I have been doing a bit of research recently on autism because with three boys we are at far more risk than if we had three girls,
about 4 times more likely to be exact.
Children with autism can have difficulty with;
- social interaction ; not responding to other children, lack of empathy,
- verbal and non verbal communication ; not responding when their name is called, not responding to facial cues,
- repetitive behaviours ; focusing on one thing for a very long time
Obviously Jackson is past the point of concern and doing brilliantly in all of these areas but Pax and Kailin are right at the age where it becomes most apparent.
Statistics show that if you catch it before the age of three you can significantly increase the chances for improvement and overcoming such difficulties.
And so I have been looking into it.
And watching my boys very closely indeed.
And to be honest for a minute there I did have a little bit of concern because the boys are a little behind with their speech (twin boys are notorious for it) and while Pax has made huge leaps forward in the past couple of months Kailin has still been very quiet.
But I am very pleased to say that as I am typing right now, I can here Jackson and Kailin playing and laughing (social interaction) in the lounge room and when Jackson offers Kailin a biscuit, Kailin saying "thank you Jackson" and "more please Jackson" (verbal communication). What a relief!
Where is Pax?
He is sleeping in his bedroom...
Perhaps all he needs is to be able to get a word in edge wise!!!
Marni, I am sure that there is no need to worry about Kaily, perhaps he seems a bit behind or may be we are bias because Pax is always the action man. But like you said it is better to find out about these things early and there are tests like (STAT and CHAT tests) that a paediatric behavioural specialist could do to diagnose any behavioural problems. I am sure that we can find a good specialist in Australia or anywhere if you guys think it is necessary.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nirosha,
ReplyDeleteI think that you always fear that your children will have to deal with unnecessary hardships in their life and autism is so prolific these days it is quite alarming.
I am sure that Kailin will get there in his own time and he is certainly learning to express himself better these days but I will definitely keep an eye on them both for the next few months.
Marns x