We're getting closer to a diagnosis

[Stargazer09]

After spending much of the day at the local childrens hospital, it's really beginning to sound like Matthew is on the autistic spectrum. The geneticist who looked at him said that Matthew has some facial features that she believes are associated with autism. However, she cautioned me that she is not an expert, and the formal diagnosis will come from the specialists at the autism clinic we will be visiting in a couple of months. The other developmental specialists we saw today are also leaning towards autism as a diagnosis, but we'll need more evaluations to be certain.

Thanks to everyone for their support!

[KamaAina]

1. Facial features that she believes are associated with autism?

You may wish to ask the geneticist for an explanation of that, as I am aware of no such feature.

[Stargazer09]

2. I couldn't find any information on that, either

Maybe I misunderstood what she was saying, or maybe she was referring to the fact that his muscle tone is so low that he looks like autistic kids that she has seen at the clinic. I didn't study her business card until this morning; it turns out that she works for the local autism clinic, so she probably has seen many children on the spectrum. Matthew does look rather slack-jawed, and he still has trouble with drooling, despite being almost three years old. I read that low muscle tone is common among children who are autistic or on the spectrum, and he definitely has that.

The children's hospital is so confident that he will be diagnosed with ASD that they aren't expecting him to come back to their developmental clinic. I'm hoping that the autism clinic will be able to evaluate Matthew earlier than scheduled. I'm anxious to get the diagnosis stage over with, so we can move on to treatment or therapy or whatever. Two more months is going to drag by.

[BlueStorm]

3. I do know that most autistics

aren't able to express facial language as well nor can they read it. I know when I am told to "smile" I often end up having a fake smile and have even been teased about it by my sister and my mom, though they don't mean any harm out of it, it's just something that I do. I can't smile or laugh on command but when I do see something that is funny or I see a cute kid I can smile and laugh naturally. Somehow forced expressions are difficult to do.

Blue

[Stargazer09]

4. Update

I just received the report from the evaluation at the children's hospital.

Matthew has "dysmorphic features," and "bilateral epicanthal folds with possibly somewhat up-slanting palpebral fissures." Basically, his face doesn't look "normal," and his eyes have extra folds of skin around them and are slanted upwards (similar to some children with Down's Syndrome, from what I've been able to figure out based on my web search). That was noticed by both the geneticist and the neurologist, as well as the pediatrician who specializes in child development.

They state, "I think his problems fit more within the spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders and autism and I believe that he would be best served at the autism clinic." Basically, Matthew has PDD or autism, and we just need to figure out exactly where he fits on the spectrum.

We did find out that Matthew is extremely far-sighted and has astigmatism, so he will start wearing glasses as soon as he figures out that they are helping him see. He doesn't like having anything near his face, so he didn't wear them more than about two minutes at a time today, but I think he will get used to them. He sure does look cute in them!

It looks like I will be a regular on this board. I hope that those of you who are on the spectrum and/or have children on the spectrum, will help me help Matthew grow up to reach his full potential.

Thanks!

:grouphug: