The past three days something has been going on with my son.

Let me give you some advice on the IEP. No matter how you personally feel about labeling make sure he is labeled accurately. Don't let them sugar coat it. For him to get the right kind of help he needs it. It also makes a difference if he gets SSI. A few years back we had to go through a long appeals process because Leah's IEP sounded so great. Social security decided she was cured. Meanwhile I was dealing with all the usual issues of her autism and all the new ones that popped up.

Wow! That couldn't be good. I guess this was when you were "renewing" her ssi? I didn't have any trouble getting SSI after we moved to Florida. It was a horrible process in Alabama. I guess because he was just diagnosed they really didn't use the IEP so much as the doctor's notes. He only has speech therapy right now. I am trying to get him into the occupational therapy at school but it looks like I may have to go to an outside source for that. I know ss is a horrible experience for many people and after what I went through in Al. I was sure I would be denied at least three times in Florida as well. The case worker in FL looked back at my case and he said something didn't seem right. I asked at which point. I figured here we go they're going to deny me too. Turns out he was talking about the lack of info from Al. and basically all that was in the computer was the letters they sent me. He told me to write a letter about my experience and he would see if I could get back pay for SSI. I told him even if I didn't I wanted him to guarantee someone would be looking into that SS office. He said after seeing my case, he was sure they would. I just saw in the news they are trying to say there is a gene that controls vitamin d in absorbtion and they think this is the link. My son had genetic testing and his came back normal. I don't know if they tested this chromosome so I will be calling the doctor today. Another research paper says they are working with at risk children as young as 8 months to suppress the symptoms. Theory is if you get them help when they are young enough they will be able to function. I haven't decided if I think this is a good idea. Sure anyone can be trained to act a certain way, so if you train them to act normal at an earlier age you may not be able to differentiate between them being mentally impaired compared to being autistic until much later in life.

Ha! You know he has texture issue with the food. LOL. He is actually spitting food out of his mouth because they are helping him "learn" to eat with a spoon so sometimes that means they actually feed him. When he is through he spits it out. I know better. They must be forcing him to eat. He will actually push food away when he is through if you try to feed him. I know it has to be something at school so I will be asking to go to class with him probably later on in the week. They say they want you to tell them in advance if you want to see the class. I don't give advance warnings. LOL I will let them know I am there when I get there. I think you are right about the stimulation and that concerns me a little so that is why I am planning a trip this week to his classroom. It won't be tomorrow because they may be expecting that since I questioned them this afternoon. I want to see what he is doing.

mommaj, my son did the "sailing through the air" and the leaping from tall furniture. He's the normal one.

I can honestly say I was mortified last night as I saw him sail through the air from furniture to furniture. I was cleaning up the dishes from supper. I should have known not to do anything until he went to bed but by the time he goes to bed I am exhausted. We have tile floors just so everyone knows why I am so concerned. Had he missed the couch he probably would have killed himself or at least had a concussion. As stupid as people are here he probably would have been taken away from me just because "I wasn't watching him". I was watching him, just from a different room. I don't see how parents can have a clean house, safe kids, and their sanity. LOL I gave him a perfect 10 on his swan dive. He still got a time out though.

I am exhausted just thinking about it. You really need to connect with other parents in your situation who can share their experiences and compare notes and maybe even give you some advice.

Well if a child cant communicate, even if its an adult that can't communicate, they will show signs of frustration & might use kicking or whatever to try & get their point known. I don't believe every child that kicks, screams & so on is doing this just because they seen another child do it. It's frustration more so caused by communication problems, in Autistic children or children who can't communicate.. I'm sure in some cases children might copy what they see.... but we are talking about something way different. (Autistic Children - who see & hear things different.) My son has smacked me out of the blue before & I'm with him 24-7... he didn't learn that with me & this was before he even started school. So I see things different, heck you have to with a child who is on the Autism Spectrum. I was just trying to give my advice & see if I could give some helpful tools. It's a fact that Autistic children use behaviors like this because they are frustrated due to lack of communication & or communication problems. But, yeah, your son can learn right from wrong, I'm not saying he can't. I'm just trying to say that even if your son never seen someone slap, kick, take a toy away or so on, he would of still picked up on these behaviors. It's better to just stop wondering where he picked up on it & work on the frustration & communication problem for now.. & I'm guessing your son can't speak yet because you menchioned he was diagnosed with Classic Autism? So that right there could be really hard. I know. I have a son who was diagnosed with Classic. I do hope things get better & hope you can find a way to manage these behaviors. Don't give up.

