Developmental Pediatrician Appt

[Anonymous]

We went to a developmental pediatrician today. She is unique in that she is holistic. Her clinic is called the Clinic for Special Children and it is located in Wilmington, NC. Her name is Dr. Harum.

She spent 1.5 hours with Jackson. She played with him on the floor, tested his problem solving skills and just played with him. I thought that she really did a very detailed job. I took Jackson because we are having problems with introducing finger foods, he is not really saying words (just jibberish and babble) and he is not pointing. She said that he is very social and has a good sense of humor, but he does display a few red flags for autism. She said that she does not think that he is autistic, but that she would be very cautious and not vaccinate anymore until after 2 years of age. In the mean time, she wants for me to “feed his brain” as she called it. She said to give him 2-4 tsp of fish oil per day, give him one egg yolk per day, give him a multivitamin with iron and minerals and provide him with speech therapy. She said that he is “at risk for ADHD” given his intensity during play and his high activity level.

Even though she scared me half to death, and I have been emotional about the appt ever since, I like her cautiousness and her proactiveness. She said that she just believes in playing it very safe with any baby that is showing any red flags. A few times throughout the play session she said “an autistic baby would not do that.” Still, she is very cautious about regression and what causes it . She does not want to take any chances. She also thinks that we need to watch for ADHD, and try to do natural, preventative measures.

Some of you may think that we are going to a quack. She went to the University of Miami for med school and John Hopkins for her specialized training. She seemed smart and when it comes to my Jackson, I am going to err on the side of caution. Just thought that I would share. I found the appt to be very informative and it gave me a course of action. We see early intervention tomorrow.

Just wanted to add a couple of things:

1)The red flags that she saw were lack of pointing, lack of words (he only uses babble and jibberish), and the fact that he seems hyperactive. He also occasionally marches in place when he is excited. Apparently, she said that is a red flag. I have always found it endearing and adorable because he does it when he is excited, but who knows! He does it every now and then, but not too much. I am not sure that I buy that it is a red flag for autism. Also, the fact that he is mildly delayed in speech and communication does not seem like a huge red flag in light of the fact that he laughs, connects, plays, etc. She said that he is intelligent and very socially interactive. He loves to give us “gifts” and he sometimes follows simple commands. I think that she just did not want to commit to anything since regression is always possible.

2)Do your kids ever march in place when excited?

3) HONESTLY- does she sound like a quack?

klmccart2008-09-15 20:31:48

[Anonymous]

I don’t think she sounds like a quack and what she told you about feeding his brain seems okay. Those are all things that won’t hurt him. Have you given him egg yet? I ask only b/c we have an egg allergy and obviously that wouldn’t be something we could do. But do take some of what she said with a grain of salt as you have to do with many docs. I would just keep an eye on him and wait things out. I have a feeling that he will take off verbally before too long and surprise you in the process. Good Luck with EI tomorrow.

[Anonymous]

I’m not even going to touch the quack thing b/c I think you have to do what you have to do to feel good as a parent and as highly diagnosed as boys are with autism in this age, you need to be proactive. As you know, if it is autism or on the spectrum, the earlier you start working with the child, the better. She does not sound extremely off based to me. I don’t know anything about the sugestions she gave with the fish oil and egg, but the viatmins certainly aren’t going to hurt anything.

Owen is going to be 2 in about 3 weeks and he will stomp his feet and scream with glee when he sees me come in to pick him up for daycare or if he is standing at the front door and sees someone he knows coming up to the door. Now it stops within seconds, so if you are talking about marching for long periods, that might be kinda something, but periods of excitement are totally normal for that age. That is their way of expressing it.

I don’t know what to say other than to follow your gut instincts and continue to be a good mommy to him and hopefully things will fall into place for you.

Owen was much slower to talk but it was some from multiple ear infections and some from being the second child and everyone talked for him. He is reaching 2 and I am just now starting to understand some things he says and he is just starting to string 2 words together, which I think is a little late for the “norm.”

[Anonymous]

He marches just briefly and it is when he is excited about something- music, something funny, etc. It does NOT seem like an alarming behavior to me (and I am alarmed very easily!). My gut says that he is not autistic and that he is just too social and interactive to be autistic. She seemed to think that as well. However, it would not surprise me if an ADHD diagnosis was in our future given his intensity and high activity level.

[hellbennt]

I don’t think she’s sounds like a quack. Now don’t get me started on the QUACK we DID see…do a search, lol!

I like the brain food ideas and you might want to pursue diet even further. Sheri & Kendra can help you with this. I’d love for you to keep it on the board (aas opposed to PMing them), as I love to read about all of this (& I bet others do too)…

hang in there!

[Anonymous]

I had planned on getting back to your other post (to remind you-my background is autism & dev delays) but I knew it would take a bit of time to read through all your posts + others’ responses & I wanted to wait untiI had ample time. BUT I will respond here w/ my opinion.

