Austism Spin off

I was also worried about autism with my boys as I am a special ed teacher and have had a lot of experience working with children with autism, so it is always in the back of my mind. The only thing that concerns me with my one son is that he is extremely sensitive to sound. When he first came home he would sleep through everything. Then once he became colicky he would only sleep to white noise. Before i figured out how to hit replay on my cd player the second the waves sounds would stop and the next track would come one (other calming beach noises) he would instantly start screaming until I switched it back. When I would put him in his swing he would enjoy it then when he got sleeping he would get fussy and I would have to turn off the music and cover the hanging animals with a blanket(couldn't have designs on it) His mobile above his bed would also upset him. He is 8 months old and loves to sleep swaddled and loves that tight feeling. Last night I forgot to set the repeat button on the cd and the second the track change my husband and I looked at each other and two seconds later he started bloddy murder screaming. He can hear everything and while they nap I literally can't do anything around the house. He wakes up for everything, even when I leave the room I have to be very careful when I close the door, extremely careful. His room is outside the kitchen and he can hear me open the fridge. The other night my husband came in, took off his shoes and two steps later he woke up. Is anyone elses kids this sensitive to sound when they are sleeping. It is so fustrating since I can't get anything accomplished while they sleep and he is not getting used to the noise and if anything ggotton more sensitive. He also gets completely thrown off when we are out and his misses his naps and we have nights and night awaking and it take forever to get him back on track. Other than that he is complety normal happy and hardly every fusses. It is really weird.

 

it is very possible to have a sensory disorder without being autistic...i have one and i'm not autistic...i'm very sensitive to sound and to touch and smell/taste...james gets that from me, and his is much more pronounced...your son may be super sensitive to sound, as he gets older, i'd suggest ear plugs or some kind of sound blocking headphones to help him sleep...have you talked to his ped about this? what does he/she say? i have a feeling it's a "well, let's wait and see how this goes" ???

 

I don't have an answer but just wanted you to know that you are not alone in your worries. i am also a special ed teacher and I work primarily with 3-5 yr olds who are on the autistic spectrum. I am always looking for things in my boys. I call their names 100 times a day just to see if they respond. I think we both need to relax a bit. We have too much knowledge. Some is ok but we are driving ourselves batty. I actually read an article about how babies are weird and they listed some things that they do which are normal, however not normal for an older child. Most of the things they listed where typical autistic characteristics.

 

My older DD (who is now 4) would always sit on the floor and rock back and forth - I was convinced there was something going on. I am a special ed. teacher and my husband had to tell me a hundred times to just let it go and kind of forget about all the knowledge that I have in dealing with my students. I was literally making things she did into characteristics of autism.

 

My dd is sensitive to sound. When she was a baby, opening up a chip bag in the next room would make her scream. She still freaks out over the vacuum, and she's five. She does have some sensory issues, but is fine. She is extremely social.

 

:hug: If you are concerned address them with your Ped. I am sure that they can help ease your concerns.

 

You can also check with EI, they know what's "normal" for babies that age and appropriate. It's so hard to tell, b/c everyone has sensory issues of some kind. My son, has SPD but is not sound sensitive, etc...it's different for each child! Put yourself at ease by keeping an open mind and consulting someone if you're really concerned. Use your "mommy gut"!

 

When you read statistics like 1 in 150 kids are on the autistic spectrum, it is hard not to be worried. The twins just got their two month shots today and that constant worry of risk vs. benefit is battling in my mind. The only thing that has really eased my worries about immunizations some is that my son has Aspergers and I'm convinced that his is totally genetic. When we get to the one year shots, I may ask that we space those out a bit. Varicella and MMR are both live virus vaccines and I just think its asking a lot of my little guys bodies to deal with both of those at the same time. I might be a little paranoid, but........... what can you do?