I know that taking toys away and then using your foot is a behavior that was learned and can be untaught. It's just like he saw another little boy hitting toy animals. He came home and over the weekend picked up a plush lion and hit it. I took it away saying no, we don't hit that will hurt the lion. As I am talking to him I am cuddling the lion and petting him. Then I tell him to be nice like this. I take his hand and make him pet the lion. With him, I think he sees things and then re-enacts it. This means he can learn from what he sees, so I have to show him other ways.

I'm just frustrated that he is now seeing all these bad behaviors from other children whose parents obviously don't care. Every child, even the "normal" ones go through a smacking stage. Usually, it's between 18 mos and 2 years. If your child was at this level mentally that may be why he did that to you. Who knows how their brain figures that out. It's kind of like the spitting stage. UGH! When I know they are regular "stages" I get excited because I know where he is at mentally. It's exciting! If it's reactions to being frustrated, I can sympathize with him. When he repeats actions, it's a little harder to undo than if it is just a stage. I am so thankful that the child that was displaying the most physical actions will be going to kindergarten next year.

I think secretly, we all do. Until then we will enjoy our little gift. All kids go through the same stages. It just takes autistic children longer to get there and when the kids imitate others behaviors it is frustrating to change those actions.

have you seen a developmental ped for him, you said the doctor said he shows characteristics, has he been diagnosed?

Sorry, yes he has been diagnosed with autism. My understanding is he's classic autistic and not on the spectrum from what I understood from the doctor. The school he has been going to for a little over a month. He is happy with the school. The teachers are wonderful. He is actually in a special class that deals with mostly autistic children some have mental handicaps. One little boy who is four with autism just learned to walk and he has been in that school for over a year. The teachers are great and there is a small class so they get some good one on one time. We've already went over his EIP and they are actually helping him more than what I thought they would. In fact that is one of the things that has impressed me and is probably frustrating him. LOL. They work with him on skills. I know the spitting and kicking are normal for some autistic children and I am really hoping it is a phase. He hasn't done this to me yet so I'm not sure what's going on. He used to blow snot when he was upset. He would start crying and then if a tissue wasn't in front of his face out it would come. I am so glad that stopped. I just don't like the kicking because the doctor was afraid he would get aggressive as he got older because of the autism. To me that is not an excuse because these are learned behaviors. If he learns them I have to unteach them. He is such a sweet child I can't imagine him being mean. Taking toys away, okay he's at the two year old stage FINALLY! I celebrate because my kid is being mean. JUST KIDDING. As a parent with an autistic child I am celebrating because this is showing me he is going through another stage. The two year old stage. I am happy because it is progress. Is it bad to be happy he is doing these things? Now I have to punish him like a two year old. Yay! Time outs.

if you are autistic you are on the spectrum it is one and the same thing. as far as the aggression it is more than a learned behavior with autistic children,it is a reacation to not being able to deal with their surroundings and what is going on in their world. Does he do ABA or any kind of OT you should read all you can, educate yourself on autism and what can happen with your child and what to expect at the new stages. my children were premature, and while yes NICU nurses deal with premature children daily, I wrote a note to the nurses about my babies, that is after I got to know them, and let them know things that I knew about them, special things that I thought they should know. Like Kalie Rose would fall asleep while feeding, this did not mean she could not suck and take her feeds from a bottle it meant stimulate her and keep her awake so she would take it from the bottle. And likewise with the other two there were cute things they did that the nurses needed to know about them. when they started school, preschool. I wrote letters to their teachers, even though they knew of their disabilities and what helped them and what well sets them back and turst me I will do the same thing this year when they start kindergarten.