I definitely think the fish oil & vitamins are reasonable & won’t hurt. I’ve never heard of the egg yolk thing but that’s not to say it’s a bad idea or anything.

Honestly, the way you have described Jackson (here & the other post) I do not think he is on the line of the autistic spectrum. Now, keep in mind that I have never seen or met him… only going by your words/description. As with so many things there are so many teeny tiny ways you can “rule out autism” when in contact w/ a child – but it’s hard to put it on a list, etc (sorry if that’s confusing – I’m tired & trying to get this posted before bed – while also doing 4 other things-lol).

The red flags you mentioned are not sufficient, imo. Even if he’s lang delayed – is he attempting to communicate w/ you? The marching in place is significant if this is the focus of his action (meaning he’s perseverating on the marching & nothing else -ignoring those around him, etc). Also, this could just be fun to him…

Sorry this is a short response…

Keep us updated w/ your EI visit tomorrow. I know how heartbreaking the evals & visits can be… keep your head up & remember you’re doing the good thing in getting the help early!

[Anonymous]

Thanks Erin! I do not think that he is on the spectrum either. If you met him, you would meet a very social, interactive, giggly little boy. He does not communicate well. He does give me lots of “presents” and he whines for things. He laughs when I make a silly face or say a word like poopie (he already thinks that word is hilarious! He giggles when he thinks that I am chasing him and he loves to think that he is chasing me. When he marches, he is usually making eye contact and he is usually excited about music or laughing at something. I do not even think he realizes that he marched and it is always for a brief period of time. I will keep y’all updated. Thanks for all of the support!

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

i don’t think she sounds like a quack either. The vitamins and fish oil sound reasonable.

For what i have read, signs of austism starts showing up between 15-18 months of age and peeks bewteen 2-3 years. Repeatitive behavior combine with lack of speech are some of the symptoms i have read. Please ia m not trying to scare you, but if he is showing symptoms, the earlier you tackled them, the earlier the improvement will be.

her advice about holding up vaccines is another good one.

i would buy a good quality fish oil. Cod Liver Oil contains natural vitamin D, A, E and DHA (for the brain). If he is not allergic to Soy, Nordic Naturals is a good brand if he is allergic to Soy, Kirkman CLO is a good one. I use this for Kendra. I would give him , flaxseed oil, flaseed meal, Hemp oil, Hemp protein powder (mix in juice or food) for the Omega 3’s and for the good amino acid blend. I buy this at http://www.iherb.com Kirkman Labs also sells a good amino blend. Amino acid, as well as a good amount of fat (about 44g per day for kids under 4) helps the brain develop properly. It also boost the immune system.

good luck and i hope you see “improvemnets” soon.

Leo

[Anonymous]

Well, we qualified for EI services. They said that Jackson’s cognitive skills, which encompasses a lot of language, is at a 9 month level. I am happy and sad at the same time. I wanted the services, but it is so hard to hear that your baby is behind.

[Anonymous]

It will get better- I PROMISE!

Like I shared before, Brodie’s receptive skills were @ a 6-9mth level & expressive were @ a 3 (yes, three!) mth level when he was 13mths old. It was absolutely heartbreaking.

I’m glad you got services & I hope you get into a therapist/therapy center soon.

Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Erin- How is Brodie now? Is he caught up?

[Anonymous]

Yes, he is 2yrs 5mths old. His receptive language is @ a 3yr 6mth level (formerly a 6-9 mth level @ 15mths old). His expressive language is @ a 2yr 3mth level (so almost caught up)… this was formerly a 3mth level @ 15mths old. The reason we are still getting speech services is b/c his articulation is still a big struggle for him.

[Anonymous]

Wow Erin! That is really wonderful. So happy for you. Your story is a real inspiration!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the update Katie. I definately don’t think the doctor sounds like a quack! It’s good to hear she spent so much time with him, and she had some good suggestions. My son Ben has high functioning autistic spectrum disorder, most likely Asperger’s Syndrome, but his symptoms didn’t really start until after the age of 2. But he’s been doing incredibly well lately, since adopting a GFCF diet and following a DAN (Defeat Autism Now) protocol.

I know how difficult it can be to hear that your child may be delayed in some areas. But it’s great that you now can get some EI services. Hopefully that will help tremendously. I too think it’s a good idea to consider postponing further vaccinations until after the age of 2, and avoid all thimerosal containing ones, in a child that has some potential red flags for ADHD or autism.

As for the stomping, Paige does this when overly excited or upset, and we have been concerned that it may be a stim. Keep an eye on it, hopefully it’s just a phase and not an actual symptom of anything more. Just curious, did the doctor think anything of Jackson’s head shaking?

[Anonymous]

She really did not seem very concerned with the head shaking. When autistic babies self stim, do they laugh while they do it and then look at their parent to see if they think it is funny too? The doc seemed to assume that he would be ADHD but said that we need to be proactive about autism. She said numerous times that “autistic babies would not do some of the things that Jackson is doing” but that regression is possible. What do you think Sheri?

[Author]

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