Does language delay + sensory issues always = autism?

amother

Sun, Mar 07 2021, 11:04 pm

If a child is delayed in his language, but he's catching up slowly, he has sensory issues but his behavior and play skills have always been good, does that automatically mean he is autistic? My child is 5 years old and his teacher wants me to get him a diagnosis because he is sometimes aggressive in school. His aggression comes from trying to protect other children, and yes, his speech delay plays a role. He loves to play with the other kids and he is very kind and affectionate to them. Why do I not see autism as a possibility when his teacher seems so sure?

He's been getting therapy since he was an infant, and nobody ever told me before that he might be on the spectrum. Did we all miss something so glaring?

amother

Emerald

Sun, Mar 07 2021, 11:10 pm

My son had language delays and has sensory issues. He also had some other red flag signs of being on the spectrum. (Not to mention he has cousins on the spectrum and there may be a familial component). Yet he's been evaluated many times now and has never been diagnosed as being on the spectrum. I don't really understand the evaluation parameters used with "the autism spectrum" being so broad and yet my son still not having that diagnosis. But no, it's not always anything and teacher isn't such an expert!

amother

Purple

Sun, Mar 07 2021, 11:12 pm

amother [ Emerald ] wrote:

He could just be a bit delayed. Some kids have processing issues that expand over many areas. Language delays and sensory delays are common in kids with ASD, but not every kid with language and sensory delays have ASD.
(I’m a speech therapist)

amother

Hotpink

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 12:30 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Thank you.

I'm so hurt that my child's teacher thinks he's on the spectrum. His last year's teachers loved him.

Why are you hurt? This doesn't mean she doesn't love him.
My son is the most adorable slightly on the spectrum child.
Everyone loves him.
If not for his teacher making me aware I would have never realized so early, and was b"h able to get early intervention.

Being that your child is anyways getting services, getting a diagnosis might be unnecessary, unless the child needs more services than already receiving.

amother

Salmon

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 12:44 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

The teacher wants your son to have his aggressiveness addressed because it impacts her classroom.

Perhaps she has seen behavior improvements with kids who work with an ABA.

miami85

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 12:54 am

My son has Apraxia of Speech which comes with speech and motor delays and combined with his personality he is naturally shy. I had a Developmental Pediatrician ready to give him a diagnosis, but I said no (based on my professional expereince) he is too related, he understands sarcasm and has lots of non-verbal gestures. He also has sensory issues and a hand flap, but he is very sensitive and aware of emotions. He's been evaluated by lots of professionals and worked with speech therapists most of his life, so far the only other diagnosis that we have secured is now ADHD, but not autism.

amother

Ruby

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 12:57 am

I had a terrible experience when my son was in kindergarten a few years ago. His teacher decided he was on the spectrum and the school requested I get him evaluated. He was already gettingOT/PT/Speech/SEIT. He was a little delayed in language which was affecting his understanding of some of the lessons. We also suspected he had an auditory processing issue, but that doesn’t get diagnosed til kids are older since many outgrow it.

I didn’t think he was on the spectrum but I listened to
The school and took him to be evaluated (by someone they recommended). The evaluator said they he is not on the spectrum and not even borderline.

I had PTA a few days later. The idiot teacher tells me that she has 15 years experience teaching. She says that the evaluator doesn’t know what she’s talking about, cuz she’s sure he’s on the spectrum. I don’t know why a teacher, even with experience, thinks she is qualified to make a diagnosis. The evaluator specialized in diagnosing autism. Then I had a long fight with the school over what to do with my son for the next year. All the agency they work with cared about what getting him ABA. cuz they make tons of money from it.

Get your son evaluated- it can’t hurt. But be ready to stand up for yourself and fight for what you need. Good luck!!

I’m just curious - does your son go to bobov? It’s sad that this happens all the time.

amother

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 12:59 am

amother [ Hotpink ] wrote:

What autism signs did the teacher point out?

Language delay and sensory issues. When she gave the class a choice of playing with orbies or something else, he was the only one who chose orbies and he loved them. And she said she sees him stimming, but I have no idea what she is talking about. I have never seen him stim.

She said he has his friends from last year, and he perceives the kids who were not in his class last year as a threat, so he fights with them to protect his friends.

The child has had 4 speech therapists in his life, and none of them ever expressed any concern about autism. Neither did any of his other therapists. His teachers from last year loved him.

I am hurt because his teacher spends all day taking care of him, and she doesn't seem to see the same sweet child I see. She focuses on the bad. He has never been very aggressive with other children until this school year.

Chickensoupprof

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 1:00 am

I’m on the spectrum, I didn’t had even language delays I just spoke weird according to others. Language delays can mean hearing issues, developmental language disorders and 200 of things. On the spectrum doesn’t mean your child is not lovable or nice or sweet, I had teachers who find me indeed difficult, my brother had a teacher in primary school who hated him. He called my mother frequently that my brother was too hard to handle and that he should go to another school for asd kids. This teacher was dysfunctional the next year there was another teacher my mom came to him after a few months how my brother was doing “oh he is a lovely child” “but what about his rigid behaviour and that he needs to do his way the other teacher find it hard to handle” “if it bothers the class I take him to me and explain why this is happening and he understands”.

Your child is not wrong your child is never wrong or stupid or dumb, when he has or hasn’t adhd, asd, low IQ or whatever it is also how other people deal with vulnerabilities

amother

Apricot

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 2:08 am

Many people think of autism as the more visible and obvious cases, and imagine it as something very wrong with the child, where its just a different form of intelligence. Some children have more nuanced symptoms, are very high functioning, and are slightly on the spectrum. A child on the spectrum can be very loving and loveable, just possibly has a different way of expressing his love, such as wanting to protect his friends like you said.

It could be that your child is not at all on the spectrum, but what harm is there in getting evaluated? The teacher asking to get your child evaluated should cause you no more hurt than if she wanted him evaluated for speech delays. If she is finding it difficult to understand him and connect to him, that's something to pay attention to.

ora_43

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 2:25 am

"Autistic" isn't the opposite of "sweet." Plenty of autistic kids are sweet and friendly and like playing with friends.

I don't know if your son is autistic. But please don't take the suggestion as an insult.

If one teacher thinks she sees signs of autism, but a dozen other professionals working with him disagree, the teacher is probably wrong. OTOH, a speech therapist is not a neurologist, and a therapist not mentioning autism as a possibility is not the same as a therapist considering the option and dismissing it. The details are important here.

The specific things the teacher mentioned (drawing a clear line between the familiar kids, who are "good," and the new kids, who are a threat; not understanding social nuances when it comes to protecting his friends) do strike me as things it's worth examining. I wouldn't assume autism based on that, it could be any number of other things too. But the teacher isn't wrong for picking up on that as a hint that that might be the issue.

Basically - pass the teacher's message on to someone qualified to diagnose, and see what they say.

Whether or not your child has autism, he's still going to be the same sweet and friendly little guy.

amother

Coral

Mon, Mar 08 2021, 5:59 am

There is a special test at the board of Ed and it’s done around age 5. It’s called the educational psychological test. Ed/psych. I had it done on my son because I was concerned about dyslexia. It has an IQ component and other things. This is totally different than the normal evaluations and it was helpful for me to help me relax in terms of learning disabilities. This might be another evaluation option for you.