This picture is of Orlando's favorite gorilla toy animal and his animals are fighting over who is going to wear the christening cake booties.
Orlando went to an assessment at Gateways Support Services
where they used a diagnosis tool called Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) (descriptions attached below*). It was
conducted by a psychologist a speech therapist with input from his pediatrician.
Things that are noted that seem to be important and stand
out are things like Orlando had his own agenda (referring to the child doing
what they want to do, in the way they want to do and when they want to do it) he
had considerable delayed expression and possibly receptive language skills,
reduced personal and social skills with some evidence of being a little quirky
in his interests in textiles, water play etc.
Orlando is extremely
sensory and was well known for eating with his hands exploring the food by sniffing,
licking and squishing in his fingers. Orlando did not look for comfort from his
mother when he was hurt and he did not seem to acknowledge when someone else
was hurt either. It appeared he was yet to learn empathy.
Orlando liked to play with toy animals and at the time of
diagnosis he was obsessed with them. He would carry them around in his hands
like his life depended on it and would play with them exactly the same way
every day. He enjoyed watching movies
and was obsessed with a dance scene from Despicable Me he would act it out
bouncing on his toes and flapping like he was trying to fly. (We have an
awesome video).
It was also noted that Orlando really likes his own company.
When playing with other children Orlando was not understanding the rules of
play and cooperation. When with other children he will generally choose to play
by himself. Orlando struggled with various social interactions when playing
with others particularly when required to wait, take turns or share an
activity.
At the time of Orlando’s diagnosis he had 3 words “Hi”, “Mum”
and “No” his way of communicating was through gestures and hand leading. This
created a large amount of frustration for Orlando and resulted in crying,
whinging and melt downs due to lack of understanding communication. Orlando did
not know how to ask for help.
In his assessment there was no clear indication that he
understood anything that was said to him and he mostly appeared to respond to
his environment on the basis of visual and environmental cues.
Orlando has auditory sensitivity so some noises will make
him distressed and he will cover his ears e.g hairdryer and lawn mowers. When
we attend a movie he will wear noise cancelling head phones. Orlando loves all
sorts of smells good and bad and will seek them out. He enjoys different types
of materials and will rub soft things on his face and has a special blanket he
wraps himself in. Don’t be surprised if he start rubbing up against you one day
if your clothes are soft (LOL) it happens more than you think. Orlando became
extremely distressed when getting haircut so for a while we just had to do the
bear minimum (as long as he could see).
Orlando did not appear to have any awareness of danger (i.e.
the iron is hot, the knife is sharp) Orlando would climb to high places and had
no understanding of road safety or stranger danger.
A lot has changed since his diagnosis some of the above are
still a challenge but for the most part he has developed strategies to cope
with the things he finds the hardest. Orlando is one of the most loving and
funniest people I know. He brings so much joy to our family and anyone that
knows him.
Listed below is documented information and description of
the tools used in Orlando’s diagnosis. This information may have changed since
2012 if you would like to know more up to date information about the diagnostic
tools used today please contact your pediatrician.
DIAGNOSING AUTISM
SPECTRUM DISORDER*
Autism Spectrum Disorder is diagnosed using the strict
criteria set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Fourth Edition Text Revised (DSM-IV-TR). Using this as a guide, to be diagnosed
with Autism, children must have marked impairments in their social interactions
and their communication, and must display restricted, repetitive and stereotyped
patterns of behavior, interest and activities. These difficulties must have
been evident before three years of age. Some children with Autism may also demonstrate
difficulties in their sensory integration and may have limited safety awareness
or may have a family history that points towards an Autism Spectrum Disorder
diagnosis. (This may have been revised since 2012)
AUTISM DIAGNOSTIC
OBSERVATIONAL SCHEDULE (ADOS)*
The ADOS is a semi-structured, standardized assessment of
communication, social interaction, and play or imaginative use of materials for
individuals who have been referred because of possible autism or other
pervasive developmental disorders. The ADOS consists of standard activities that
allow the examiner to observe behaviors that have been identified as important
to the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder at different developmental levels
and chronological ages.
CHILDHOOD AUTISM
RATING SCALE (CARS)*
The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) is a 15-item behavioral rating scale developed to identify children with an Autism Spectrum
Disorder.
Thanks for reading
Jess x
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