Because my 3 yr son is on the spectrum, I'm so worried about my 4 month old daughter. Im so stressed out over worrying she will be on the spectrum. I over process everything she does. Im even scared to vaccinate her. I try to enjoy her growth but the sick feeling of fear keeps popping its ugly head. Did anyone go through this?
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Members responded with deep empathy to a mother's fear that her four-month-old daughter might be autistic like her three-year-old son, with... Read more
I am in the same situation. My son was diagnosed at 2.5 with ASD. My daughter was just 6 months old at the time. I have spaced her vaccinations out and my pediatrician has no problem with this.
I was worrying non-stop that she may have autism as well. Drove myself crazy. I enrolled her in an Autism Sibling Study at the University of Pittsburgh. They felt at 16 months she had a significant speech delay and I was crushed.
At 19 months, I had her evaluated by The Alliance of Infants and Toddlers in Allegheny County, PA. She is showing ZERO signs of autism. Her speech is catching up and she is testing as a typical child. A little tornado to be honest. Wrecks the house in minutes.
I realize that no matter if she is on the spectrum or not, I really had very little control over the situation. If anything, I now know the best doctors and therapy in our city. But for myself......I didn't want to travel down this road again. It is very hard for all of us.
@A MyAutismTeam Member. My boys are 21 months apart. Joey is my oldest(asd) and Peter my youngest. When I was pregnant with Peter , Joey had not received his asd diagnosis yet . It was not until Peter was born Joey was diagnosed and I could not stop obsessing, researching( the prevalence of having a second child when they are close in age increases the risk , and if it is another boy increase the risk more), worrying. I was constantally questioning every little thing Peter did and anticipated and watched every milestone. It wasn't until he started to surpass Joey developmentally that it put my mind at ease . I absolutely understand your worry but try to enjoy your baby as much as possible.
Peter, now 3 is typically developing. Full of life, never stops talking, (Joey is nonverbal) and adds something amazing to our family. Because my boys are so diverse I truly appreciate every little or big milestone they hit and truly it has opened my eyes to such a bigger world.
Hugs to you :)
Keep in mind while there is a genetic connection there is no definate reason why your daughter should be on the spectrum. Actually statisticly speaking you have less of a chance being on the spectrum because she is a girl. Do not look at your experience as a negative thing look at is as a positive. You know the signs of autism and you have the tools already in place. Because your son has autism it is an excellent reason to make sure you keep track of her milestones and will probably help getting support for her easier. Remember early intervention can make a huge outcome with these kiddos. There is ALOT of statistical evidence currently though that shows vaccination is not what causes autism. Its important to get vaccinated. Most of the mercury which was what they said was causing the defect is not even in vaccines anymore. My son didn't even have all his vaccines and he had problems when he was born that I feel indicated autism. She is very young. Breathe and enjoy your child. You won't love her any differently if she has Autism and know its going to be ok.
I did!! My first son is autistic, and like u when I found out I was having another boy, I was sick with worry that my second born would have autism too. It is the waiting game that tears us mothers apart. I know its hard but after my second son turned a yr old my questions were answered on if he was on the spectrum. He was not, and is now 4yrs old and has no symptoms of autism. Another factor to keep in mind is that autism runs higher in boys than girls. Girls are still able to have autism, but the numbers are more on the boy side. I am pregnant with my third son and its all I can think about. But I also think that even though an autistic child is difficult in their own ways, I would still never pass up the privilege of having my autistic son, and look to the future positively for my third son. I know its hard but keep your head up and stay strong. Because regardless you have two beautiful children and they both love you.
"Of course these are not the only pieces of evidence, and scientists continue to test, and re-test the safety of vaccines. A recently published exhaustive review examining 12,000 research articles covering 8 different vaccines concluded there was no link between vaccines and autism. While scientists still don’t know the exact causes of autism, we are looking like mad and one thing we can be extremely confident of is that it’s not vaccines."
http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/anti-vaccination...