I have a 5 year old with autism who's behavior is similar to what you are describing. He's also taking a PE class (at the Y), but he has a 1:1 aide there to help him at all times. We just started attending these classes a few weeks ago, but last week, one of the moms really went out of her way to be nice to my son, and that actually helped ME feel supported because I felt that we were welcome and accepted there. It would be amazing if one of the moms would try to be my friend, even if they're only my friend during PE class and we have no connection whatsoever outside of that. If they would sit next to me, and act like they're happy to see me, that would just be so amazing. I am not very good at socializing, and I am very tired and overwhelmed at most times, especially after actually getting the kids to the Y, and I am just not very likely to go out of my way to socialize right now, even though I still need that interaction with other people. When someone goes out of their way to be nice to me or my children, it honestly brightens up my day so much! I don't know if that helps you or not, but just keep in mind that a little bit goes a long way - especially if the mother really is having a hard time. I am still thinking about how that mom was so nice to my child days later, and it literally only took maybe 30 seconds of her time and a sincere smile.

My husband made me a small desk that he attached right to the wall in our school room. To control the papers, I put a file cabinet under it and made a rule that every single piece of paper that I am tempted to just stick on my desk MUST immediately be filed instead. If I honestly don't know where to file the paper, then I make a new file folder for it. This has eliminated about 95% of the clutter from my desk. I learned that it literally only takes 10 seconds to actually file a piece of paper, and then when I need to find it, I know right where it is, instead of having to dig through a huge mess hoping to find what I need. I still struggle with papers that I "don't want to forget about" and end up leaving in plain sight on purpose (which is snowballing into a problem), but generally this system is slowly getting me on the right track!

We just started homeschooling and our pediatrician offered to "help with our education plan" - I certainly didn't expect to hear that from our kids doctor, of all people! I do love our pediatrician, and I think that she sincerely meant well, but it was pretty silly. If she brings it up again, maybe I'll ask her to give an educational tour of the office, since she wants to help so much :laugh:

*BUMP* Updated in original post.

Thank you so much, everyone. I'm starting to lean to towards just getting the tooth pulled. I'm very nervous about it though! I am seriously afraid of dentists, especially after this experience. Please tell me that having a tooth pulled isn't that bad. I'm not too worried about the recovery, it's more so whatever will happen while I'm sitting in the dentists chair. This root canal took at least an hour and a half though, so at least I can reassure myself that it will be over with a lot faster, right? I'm seriously afraid of literally having a panic attack in the waiting room or in the chair before hand. Is there anything they can do to help me with this massive anxiety? Also, I'm kind of worried about chewing. Is that going to be an issue? The endodontist who did the root canal told me that I might not be able to get an implant in that location because of the proximity of my sinuses. Then I was reading in a root canal brochure at the 2nd endodontist's office that having teeth pulled can lead to all kinds of problems with your other teeth, so of course that has me worried as well. Thanks again :/

Thank you, the 2nd opinion insisted that there is nothing wrong with the tooth. He told me that there is no way that the tooth could cause this level of systemic symptoms without a serious degree of pain and inflammation in the tooth. I am just betting that all of this would go away if I had it pulled though, so that is most likely what I am going to do. After this nightmare, I don't really want to consider having it re-done. The tooth wasn't great to begin with (3 cracks, 5 canals), so I think I just want to be done with it.

Thanks, I agree. How was having your tooth pulled? I'm very nervous about it, but I cannot imagine that it's any worse than sitting through a root canal. At least it won't take as long!

Thank you, it's okay, I agree with you :(

Thanks, that is my gut feeling on this - that it's the tooth. I would feel so much better about having it pulled if I could just have ONE dentist agree with me, or at least agree that there is some remote possibility that it's causing all of this. I haven't lost any weight. Actually, I think I gained a couple of pounds. Any sweating seems related to the fever (stops when the fever goes down.)

