Obsessions
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Obsessions
| Sun, 01-01-2006 - 1:43am |
Happy New Year!
I was just wondering if all your kids had certain toys they would only play with at 18 months? Jake did but Ella seems not to pick any toy consistantly. I had her evaluated last week by Jake's therapist who I trust very much and she thinks it's all sensory and possibly a motor issue. She thinks it's very possible she had a stroke so we are back to that theroy again. She noticed her bi-lateral co-ordination is still a little bad and has suggested we up her OT. I agree she's much more sensory than Jake was but she does things he did too like echoing, although ST noticed this but thinks she's doing it as an NT child would whatever that means! Her eye contact is pretty good if your not holding her. I must be driving you all crazy with these constant questions about Ella and I don't know why I just can't except the SID theroy, maybe it's mother's intuition? DH is not helpful to talk to about this because he just thinks I obsess over the kids but he's the one obsessing over the MENSA test he's about to take(LOL). He's been wandering around the house for the last two weeks with something or other related to the test and Jake is back to obsessing about trains again. I guess the apple dosen't fall far from the tree!!! I love this site, it keeps me sane!
Teresa
I was just wondering if all your kids had certain toys they would only play with at 18 months? Jake did but Ella seems not to pick any toy consistantly. I had her evaluated last week by Jake's therapist who I trust very much and she thinks it's all sensory and possibly a motor issue. She thinks it's very possible she had a stroke so we are back to that theroy again. She noticed her bi-lateral co-ordination is still a little bad and has suggested we up her OT. I agree she's much more sensory than Jake was but she does things he did too like echoing, although ST noticed this but thinks she's doing it as an NT child would whatever that means! Her eye contact is pretty good if your not holding her. I must be driving you all crazy with these constant questions about Ella and I don't know why I just can't except the SID theroy, maybe it's mother's intuition? DH is not helpful to talk to about this because he just thinks I obsess over the kids but he's the one obsessing over the MENSA test he's about to take(LOL). He's been wandering around the house for the last two weeks with something or other related to the test and Jake is back to obsessing about trains again. I guess the apple dosen't fall far from the tree!!! I love this site, it keeps me sane!
Teresa

It can be so hard with the little ones to diagnose and know for sure. As a point of reference, my autistic nephew was diagnosed as just SID and speech delay when he was about 2. You aren't crazy. It can be so hard trying to figure it out sometimes. Conversely, I thought for sure Dave had something like ASD around that age too. I brought him to therapists and they refused to diagnose him on the spectrum too but did diagnose SID. Around 5 we took him to a therapist who knew him well enough and he was showing enough signs that she diagnosed PDD-NOS but borderline and ADHD. But only PDD-NOS because there was more than ADHD going on but she couldn't put her finger on it and PDD-NOS was closest. Now he has very few ASD symptoms at all.
As for obsessions. Well, Cait didn't play with toys at that age. She just liked to carry small plastic animals and people around in her hands. As many as she could stuff in them. She also like to line things. She would make me read the same books over and over and make me label colors and letters.
Mike would watch one video over and over and copy all the actions from it. It was a sing along with the guy who played sebastian the crab. I don't remember if he had a certain toy he obsessed on or not. I want to say no. There were only a few signs from him prior to 18 months and even then the signs we had I didn't think were autism. We thought migraines, SID, ADHD, difficult child, and severe SID. I don't think he played incorrectly then, but I didn't have alot of experience with what normal play should be.
Renee
At 18 mo--Jacob never played with anything. He would just dump containers out and make a mess. Then move onto the kitchen counters and climb everything. He was very destructive. Thats how he "played"
Holly
Teresa,
Nathan never really played at that age. He would look at things, pick them up, put them back down. Sometimes he would carry a little toy around the house. But he never fixated on anything particular. He mostly followed his brother around, would watch him, and alot of times just wander around the room while Tyler would play. We had a hard time trying to figure out what he liked, as far as toys were concerned, because he just didn't seem that interested. Tyler loved cars and balls. Even as a baby...he would get real excited if he saw a ball. Tyler could play catch with a soft ball at age 1...and he loved to roll a ball back and forth on the floor too (he LOVED this!) Huge difference from Nathan.
michelle
Hi Teresa,
At 18 mos., Eric was really mobile and just went from one thing to another, climbing on everything, pulling things out of drawers, off shelves, taking out empty containers and banging them around. These things amused him. Now I know this was his "sensory seeking" nature coming out. He never had tantrums and was actually easy, just constantly on the go and somewhat destructive.
He only played with toys in self-stimulatory ways, but I didn't know it then, although I did think it odd. He would take cars, flip them and spin their wheels. He would take anything that could spin and would spin it. The only toy he would play with correctly was a top, because its purpose is to spin! No interest in Fisher Price little people or stuffed animals. He was totally non-verbal, except for a few sounds. We couldn't get him to play peek-a-boo or imitate anything we did.
This was around the time I started to worry and we had him evaluated through early intervention, so you are ahead of the game already.
This is such a hard time when your inner radar is going off and there is such a wide range of normal behavior at this age too. You seem like you are really observant and intuitive and your children are very lucky to have you for a mom.
Katherine
Teresa
Sylvia does that too with her food -- it's called "pouching." She does it especially with things like goldfish, crackers, and cereal. I think that it's a sensory thing for her -- she likes the feel of the food in her mouth, but she doesn't necessarily want to swallow it all. And, because of her motor planning issues, she hasn't figured out how to spit out food that she doesn't want in her mouth. So it just sits there, pouched in her cheeks, until we can get her to swallow it. THere have been days when she's gotten off the bus from school and she STILL has food pouched in her mouth from snack!!! (Not very safe, actually.) Usually I try to massage her cheeks to get her to swallow, and make her drink lots of water in between bites. Giving her small portions seems to help, too, and making her drink before she gets another portion. But I have heard that pouching is somewhat common in all kids around 18 months - 2 years, so it might not be anything to worry about per se...
Jennifer
I had totally forgotten about this!!! I remember Nathan doing this with his food too!! He would chew his food, and then not swallow. I would have to "tell" him to swallow his food. He eventually would, but I do remember trying to figure out what it was that he was doing!!! lol Of course, I didn't know he was autistic at the time too!!
michelle
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