Children with PDD

[mvanboc]

I have a son who will be 5 the first week of September. When he was born, I was doing Daycare at the time. I had noticed that he wasn't reaching "normal" milestones and sought help for him. He has received Early Intervention, and has gone to ECSE for the last two years. I am wondering if there is anyone out there who also has a young child with PDD who can tell me about some of their behaviors, If they are also having saftey concerns for their child(ren); And if they have heard any hope for this to improve with age; or if they will "always" have the behavior of a very young child.

[melsmommy]

My daughter was diagnosed at age 3 1/2 with PDD-NOS and showed developmental delays in some skills as low as 12 months. She has always functioned at a developmental level about 2 years behind her age NT (neurotypical) peers. Now she's 8, and displays many of the behaviors common to NT 5-6 year olds.

My daughter attends her local elementary school. She is in a "reduced numbers" placement, which means there are never more than 6 children in her special ed class, ages 6-9. She goes to some lessons in a regular ed second grade class, but gets intensive one-on-one when needed in the RNC room. Through the school, she gets OT, Speech, and Adaptive PE. We don't do any private OT or speech, as it's not covered by our insurance and is beyond our budget.

We do have many safety concerns. We provide a packet of information to the school each year, explaining that she has a tendency to run, doesn't comprehend danger to herself/others, is easily influenced, is not wary of strangers, and has delayed pain sensitivity. Your best bet is to stay informed, and keep all school personnel up to date on medications, safety concerns, current behavior patterns, etc. Visit the school often and unannounced, to observe what goes on at lunch, recess, etc.