Fragile X syndrome and living with a developmentally delayed child

My Fragile X son - This is a pic of my son at 15 months. Notice that the physical features of the syndrome are not prominent yet. They will become more obvious later as he grows.
@MissAmie (717)
United States
January 18, 2009 9:16pm CST
My son was recently diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome. It is a broad range disorder that can go from very mild to severe mental retardation. I would love to hear from other families that deal with these issues each day. I am so new to this it seems overwhelming. I worry that I don't have the patience to teach him things. And he makes this very annoying noise almost all day every day. I love him more than living, but I just worry that this will be too much for me to handle. I am not a religious person, so the "God won't give you more than you can handle" argument won't work. Some symptoms of fragile x include autistic behavior, trouble feeding as a newborn, a large head, developmental delays (my 16 month neither walks or talks). As a matter of fact, something like 40 percent of fragile x adults still live with their parents at age 30. No matter what issues your child has I would realy love to hear about how you deal with them and how you cope. It's not the here and now that worries me; it is the future and not knowing the extent of his illness. Please tell someone, everyone you know about fragile x. Aproximately 1 in 200 women are carriers, yet no obstetricians test for it. The leading genetic cause of mental retardation yet no one tests for it. I find that a bit odd.
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1 response
@sacmom (14192)
• United States
24 Jan 09
Hold old is your son? My oldest son is autistic. He started walking when he was 18 months old and at 11 years old is still limited in his speech, though he is trying more and more. My youngest son didn't start walking or talking until he was 3 years old. But now at 8 years old he seems to be pretty much on track and now I can't shut him up! LOL I know it can be frustrating, but the best thing that works for me is to take it one day at a time. And lots of hugs doesn't hurt either.
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