I'm allergic to penicillin, so I cannot take augmentin. I'm not sure if I clench my teeth at night or not, is there a way to tell? I am pretty sure I am clenching them during the day though, so I'm trying to be more mindful of that. I only have mild occasional pain, and every dentist I have seen has told me that in this case, that is to be expected. I guess that is due to the cracks, but also possibly due to the fact that this tooth had 5 canals. I think that the ENT might be willing to consult, but I doubt that any of the dentists would be. Their attitude is that it's not the tooth and that there's nothing more to be said about it. Thank you for your help, I hope that your dental/sinus issues are resolved soon as well!

Well, I haven't had a panoramic x-ray yet, but they did take the standard side view type x-rays. I had the 3 different dentists take those and insist that the tooth isn't infected. The last endodontist said that I would have to have significant tooth pain and swelling in the tooth for it to be causing these kind of systemic symptoms. He told me to tell my doctor to rule out the tooth as the source of the fever. I am still not comfortable with that explanation though, and I'm just not sure that I believe it's that simple. Yes, I was thinking that I would like to start a probiotic, Does it make a difference what kind I buy? I don't really know anything about them. And I have had someone mention something along those lines to me about the thyroid testing, I just couldn't remember what it was that she said, so thank you!

No, I haven't had a panoramic X-ray done yet, but the oral surgeons receptionist told me when I made the appointment that they would do a panoramic at that appointment. I did have a permanent crown placed on it. The endodontist told me not to wait more than 4 weeks due to the cracks in the tooth. He was afraid that it would break.

Thank you!

