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Posted by
francesfeeney

on 17th February 2010

at 13:37

Hi my name is Frances Feeney and me and my partner have our son Joshua who is 3 years old he hasnt been diagnosed with anything apart from harlequin symdrome and low muscle tone. We have been to see the neurologist and genecticist and have been told that Joshua has autistic tendancies and that he is too young to be tested at the moment. I have done the more than words hanen programme which has helped Joshua

Posted by
Josie Barnshaw

on 17th February 2010

at 13:43

Hi Frances

Welcome to the group. Feel free to have a look around at all the discussions that have taken place and if you have any particular questions feel free to ask an we will do our best to help you out.

Josie - Community Champion

Posted by
Elena Goodrum

on 17th February 2010

at 14:22

Hi Frances! Welcome to the community.

Is Joshua already in school? Or are you perhaps working with him at home? I look forward to hearing more about him. : )

Posted by
Snowdrop

on 17th February 2010

at 14:42

Hi Frances

Welcome to the forum, I have a 4 & a half year old with ASD, he was diagnosed aged just 4 but people seemed to notice Dylan's autistic tendancies at a much younger age. It really sank in for me about 6 months before the actual diagnosis & I started reading up on everything I could about autism & began doing things for Dylan as if we'd already had his diagnosis.

As Josie has said, take a look around as you'll find lots of useful info but do feel free to ask any questions or speak about whatevers on your mind at the moment.

Tracy - Community Champion

Posted by
Leanne

on 17th February 2010

at 15:09

Hi Frances,

Welcome .. what sort of traits are you seeing ??

Both of my step sons have low muscle tone, my eldest has especially poor tone so much so that sometimes he has a hard time even standing up without leaning on something. I have found that the trampoline has helped my youngest hugely,Summer time he will spend ages bouncing on it.

What is harlequin syndrome ??

Leanne - Community Champion

Posted by
francesfeeney

on 18th February 2010

at 08:52

Hi all

Thanks for the warm welcome! Joshua has been attending a special needs nursery since he was a year old and he adores it and since doing the hanen programme has taught me to understand him more. Joshua doesn't give you eye contact, plays by himself and doesnt engage with other children well, lines is cars and trains all up in a line and has poor concentration.

His muscle tone is quite bad its mostly the core muscles in his stomach thats been the worst effected and he finds it hard to walk outside and we still use a buggy for him. He is really clumsy and is always falling over.

Harlequin syndrome is a condition characterized by asymmetric sweating and flushing on the upper thoracic region of the chest, the neck, and the face. Basically when he is trying to go to the toilet the left side of his face goes bright red.

Posted by
Leanne

on 18th February 2010

at 13:56

Does he have trouble going to the toilet at all.. both of my boys suffer in that department ??

Leanne - Community Champion

Posted by
francesfeeney

on 18th February 2010

at 15:32

yeah he does Leanne he gets a laxative from the doctor and sometimes we need to use suppositories if it gets really bad i think thats how u spell it!

Posted by
Leanne

on 18th February 2010

at 16:30

We have been giving ours good bacteria tablets.. the youngest was almost 5 when we started. He seems to be fine now, I swear it improved his eye contact and concentration too but thats just my opinion.

Our eldest is more complicated but his is much more of an issue with not liking going for a poo and not wanting to put the effort in..

Leanne - Community Champion

Posted by
Elena Goodrum

on 18th February 2010

at 16:35

Frances, I find myself wondering a lot about what he'll be like when he gets a little older. What sorts of things will fascinate him, what he will enjoy doing. : )

Are you feeling good about the special needs nursery he's been attending? I hope he's getting all that he needs.

Posted by
francesfeeney

on 18th February 2010

at 17:12

He loves painting, cars, trains, counting and cartoons. Joshua has also development delay of about 2 years. He is a young 3 year old with some words. The hanen programme has made me realise he is actually saying more than what i had realised and it also made me understand how Joshua sometimes sees the world.

I think the nursery has been good for Joshua. He really enjoys it playing with all the toys and arts and crafts. He sees the speech therapist and has been recently signed off from the ocupational therapist at the moment as they think there is nothin they can do for him at the moment