Could my son have Autism?

[reneemcbride]

My son is going to be 4 in a little over a month.   He can not talk He has been seeing a Speech therapist since he was 1 and it has not seemed to help and he has went to an occupational therapy and she evaluated him and he is only at a 2 year old level on his speech and his visual & motor skills.  All his hearing test have come back normal so we know that its not his hearing.   He has started using had gestures to tell me what he wants being that we can not understand what he is saying.  He sometimes makes eye contact but when he does he olny keeps it for a second or two.  He likes to play by him self and not so much with others.  He throws very bad temper tantrums  and he is in his own world most of the time he has alot of the symptoms of Autism but the OT that he seen said that she didnt think that he had it.   Could it be Autism or some other disorder???????

[reneemcbride]

He has not been tested yet and the OT hasn't said any thing about him having Autism but he has only seen her 2 times.   But being that he dont like change he sit by the door and screamed the hole time he was in the room with her.   But i am working with his Dr to have him tested.   He is on Medicaid and they said that in the state of Texas they have to wait till it is time for his health steps check up is due.   Witch is next month but the nurse is going to talk to someone to see if we can do it early.    But they looked at all the paper work that i took and they said that it sounds like he deferentially could be autistic.    So maybe we can find out soon what is wrong with him.    I have also heard that Autism can be hereditary and my brothers daughter has it to.   I just hope that they give me a diagnosis so i will know what is wrong with him and i can find a better way to handle him because it is hard sometimes because i have 2 older children and they dont understand that something is wrong with their brother they just want to know why i spend so much time with him and he gets away with more then they do.

[Dazon50]

I agree with KarenDiane.  It would be good to get further testing/opinions.  I hope you have been given ideas on how to work with him or that others are helping you.  He is in such an important age that it is crucial to get help for the best outcome.

Did the OT person clarify why she didn't think he was on the Autism Spectrum?  

I am a firm believer in a mother's intuition leading her to answers.  I thought of autism when my daughter was under 2 but it wasn't till she was 6 & evaluated by a team of specialists that she was given the diagnose of PDD-NOS.  She has sensory issues also & cannot stand various sounds or textures or being touched unexpectedly, etc.  She licked her fingers frequently as a child and playing with insects, I was afraid she would die on me from a disease...lol!

Be persistent :-)

[KarenDiane]

It sounds like your son has a lot of autism markers. You should ask your pediatrician to have your son tested. A child psychologist or a team of therapists would be the ones to make the assesment.

[reneemcbride]

he also does not like noise he covers his ears and screams and runs away when he hears anoise that he does not want to hear or that is to loud or that scares him.