autism Helps

Archive for February 1st, 2010

Okay this is probably a stupid & its’ kind of hard to explain so please bear with me.
I'll start by saying I believe in signs ,
When I was pregnant I was cleaning up at work & found a heart pendant that had the words "its a girl" engraved in it & something inside of me “just knew” it was going to be a girl - I did have a girl (okay 50/50 chance but still),
Also when my husband & I met 5 years ago it was an incredibly rainy summer season & the day we met was one of the only sunny days we had & my fortune cookie that day said "the sun is shining & love is in the air" (we would have never of met if it had rained that day)
5 years later we now have a beautiful baby girl who will be 14 months in a couple of days. She seems to be developing normally & is doing great but I can’t seem to shake this uneasy feeling that everything’s not so great with her. I should also mention that I am a first time mom & I worry ALOT. I was reading an article on autism & learned about a rare (1 in 15000 girls) condition called Rett Syndrome where a female baby appears to be developing normally the first 6-18 months but then due to a mutation in the X chromosome their skills regress - often to the point of not being able to walk, cant talk, cant control hand movements, ect...
This is where the "signs" come in. My husband & I recently purchased a sailboat & we spent the day cleaning it -in the cabin I found a shirt for a Rett Syndrome Strollathon Event. It’s such a rare disorder it just seemed like it had been waiting there for ME to find it. Since finding the shirt I can’t shake the feeling that this is a bad sign (I was worried about autism even before this-so finding the shirt just intensifies my worry)
Also, now I notice every time my daughter sticks her fingers in her mouth or claps her hands for no reason or holds her hands together for more then a few seconds (the "first stages") & some days she seems a lot more clumsy then other days or she doesn’t babble/talk as much (also considered “first stages”)
Am I looking into this to much? Is my mind playing tricks on me b/c im so scared?

My sister has a 15 month old baby girl,and she does not know how to speak any words besides MAMA.
My sister plays with her and all, but doesnt teach her anything. She doesnt read to her, or practice saying words. It fustrates me because when I try and teach my niece, she becomes impatient and wants to walk away. My sister lets her do what she wants, and sits with her all day and watches something computer.
I am worried that my niece may develope social skills later and life, and be different that other children, and sometimes I think she may have autism. She shows some signs, and when I bring it up, my sister becomes stubborn and refuses to listen.
What I am asking is : Will she become a normal child? What things do I tell my sister without upsetting her? And how do I get her to pay attention to her daughter and play with her more?

Two of my grandkids have severe Autism. We are trying to raise sufficient funds to cover the costs of obtaining 2 Autism Service dogs for them. Need ideas which won't cost a fortune to initiate. Their big sister age 12 is sewing fabric tote bags to sell, and we've had a couple of local fundraisers. Any ideas, must be legal and family-friendly. Thanks.