I think that my nephew my be autistic

[Andrea1972]

Hi ,

I am writing because I think that my 3 yr old nephew may be autistic. I recently took care of my nephew for 6 months, in that time i noticed that he was "slow" in some areas. His vocabulary consists of a few words, babbles and makes different sounds and he often repeats what other people say. He will lay down for extended periods of time playing with his fingers, or whatever he happenss to be fixated on(pieces of paper, toys) and will isolate himself(will close himself in room alone for long periods of time) and prefers to play alone. He also has severe temper tantrums , he will bang his head against a wall, bite and or hit himself and is also aggressive when playing with other children(bites and hits others). I am not sure how to bring this upto my brother so that my nephew can be observed . Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you

[laurie]

hi and welcome i am surprised if your nephew is injuring himself such as hitting and biting that the family doctor doesnt say anything if the doc is aware of this,, i will assume your brother is with the childs mother in asking you what are her thoughts ,,,is she approachable with this subject . there is no easy way to approach anyone with this, does your brother acept this behavoiur? perhaps you could ask your brother what his thoughts are on why the child hits and bites himself and maby he should speak with a doc about the ''behavior'' noone can really tell you what to say to him as i said it will be very difficult and maby just talk him into discussing it with a doc ''the hitting bitting '' and im sure a doc will go into more detail,, i hope someone else will have a better answer for you,, goodluck keep us posted.......laurie

[AutMom]

Welcome to the group!
Have you shared your observations (from your 6 months of care) with your brother?
If this is his first child, he may not realize these things aren't typical...

[Andrea1972]

hi and welcome i am surprised if your nephew is injuring himself such as hitting and biting that the family doctor doesnt say anything if the doc is aware of this,, i will assume your brother is with the childs mother in asking you what are her thoughts ,,,is she approachable with this subject . there is no easy way to approach anyone with this, does your brother acept this behavoiur? perhaps you could ask your brother what his thoughts are on why the child hits and bites himself and maby he should speak with a doc about the ''behavior'' noone can really tell you what to say to him as i said it will be very difficult and maby just talk him into discussing it with a doc ''the hitting bitting '' and im sure a doc will go into more detail,, i hope someone else will have a better answer for you,, goodluck keep us posted.......laurie

Hi Laurie and thank you for your response. As far as my nephew having a family Dr , he doesnt. I will shed a little light onto the situation. July of last year my brother was discharged from the U.S. Navy. And moved back home to America. Also a few weeks before my brother was due to be discharged his wife commited suicide, while him and my nephew slept and my ynephew found her. Im sure that you get an idea of what he has gone through. I have tried talking to my brother about taking him to see a Dr for a check up which would be the best time to make the Dr aware of his behaviour. I am most frsutrated....I want to desperately to help , for my brother to see what ,myself and my family are seeing. I adore and want my nephew to have as normal a life as possible, thank you again.

[AutMom]

Your nephew is lucky to have you. Good luck.

[laurie]

i am so sorry for the loss of your sister in law, no wonder the poor little guy is having some difficulty,, if for no other reason your brother should take the poor little angel to the doctor to assess what he has gone through,,you can at least use this to the advantage perhaps saying you feel as though he may have suffered trauma in finding his mother and that it would be a good idea to seek some help for him,, if your brother argues he is to young to remember you can always say well lets be sure and have him checked,,,,he is a very lucky boy to have you dont give up on him he needs you now more than ever....laurie