My son is 5 and a half years old and he has severe Autism, Global Developmental Delay and is also totally Non Verbal, so he has no speech whatsoever. As a result of this he is classed mentally at the age of around 12-18 months, he is still in nappies and uses a baby bottle to drink from.
All his milestones from birth were very quick and he was babbling and had a few words, he walked at 13 months and then at 18 months he had his MMR jabs, and coincedental or not, he was never the same again. He lost his ability to use speech, make eye contact, point, play....everything...he was like a cardboard cut out. We consulted his GP and health visitor with our concerns and I was told he was lazy, etc...all the things I knew were incorrect. Finally I was told by his HV that he was perhaps ADHD and that they would review him in due course, it took almost two years of me insisting something be done before we recieved an interim diagnosis of possible ASD that would need further investigation. He was officially diagnosed in October 2005 with severe Autism and GDD.
During this time I had a second child and my son didn't acknowledge her until she was 11 months old and even then it was fleeting. He is a poor sleeper and we sometimes average 3-4 hours per night, we have no outside help, what was offered was foster care respite and we will not accept that, our son's world is already confused without him having to go to another "parents" house. My parents sometimes take him overnight, but they both work full time and it means that they have no sleep when he stays!
Recently during a review, he was also classed as Severely Mentally Impaired and basically that means he always be dependant on us as his carers, I am happy to do that, he is my son and nobody could care for my boy better or with as much love as I can! We have to use a major buggy when out as he is so fast and just runs off, plus he is an obsessive licker of dust, sand, metal, wheels, will eat paper and it just safer on the whole. He is also a poor eater and suffers stomach problems and is iron deficient, but apart from the iron supplements he takes he is not taking any other medication, we tried several courses of Melatonin (sleep meds) but they don't work on him.
My husband finds it all quite hard to deal with, but we were given our amazing boy for a reason and we both love him very much. He has been attending a wonderful special needs school for 18 months now and he has changed a lot, he is now loving, smiley, sneaky, cunning, he uses gesture to communicate and we get by fine by doing this, he doesn't play in a traditional sense but is happy to spin wheels, loves bright lights and bleepy noises on toys. I am very proud to be his Mother!
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Proud recipient of her pulled birthday thread (all 20 mins of it!) 13/04/08....Do NOT mention the Buffet Tongue!
Founding Member of The LISA's
Little Imps of the Smuttilicous Appreciation Society
when he met me he calmed down tremdously and noone could believe how much a change there was in him. dont get me wrong he drives me crazy and he social skills are strange he very well mannered but very selfish. his mum and dad had a lock on his bedroom door when he was a child and they used to beat him both of them regurally. when he turned 16 they kicked him out. i met him when he was 19 and i gave him a home and love he'd never known before. so i know i wont be expecting reece to leave home until hes ready or if ever.
