Growing Up Autistic
  • Home
  • Product Recommendations
  • Meet Us
    • Trevor
    • Tracey
    • Patty
    • Lonnie
  • Books
  • Blog
  • 1-Minute Videos
  • About Autism
  • Contact

Early Signs of Autism - Reactions

3/1/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Patty Pacelli

As our son Trevor reached about 18 months, we noticed he had stronger than normal reactions to certain happenings in his day. He got extremely upset at anything that interrupted the schedule that he had formed in his mind. He couldn't verbalize his feelings or thoughts at that age, so he would cry, scream and throw himself on the floor. Even when he became more verbal, at about 4, it was still difficult for him to explain what was wrong, and to control his emotions. He exhibited these behaviors in settings such as church and preschool, so on the way to church in the car we would coach him and have him repeat, "No yelling, no hitting, no falling down." We aren't sure how much that helped, but he remembered the words.

At the time, he hadn't been diagnosed with anything other than speech delay, so we didn't know for sure what was causing these behaviors. We later learned these were early signs of autism. The difference from his older sister's behavior at the same age, was that he had different reasons for the tantrums, and less communication about those reasons. He got especially upset when something didn't happen the way he expected. It was so upsetting to him that he would throw himself on the ground even if it was something he loved, such as going to the zoo.

The other big reason for his tantrums was being forced to switch quickly from one activity to another. Most kids that age love surprises, and distracting them from one thing with another is usually a good strategy to keep them happy. It was the opposite with Trevor. He had to have a lot of warning about any changes, and still was sometimes upset. He explains in his book, Six-Word Lessons on Growing Up Autistic, in the chapter, Sudden Changes are a Big Challenge, that he often had his whole day planned out, even as young as 4 or 5, so anything that changed or interrupted that was extremely upsetting. These reactions also sometimes led to occasional hitting, toy-grabbing, or other rude behaviors toward other children.
Trevor's Dad, Lonnie Pacelli, created a one-minute video about the importance of keeping a schedule for people of all ages with autism spectrum disorders. 

Because of these extreme reactions, and the reasons for those reactions, combined with the speech and language delays discussed in a previous blog post, we were not surprised to receive the diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder when Trevor was in kindergarten.     
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Inspiration for Life with Autism

    This blog has a variety of articles about people living life with autism, and topics and ideas that can help in the journey. Guest bloggers are welcome. Inspired by Trevor, a young adult film critic, photographer and college graduate on the autism spectrum. 

    Check out Trevor's movie review blog, TrevorsViewonHollywood

    Categories

    All
    Accommodations
    Addiction
    Adult Life
    Art
    Autism
    Bullying
    College Life
    Creativity
    Dental Issues
    Depression
    Disability Friendly
    Early Education
    Early Signs Of Autism
    Employment
    High School
    Home Safety
    Jobs & Careers
    Lonnie's Blog Posts
    Misconceptions
    Movie Reviews
    Movies And Disabilities
    Moving Homes
    Obsessions
    One Minute Lessons
    Parenting
    Patty's Blog Posts
    Pokemon
    Research
    Safety
    Siblings And Autism
    Sleep Problems
    Teasing
    Teen Life
    Tracey's Blog Posts
    Trevor's Blog Posts
    Video Gaming

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    December 2020
    September 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Product Recommendations
  • Meet Us
    • Trevor
    • Tracey
    • Patty
    • Lonnie
  • Books
  • Blog
  • 1-Minute Videos
  • About Autism
  • Contact