayed even at this young age? what should I expect from the initial neurologist visit? my oldest DS just finished 3 years of chemo for his A.L.L. and I thought medically we were finally in the clear. sorry this was so long I'm just feeling vulnerable today and wondered if anyone has any advice, thanks.

GreenHome Sewing · 07-06-2012, 11:46 AM

Little experience with infants on the spectrum, but my five year old is going to a specialist in a few weeks. Spectrum disorder has been suggested, among scarier things.

ktmelody · 07-06-2012, 12:37 PM

I would be wary of anyone trying to diagnose a 5 month old with a spectrum disorder. Likely you are just going to a neurologist that happens to specialize in neurology and kids on the spectrum. Its hard to even diagnose 2 year olds with autism. My guess is they are going to look for neurological disorders that could affect his muscles etc and not a spectrum disorder.

hopefully they can figure out whats going on either way.

alexmama · 07-06-2012, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktmelody

I would be wary of anyone trying to diagnose a 5 month old with a spectrum disorder. Likely you are just going to a neurologist that happens to specialize in neurology and kids on the spectrum. Its hard to even diagnose 2 year olds with autism. My guess is they are going to look for neurological disorders that could affect his muscles etc and not a spectrum disorder.

hopefully they can figure out whats going on either way.

I thought about that as well, I mean he is just so young. Our pedi just wouldn't give me an exact reason for sending him so when I got the letter and saw they specialize in spectrum disorders I think my mind just jumped to this. I'm worried, but its crazy because I don't know what I'm worrying about, if that makes sense.

ktmelody · 07-06-2012, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexmama

I thought about that as well, I mean he is just so young. Our pedi just wouldn't give me an exact reason for sending him so when I got the letter and saw they specialize in spectrum disorders I think my mind just jumped to this. I'm worried, but its crazy because I don't know what I'm worrying about, if that makes sense.

Try not to worry too much. I doubt even if they thought it was a spectrum disorder they would wait a while before diagnosing. There are many neurological disorders that can look the same.

I am sure they will run lots of tests before diagnosing.

My 2.5 year old has a spectrum disorder but has never had issues with rigid muscles or motor problems, though they can happen in autism. All of my babies have been super shy around people at that age and only wanted mommy. With my daughter that has autism at that age it was like people were not even around, she was not very aware of people around her, now she just doesn't know how to socialize (she is very high functioning though)

Keep us posted on what neurology says!

Suzi · 07-06-2012, 01:53 PM

You could call the neurologist's office and see exactly what the reason for the referral was. All I remember about my son as an infant is how he wasn't interested in his older brother at all. He was a little harder to soothe than his brother but not really too bad and he mainly just wanted his mom. If he was in a sling with me, life was good. One thing that was more when he was older is that he never pulled at my shirt to breast feed. He was 2 when he was weaned and he never once tried to access it himself.

We never had any motor problems at that age. he has some fine motor development delays but that was more due to his lack of interest in working at them.

ChelseaGirl7 · 07-06-2012, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktmelody

I would be wary of anyone trying to diagnose a 5 month old with a spectrum disorder. Likely you are just going to a neurologist that happens to specialize in neurology and kids on the spectrum. Its hard to even diagnose 2 year olds with autism. My guess is they are going to look for neurological disorders that could affect his muscles etc and not a spectrum disorder.

hopefully they can figure out whats going on either way.

Totally agree. Try not to worry. Good luck!

mamashhon · 07-06-2012, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ktmelody

I would be wary of anyone trying to diagnose a 5 month old with a spectrum disorder. Likely you are just going to a neurologist that happens to specialize in neurology and kids on the spectrum. Its hard to even diagnose 2 year olds with autism. My guess is they are going to look for neurological disorders that could affect his muscles etc and not a spectrum disorder.

hopefully they can figure out whats going on either way.

This.

Autism is diagnosed after many red flags indicating autism are displayed. It's just not possible to be able to distinguish these for an ASD diagnosis yet. So try not to worry.

My second child is a spectrum baby and he was significantly different as an infant than my other children. He was very flustered as an infant, rarely slept, cried a lot, had low muscle tone. There was a study recently regarding head lag in infants who were later diagnosed with autism. My ASD child did have head lag, my other children did not. There were a lot of things that were "off" about him as a baby that are duh moments for me now. But again, try not to worry. I have a friend who's son developed almost IDENTICAL to my DS and he's not autistic, completely typical developing child. Neither of our babies crawled until one. Just very identical growth. Her son started talking after one, where around 18m on it became apparent that something was different. No words until 2.5, repetitive movements, basically autism became obvious. My DS started therapy at 6 months for low muscle tone and has been in early intervention ever since. He's very high functioning and aside from some challenges lately, he's an awesome little boy.

JKCCart · 07-06-2012, 08:30 PM

Sorry you are going through this. We are going through something similar with our 8 month old. We've known since her traumatic birth to watch for signs, but they started surfacing around 5 1/2 months. She has been diagnosed with epilepsy, she is hypertonic, and she has brain damage all over. Most of her brain damage is in the occipital lobe (vision), so she is also visually impaired. I am just now getting around to finding people for a support group, but I would be willing to extend a hand to have someone else to talk to about having an infant with special needs!

