Q&A: My Son Was Recently Diagnosed with Autism

CME WebsitesChild Development, Special Needs Diagnoses

blockquote_bgMy first son is 17 months old. He is not playing with toys & has difficulty in maintaining eye contact. He watches TV & doesn’t respond to his name always when called. He has the habit of rubbing anything to the ground or on the sofa. We consulted a neurologist. He gave the diagnosis as PDD/autism. Now I am very worried about the prognosis. Could you please tell me about the prognosis & what kind of therapy sessions he needs from me? His attention span is also a bit low.

Thank you for your question relating to your son’s recent autism/PDD diagnosis. Since you are writing us from India, I am not    sure what services are answered in your community, however, many children who have autism diagnoses receive speech therapy, occupational therapy and developmental/behavioral therapy. It sounds    like your son could benefit from some sensory integration therapy from the description you provided (this is a link to our Sensory page). If you do not have in-home services in your area, your local hospital or clinic may provide outpatient services. I did find this link which could possibly provide services or information to you in India.

Rather than typing a list I am referring you to this page at our Early Intervention Support website which details many of the different therapies and treatments available for children with autism, as well as listing links to many national and international autism websites which you may find helpful. Without knowing your son we cannot recommend a specific therapy or treatment method, however, the above link should give you a good starting point for deciding on a therapy/treatment method which might best benefit your son. Please let us know if we can provide any additional information.