Aa
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he has a speech problem he is delayed in his speech also
I just wanted to clarify, the reason I mentioned Irlen Syndrome is the fact that after he has been spinning his eyes roll back. This is one of the questions the Irlen Practitioner asked me. Irlen Syndrome is also a sensory based Disorder.
Hi,
You've made two posts, one mentioning spinning until his eyes roll back, and the other that he has a speech problem and is delayed.
Your son is just coming to that age when they should begin to become more social and his speech vocabularly should explode.
From what you have mentioned I am concerned that he may be on the autistic spectrum and I think that you need to get a multi-disciplinary team assessment of him through Health (ie. paediatrician). As assessments are referals can take a long time (it took me nearly two years to get a final diagnosis), it would be advisable to start now, so that any supports he needs will be in place for nursery.
I will try to deal with the issues you raise one by one.
Speech delay: has the Speech and Language Therapist definately diagnosed a delay or a disorder. A good speech and language therapist should be able to give you an indication of whether they suspect your child is on the spectrum from the kind of speech problem they have. Semantic/Pragmatic Disorder is typical of being on the spectrum, is this what the speech therapist is referring to? You can read a good lengthy explanation of this at http:// www. hyperlexia. org/sp1. html (take out the spaces, I included them so it printed the web address).
The spinning until his eyes roll back suggests two things to me.
Irlen Syndrom is a perceptual difficulty that alot of autistic children have. Also those with dyslexia have this and it can be helped with wearing irlen lenses in glasses and by using Irlen overlays to put on the printed work at school. This is a recognised condition in the UK and my local hospital treats for it. You may find you have to go private to get the assessments. It helps with visual distortions, depth perception, perceptual discomfort. It helps remove distractions and definately helped my son's concentration and ability to try new situations.
The spinning is a sensory thing. It sounds like his vestibular (balance) sense maybe hypo (not getting enough sensation in) so he likes to spin because it helps him feel his body.
With a Sensory Integration Disorder one, or all, of the senses can be affected ie. vision, smell, hearing, taste, vestibular and proprioception (understanding where your body parts are in space and understanding internal sensations such as hunger/thirst/needing the loo).
I would recommend reading an article by Olga Bogdashina printed in Autism Today. If that sounds relevent to your situation I would buy her book called Sensory and Perceptual Differences in Autism and Aspergers. That will explain alot of the behaviours you will see and there is a questionnaire at the back of the book that you can complete that will give you a sensory profile of your son. Again this is a legitimate professional whose questionnaire is used by our autism department in the UK.
So if your son also has other things such as oversensitive to touch, smell, etc or appears deaf, or seems not to feel pain etc, or seeks all types of movement and never stays still, or is afraid to go on the swings/slide at the part etc these are all sensory based. Also with this Disorder the level that they perceive things through their senses changes throughout the day and day by day, so you won't always get the same response to the same environment. It can also depend on other things such as the level of stimulation in the environment etc.
It may well be that he is somewhere on the spectrum, which sounds devastating. But there is alot that can be done to improve things and these children still develop and achieve things with the right kind of approach and support in school. My son is in a mainstream school, but I am moving him to another school this September that is also mainstsream, but also has extra staff, resources and funding for children on the spectrum.
I have also put together a Health page that lists the diagnostic criteria for autism. People have also added their own examples of behaviour they children show which you may find useful. You can access this by clicking on the Health Page icon on the top right hand corner of the page.
If you have any other questions please post again. But I would definately suggest getting the ball rolling so at least the professionals are aware that there could be a potential child on the spectrum, rather than wait until he starts school and simply cannot cope.
You've made two posts, one mentioning spinning until his eyes roll back, and the other that he has a speech problem and is delayed.
Your son is just coming to that age when they should begin to become more social and his speech vocabularly should explode.
From what you have mentioned I am concerned that he may be on the autistic spectrum and I think that you need to get a multi-disciplinary team assessment of him through Health (ie. paediatrician). As assessments are referals can take a long time (it took me nearly two years to get a final diagnosis), it would be advisable to start now, so that any supports he needs will be in place for nursery.
I will try to deal with the issues you raise one by one.
Speech delay: has the Speech and Language Therapist definately diagnosed a delay or a disorder. A good speech and language therapist should be able to give you an indication of whether they suspect your child is on the spectrum from the kind of speech problem they have. Semantic/Pragmatic Disorder is typical of being on the spectrum, is this what the speech therapist is referring to? You can read a good lengthy explanation of this at http:// www. hyperlexia. org/sp1. html (take out the spaces, I included them so it printed the web address).
The spinning until his eyes roll back suggests two things to me.
Irlen Syndrom is a perceptual difficulty that alot of autistic children have. Also those with dyslexia have this and it can be helped with wearing irlen lenses in glasses and by using Irlen overlays to put on the printed work at school. This is a recognised condition in the UK and my local hospital treats for it. You may find you have to go private to get the assessments. It helps with visual distortions, depth perception, perceptual discomfort. It helps remove distractions and definately helped my son's concentration and ability to try new situations.
The spinning is a sensory thing. It sounds like his vestibular (balance) sense maybe hypo (not getting enough sensation in) so he likes to spin because it helps him feel his body.
With a Sensory Integration Disorder one, or all, of the senses can be affected ie. vision, smell, hearing, taste, vestibular and proprioception (understanding where your body parts are in space and understanding internal sensations such as hunger/thirst/needing the loo).
I would recommend reading an article by Olga Bogdashina printed in Autism Today. If that sounds relevent to your situation I would buy her book called Sensory and Perceptual Differences in Autism and Aspergers. That will explain alot of the behaviours you will see and there is a questionnaire at the back of the book that you can complete that will give you a sensory profile of your son. Again this is a legitimate professional whose questionnaire is used by our autism department in the UK.
So if your son also has other things such as oversensitive to touch, smell, etc or appears deaf, or seems not to feel pain etc, or seeks all types of movement and never stays still, or is afraid to go on the swings/slide at the part etc these are all sensory based. Also with this Disorder the level that they perceive things through their senses changes throughout the day and day by day, so you won't always get the same response to the same environment. It can also depend on other things such as the level of stimulation in the environment etc.
It may well be that he is somewhere on the spectrum, which sounds devastating. But there is alot that can be done to improve things and these children still develop and achieve things with the right kind of approach and support in school. My son is in a mainstream school, but I am moving him to another school this September that is also mainstsream, but also has extra staff, resources and funding for children on the spectrum.
I have also put together a Health page that lists the diagnostic criteria for autism. People have also added their own examples of behaviour they children show which you may find useful. You can access this by clicking on the Health Page icon on the top right hand corner of the page.
If you have any other questions please post again. But I would definately suggest getting the ball rolling so at least the professionals are aware that there could be a potential child on the spectrum, rather than wait until he starts school and simply cannot cope.
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