ETA: Sorry I forgot to say our daughter sees a neurologist too, and has had a full "neuro work-up", so I can relate to part of what you are talking about.

mekat · 07-06-2012, 09:58 PM

Responded to the wrong thread, sorry.

07-06-2012, 11:29 AM	#1
alexmama Registered Users Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: va Posts: 959 Ratings: 18 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	UPDATE...parents of kids on the spectrum Update: Alexander had his neurologist appt this morning and after an hour long visit and tons of questions i was told he is meeting everyone milestone for his age and his development is on track! The Dr. wants to see him again at one year but said he anticipates no issues. Thank you for all of the encouragement and support it meant a lot. my youngest DS is 5 months old and at his 4 month appt his pedi insisted he see a neurologist a.s.a.p and she even made an appt with her colleague for us while we were still there. we go this coming Wednesday and I am a little nervous, Alexander is such a sweet child but he displays some behaviors at times that worry us. he is very uncomfortable around loud noises or bright lights, he likes to see people but if anyone other than me or DP touch him he freaks out cries. He has trouble with his physical development he can hold his head for a few sec but not much longer and he constantly keeps his hands and arms scrunched up by his head kinda like cute little bird wings. My other children were able to move freely at this point, interact with people and such. When the neurologist sent us the forms to fill out pre appt I noticed that him and all his colleagues were autism and spectrum disorder specialist so I am wondering if that's why pedi is sending us, I'm very nervous all together. So if your child is on the spectrum were there specific signs they displayed even at this young age? what should I expect from the initial neurologist visit? my oldest DS just finished 3 years of chemo for his A.L.L. and I thought medically we were finally in the clear. sorry this was so long I'm just feeling vulnerable today and wondered if anyone has any advice, thanks. __________________ nothing to label...just me Last edited by alexmama; 07-11-2012 at 04:53 PM.

07-06-2012, 11:46 AM	#2
GreenHome Sewing Registered Users Formerly: Jonah Baby Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 1,409 Ratings: 75 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: parents of kids on the spectrum Little experience with infants on the spectrum, but my five year old is going to a specialist in a few weeks. Spectrum disorder has been suggested, among scarier things. __________________ ~Lana~ SAHM and EMT student to J 4/11/07 A 3/25/10 N 10/14/11 My ISO Seriously ISO 3D jigsaw puzzles, waterproof pillow cover, cheap trainers for 18 month old, Mama summer clothes and bras AND BOYS sz.6ish NAVY BLUE POLOS AND KHAKI SHORTS for summer school!!!

07-06-2012, 12:37 PM	#3
ktmelody Super Moderator "We're all mad here." Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Vegas BABY! Posts: 18,265 Ratings: 617 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	I would be wary of anyone trying to diagnose a 5 month old with a spectrum disorder. Likely you are just going to a neurologist that happens to specialize in neurology and kids on the spectrum. Its hard to even diagnose 2 year olds with autism. My guess is they are going to look for neurological disorders that could affect his muscles etc and not a spectrum disorder. hopefully they can figure out whats going on either way. __________________ Katie, mom to Olivia (97), Veda (98), Franky (2004), Wendy (2005), JoHannah (2007), Thea (2009) and NEW baby Sunny Ella 12/6/2011

07-06-2012, 01:53 PM	#6
Suzi Registered Users Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 2,659 Ratings: 67 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: parents of kids on the spectrum You could call the neurologist's office and see exactly what the reason for the referral was. All I remember about my son as an infant is how he wasn't interested in his older brother at all. He was a little harder to soothe than his brother but not really too bad and he mainly just wanted his mom. If he was in a sling with me, life was good. One thing that was more when he was older is that he never pulled at my shirt to breast feed. He was 2 when he was weaned and he never once tried to access it himself. We never had any motor problems at that age. he has some fine motor development delays but that was more due to his lack of interest in working at them. __________________ Suzi, working mama to my ODS(2004), YDS(2006), DSD(2004) and married to the love of my life

07-06-2012, 08:30 PM	#9
JKCCart Registered Users Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Somewhere in Africa Posts: 159 Ratings: 25 Feedback: 100% My Mood:	Re: parents of kids on the spectrum Sorry you are going through this. We are going through something similar with our 8 month old. We've known since her traumatic birth to watch for signs, but they started surfacing around 5 1/2 months. She has been diagnosed with epilepsy, she is hypertonic, and she has brain damage all over. Most of her brain damage is in the occipital lobe (vision), so she is also visually impaired. I am just now getting around to finding people for a support group, but I would be willing to extend a hand to have someone else to talk to about having an infant with special needs! ETA: Sorry I forgot to say our daughter sees a neurologist too, and has had a full "neuro work-up", so I can relate to part of what you are talking about. __________________ Jessica wife to Kevin 12/05 mama to Christopher 12/06 our sweet baby LEVI in heaven July 17th, 2008 Hope July 17th, 2009 and Sahara Grace CHRIST FOLLOWER, BREASTFEEDING, BABY WEARING, CLOTH EVERYTHING MAMA Last edited by JKCCart; 07-06-2012 at 08:31 PM.