IronMaiden80
Member
Hi Mummies / Daddies,
my DS is 21 months old and has been taken care of by my mil since I went back to work after the maternity leave at 4 months old. Since he was a baby, he has been watching tv and mostly left on the rocker without tummy time all day until I get home. Things remained the same even after he started walking, he is often wandering around the house on his own / watching tv and playing on his own. He is a late bloomer, crawling and walking later than other children his age.
For the past 2-3 months, I've noticed that he tends to flap his hands quite frequently especially when he is watching tv. His other symptoms include:
• unable to speak at 21 months (only blabbering)
• occasionally walking on toes and spinning in circles
• doesn't respond to his name all the time
However, he is still showing affection to us at times (when he feels like it), he is keen to play with our neighbour's grandchildren and will gesture or take our hand to guide us to an item he wants.
Parents with autistic children / who are familiar with symptoms of autism, are these symptoms red flags? Should I be worried? I'm on the verge of breakdown and I fear that he will not be able to lead a regular life. I'm not ashamed of him and I'm very much willing to take good care of him if he really has autism but I'm afraid this world will not be kind to him and he will always be bullied for his behavior / actions. My husband and in laws think there is nothing wrong with him, they feel that he is just overly excited but my gut feeling is telling me otherwise.
I brought him to a specialist who wants to start him on speech & language and occupational therapy treatments first before assessing my DS for autism. She mentioned that his hand flapping could be caused by his frustration of not being able to express himself in words.
I would like to know how these sessions are conducted and what are the chances of him learning how to speak? How can I help him at home to encourage him to speak / stop his habit of hand flapping?
Thank you in advance for your advice.
my DS is 21 months old and has been taken care of by my mil since I went back to work after the maternity leave at 4 months old. Since he was a baby, he has been watching tv and mostly left on the rocker without tummy time all day until I get home. Things remained the same even after he started walking, he is often wandering around the house on his own / watching tv and playing on his own. He is a late bloomer, crawling and walking later than other children his age.
For the past 2-3 months, I've noticed that he tends to flap his hands quite frequently especially when he is watching tv. His other symptoms include:
• unable to speak at 21 months (only blabbering)
• occasionally walking on toes and spinning in circles
• doesn't respond to his name all the time
However, he is still showing affection to us at times (when he feels like it), he is keen to play with our neighbour's grandchildren and will gesture or take our hand to guide us to an item he wants.
Parents with autistic children / who are familiar with symptoms of autism, are these symptoms red flags? Should I be worried? I'm on the verge of breakdown and I fear that he will not be able to lead a regular life. I'm not ashamed of him and I'm very much willing to take good care of him if he really has autism but I'm afraid this world will not be kind to him and he will always be bullied for his behavior / actions. My husband and in laws think there is nothing wrong with him, they feel that he is just overly excited but my gut feeling is telling me otherwise.
I brought him to a specialist who wants to start him on speech & language and occupational therapy treatments first before assessing my DS for autism. She mentioned that his hand flapping could be caused by his frustration of not being able to express himself in words.
I would like to know how these sessions are conducted and what are the chances of him learning how to speak? How can I help him at home to encourage him to speak / stop his habit of hand flapping?
Thank you in advance for your advice.