Autism??

[gsy971]

i know nothing of autism and such but they way you suggest it, his mannerisms etc.
all point to yes

thats a tough choice too, whether to mention it. as it could be that your wrong which would be awkward, but if your right its something that will benefit from being dealt with the sooner the better
is it genetic?...

i think its genetic. our other nephew who is 6 now has autism. also my wife's cousin who is an adult in his 30's is frikin weird. smart dude. works for boeing and lives independently for sometime now, but seems to be an introvert. you know the type..too smart for their own good. he does some weird crap like scratch himself all the time and smells his food. maybe back in the day he had a little of it in a different way but back then autism wasn't really recognized.

 

[gsy971]

Back online now.

Not sure how the US educational system works but if the parents are in denial the boys problems would soon be picked up when starts to attend nursery school at 4+.

The icing on the cake (does that translate?) is that our son was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy a couple of years ago. The little lad has not had the best of luck in his life. Wouldn't change a thing though. He is our son and a joy to our lives.

he has started preschool with others his age or a year older. the school he goes to is Montessori who's teaching philosophy is generaly to let the child learn at their own pace. Maybe good for "normal" kids or kids who are above avg but not sure about kids who are slower.

my sister-in-law also talks about the "cute" things he does at school but i see it as weird and also see it as "red flags". again in denial. he is definately one of those kids who the teachers need to pay more attention to than others. i heard he does wander from class room to class room during activities and they have to chase after him. btw my son goes to the same school but in a different class

 

[REKIBorter]

Everyone has autism to a certain degree. Look at all of us obsessing about old bikes.

 

[cchris2lou]

I work in a special need school and we have a lot of autistic kids .

speak to a doctor .

and yes , autism is now referred as extreme male syndrome .

 

[drystonepaul]

Indeed, I've done a fair bit of work with autistic young people over the years too and I think it's widely accepted that most men will find that they are somewhere on the autistic spectrum.
Autism is linked to the male Y chromosome which accounts for why it's much more common in males than in females.

 

[gsy971]

Indeed, I've done a fair bit of work with autistic young people over the years too and I think it's widely accepted that most men will find that they are somewhere on the autistic spectrum.
Autism is linked to the male Y chromosome which accounts for why it's much more common in males than in females.

so any advice here? again this is my nephew and not my kid. i am at a crossroads on whether or not to bring it up with my in-laws.

from what i describe above, generally speaking how do you see this?

 

[cyfa2809]

oh i didnt know that! :shock: i bet we all have a bit of everything really, its how these 'things' exist just to different degrees.

so say the kid is autistic and you suggest that he be checked, how would they react to YOU? i mean would you become alienated for such words? or is your place in the family such that they would either consider and everything still be normal, or totally go with what you say?

i know its not my decision but thats the dilemma id be facing
is there a way you can subtly suggest it (seems you already have :? )
either way, its not going to hurt to be checked right?

as i said, no experience here but i guess that its going to be a benefit to the child to be diagnosed or not (so they can help him develop on his level then)

so stand back, assess the situation and proceed
:?

 

[FluffyChicken]

I would bring it up, you're only worried about it and really there is no harm in doing so. They may be in denial, not notice or even have similar ideas but not sure what to do. It could well be something else or just slow development.

Put it this way, is there any harm in trying?

 

[rosstheboss]

so any advice here? again this is my nephew and not my kid. i am at a crossroads on whether or not to bring it up with my in-laws.

from what i describe above, generally speaking how do you see this?

My wife works in a children and family centre and all to often comes across things like this. The chances are the child's parents know something is up, but are perhaps doing their best to ignore it - he's their perfect little angel, he seems happy, what could be wrong with him? My wife and her ex husband both managed to miss a squint with their first child - you look at photos of him from that time and he looks like Marty Feldman!!!!
If you do speak to them obviously be very careful about what and how you say what you want to say. My wife was dealing with a family who's child wasn't behaving like other children (he spoke very very little for example), which had been noticed by a few different people. When the family were approached about their child, they were immediately quite hostile, but calmed down after a while, and, after some tests were done on the child, it turned out he had problems with his hearing, and the problem could be dealt with. He and his family are all much, much happier now, as you could imagine.
Also as Rekiborter says, when he reaches nursery/preschool (not sure what it's called in the US! Kindergarten?) any problems should be highlighted and very tactfully dealt with by healthcare professionals affiliated to the school, this is what happens in the UK at least.

Hope this was of some help buddy

 

[gsy971]

thanks for all for the replies. feel free to keep respnding. deep down i know (and they know) that something is wrong with him and that by me standing by and saying nothing is not doing anyone any good. i am only related by marriage but still feel obligated to bring it up if no one else has the balls. i guess i am just nervous because my intentions are not to cause any hurt feelings.

it has come to the point where i am hoping he does somthing so out of the ordinary that someone other than myself says "hey! somethings not right here". it feels kind of frustrating and irritating that they are all educated teachers but are so blind to their own feelings. Lets also not forget that my wife's family also went through this with our other nephew a few years back so it should be more identifiable and noticeable now that we should be a little more educated on the matter.