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Early intervention is extremely important so if he is diagnosed with autism, please make sure you get him the help and support he needs.
Try not be scared by the autism diagnosis. There is something uniquely special about an autistic child. People with autism think differently to most, but their potential can be great.
If you have any questions, please let me know. I also have High-Functioning Autism which was diagnosed at the same time as my daughter.
One last thing, I noticed you mention your OCD and high anxiety. If your child is autistic, please also consider getting an assessment for yourself. Many high-functioning autistics reach adulthood undiagnosed because when we were young, it was not well known except for severe cases. Anxiety comes with autism (i was originally told i had generalized anxiety disorder) and often are misdiagnosed with OCD. I'm not saying you have autism, but if your son does, there may be a genetic link.
Let us know how it goes and again, if you have further questionsView Thread

My daughter avoided eye contact until nearly two. I worked hard at training her out of it otherwise i don't think she would be doing it now. She was also uncomfortable with touch and again, i worked on it so now she is happy getting cuddles but doesn't like to be touched from strangers. She spoke less than 10 words at 2yo. After speech therapy, he vocabulary improved greatly. My daughter enjoys social situations and interacts with other kids...for the most part. She will eventually get upset and hide away or do repeditive play.She is high-funcitoning autistic, as am i. There are so many things my daughter does that 'is not typical of a child with autism'. But that is what has put her into the "high-functioning" range. she is still autistic. Not everyone with autism is the same and not everyone is equally as severe as the next. If someone threw a pen in a room, my daughter would pick it up, and hand it to someone in the hopes of them throwing it again. She may or may not give eye contact (she may prefer to focus on the pen or their hand) depending on whether she wasn't sure if she had to say something to get them to throw it. If that makes sense - something learnt in speech therapy.
She uses my hand as a tool when playing games. She spins in circles and walking on her tiptoes. She gets upset easily and is hard to settle (how do you settle someone who may not want to be touched).
I would love to hear how your son is going and what's happened since you posted.
All the bestView Thread

My husband (not autistic) had a dad and mum at the end of their child bearing years.
How severe is your child? Being autistic does not mean he/she won't be able to enjoy life. It may just be different to the way you do. It may not be without stress but an autistic person is a special one and their lives will be good with the right support.View Thread

Those posts were hurtful and made me feel like i had to leave my family for their own good. I'm pleased to read your post saying that it's not like that for everyone. Thank you.
I have also just discovered a friend of mine is an aspie and he is awesome. he too is kind, genuine, smart and caring. You wouldn't find a more compassionate man. It's just not so black and white.View Thread

Yes, this sounds just like autism. Remember there are different levels of autism. I am "high-functioning" and was only diagnosed last week (at 28yo!) because I could communicate and socialize (though not well!). They did tests on me but obviously not very well.
I am now in the process of getting my daughter assessed and so far the speech pathologist has said she appears to have high-functioning autism. We still need to see the psychologist and rule out hearing problems.
Your son sounds much like my little girl but she's even better than yours. She is doing some 'imaginary play' now (2yo) but I wonder if she's just copying the actions. She doesn't speak in her imaginary play. She walking around on her toes or spins around. She's ok with some people some time but for the most part prefers to play on her own and may run away from kids or go into the other room. She cries when her childcare carers touch her (hug/pickup etc) and her favourite activity is sorting things.
Please remember that autistic people often have above average intelligent and this may confuse you into thinking he's neurotypical. My daughter can read letters (around 1/3 - 1/2) and numbers (up to 12) so she's very advanced there. Her speech however is still single words. Her diet is very limited because she is so fussy that she would go hungry than eat something she chose not to.
I have to go (pooy nappy!) but please shoot any questions this way if you'd like to compareView Thread

On the other hand, have you all just told me that I need to leave my husband for his own good? We have 2 children - 2yo and 4mo. Are you telling me that I am going to only make their lives miserable and my only option is to live alone for the remainder of my life? I have always worried about how my problems are effecting my husband and how they might effect my children. My husband tells me to stay. I want to stay. Are you telling me to leave?
I am so shocked at hurt by the remarks that everyone with a spouse with ASD should "get out now". Do you have any idea how hard I work at trying to be better? Ive exhausted myself and I fail at it daily but I try. You all knew what you were getting into when you married these people. They haven't changed. We are unable to change (despite my many efforts). If it was all bad, why did you bother marrying them?
I don't understand but I am truly hurt.View Thread

I am 28yo and was only diagnosed last week with High Functioning Autism. I started looking into it for my daughter and then realised that A) autism wasn't exactly how I pictured it and
I had far too many symptoms myself. My daughter is still undergoing an assessment (she's 2 so it takes longer) but it's looking like she's the same.For the most part, the diagnosis is a relief and now I want to know what I can do to make my life easier. I can been living with my husband and now have two children of my own. I'm finding it very hard. I can't find what options there are for me. I'm in Australia. My husband has to do almost everything around the house.
So, what now? Do you have any advice? Where to from here? I can't do housework without melting down, caring for my children is difficult and we're spending our savings to put them into childcare until I can sort myself out. The thought of returning to work is a nightmare. Will I ever be able to do housework and care for my kids without losing my sanity?
Is there anyone who was diagnosed as an adult?
If there's another adult out there, how did you tell people? did you tell them? I told my family only so far and have mixed responses but not everyone is very accepting of the diagnosis. I feel like I'm losing my mind.
Thanks for reading and helping me.View Thread
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