*UPDATE* 10/9 - Well, after another trip to my general doctor, she insisted that she thought it was my sinuses and put me on TWO more rounds of antibiotics along with a round of prednisone (oral steroid) to reduce inflammation. The very day after I finished all of this medication I started getting sick again very quickly. My lungs and eyes were already starting to bother me and my fever started rising out of the "low grade" range, so I made the decision to get the tooth pulled as soon as I could get an appointment. I also got right back on an antibiotic to get my symptoms back under control. I managed to get an appointment for two days later. The oral surgeon insisted that he did not believe that the tooth was causing my systemic symptoms and gave me one last chance to back out, but I insisted that he pull it. I asked for nitrous oxide, and they ended up using it to put me under general anesthesia half way though the extraction. I woke up with stitches on the sides of my gums, so I know that it wasn't a simple extraction. AFTER the procedure, the dentist reluctantly admit to me that there is a small chance that I might get better now. I don't know if he truly felt that way the entire time, or if he found something in my mouth while doing the extraction that changed his mind. I was too out of it to really care at the moment, but so appreciative that he was willing to say that when no other doctor did. My general doctor also did some blood work before the extraction. Everything came back normal except my cholesterol, which is slightly high and my IgA level is slightly high. She is testing me for autoimmune diseases because of the IgA, but I read that those levels go up when you have an infection. So, I'm on day 5 post extraction. My mouth is healing as expected. I did have some mild night sweats for the first few days after the extraction, but they have stopped. My fever is getting better, and my swollen glands do seem to be smaller at times, but then they swell again, so I'm not sure if that means they're improving or not. They do seem to be changing though, so hopefully that's something (my glands have been swollen for 4 months straight.) I am still extremely exhausted, a bit dizzy, and my eyes are still bothering me though. My symptoms do seem to be very slowly improving, but to be honest, I was really hoping to be feeling much better by now. I am not sure how long it would take to get over something like this though, and since I am the one who made the call to remove the tooth, I really don't have a doctor who can advise me on how long it might take to see a significant improvement. I also have this fear in the back of my mind that I will get better, and then just plummet again once I finish up the antibiotic. If the tooth was truly the cause of my troubles (which I still believe it very well could have been), can anyone take a guess at how long they think it might take to start to feel a little normal? My husband thinks it's going to take at least a week and that I need to try to be patient. Hopefully he's right! Also, as a side note, I am taking a probiotic now, and I managed to get an appointment with a very good ENT, since I still do have sinus polyps to deal with regardless of what happens with the tooth. His receptionist said he was booked for awhile, but that there was a cancellation, so I jumped on that appointment and I'll be in to see him on Tuesday. And, thank you to everyone who helped me to have the courage to get the tooth extracted. Not only was it extremely helpful to finally have some validation in my thinking when so many doctors and dentists were telling me that the tooth was not the cause of my issues, but you also helped me to actually walk through the door and get it done. _____________________________________________________ Hi there, I was wondering if anyone can help me out here. I had a root canal done on June 1st on a back upper molar. The endodontist did a cone beam x-ray before hand and found that I had 3 cracks in the tooth, but said that there was a pretty good chance (almost as good as a non cracked tooth) that once we put a crown on it it wouldn't be an issue. The reason I had to have the root canal was because I had a large filling in it which led to the tooth becoming sensitive to heat and on-going toothaches which were worsening over time. Anyway, as soon as the Novocain wore off I was feeling intense sinus pressure above the tooth and pain in my eye. This did not improve by the next morning, so I went back to the Endodontist who told me that eye pain after a root canal is unusual. He said that he suspected it was a sinus infection and put me on a z-pack, which he said would also treat any kind of problem that could arise with the tooth. Two days later I developed a fever and swollen glands. This fever has been with me on and off (mostly on) since that day back in early June. It was the weekend, so I called my endodontist, who advised me to see an ENT and told me that if there was a problem with the tooth, I would have pain and swelling, which I have not ever had. So, I went to an ENT as soon as possible who ended up doing a CT scan and putting a scope up my nose. He found nasal polyps with the scope and the CT scan showed chronic sinus infections. He put me on a stronger antibiotic, which I ended up being allergic to. After that I went on doxycycline, which seemed to clear up the problem - until I went to get the temporary crown placed on the tooth. Again, a couple of days later I ended up with a fever. I called my general dentist who placed the temporary crown. He took an X-ray and told me that the tooth looked fine. He chalked it up to something viral. This fever started increasing and led to another round of antibiotics prescribed by my medical doctors office. That was about a month after the original root canal. After those antibiotics, I was okay for a little while (a couple of weeks or so), but then my fevers started returning. My glands have been swollen for pretty much this whole time and I recently had a lymph node in my neck start to swell. I went back to my medical doctor who put me back on doxycycline and referred me to an oral surgeon to rule out any kind of tooth issue that the endodontist missed, but they told me over the phone that they cannot help me when I tried to make the appointment. I went ahead and saw a different endodontist for a 2nd opinion and he reassured me that this is absolutely not a dental issue. I have an appointment with my ENT on Monday morning and I did find an oral surgeon who is willing to take a look at it as well, and I have an appointment with them the following Monday. At this point, my fingers are starting to swell and I'm having vision issues. It's very difficult to focus on anything and I do have occasional eye pain. I even went to the eye doctor and had my glasses prescription updated (had the new glasses for a week and a half). But I'm not seeing a very significant improvement. I have also had sore throats along with my fevers. I noticed that if I irrigate my nasal passages with a saline nasal rinse, that does help with the sore throat, but it seems to intensify my sinus pressure instead of making it better. Even though I have had chronic sinus infections (according to the CT scan), I have not ever experienced a relentless ongoing fever like this. I did suspect a sinus issue due to chronic congestion that did not respond to allergy medications of any kind, but I did not have fevers or swollen glands until just after the root canal. My ENT is offering to do sinus surgery on the polyps, but I have not read that people have very good results from this. It sounds to me like the recovery is awful, some people end up with worse symptoms (headaches) and many people's polyps return anyway. I'm not sure that this is really the best course of action. It doesn't sound very promising. I am not even sure that these fevers are even being caused by the sinus issue. I left a message for my doctor on Friday that I would like to have a full blood work up done, my immune levels checked (my son is immune deficient, I don't know if maybe that means that I could be too?), my thyroid checked and Lyme disease testing just to rule it out (I didn't have a rash, but I do have exposure to ticks.) Anyway, Does anyone have any idea of what I can try to do to help myself? Should I ask my ENT to put me on a prolonged course of antibiotics when I see him on Monday? Does this sound like some horrible relentless sinus infection that was triggered by the root canal that just refuses to ever leave me? Or does it sound like something else? I am willing to have the tooth pulled, but I keep having dentists tell me that it doesn't need to be, so it's kind of hard to decide to have a tooth pulled for "no reason." Please give me some ideas and opinions. I will gladly give more information if that will help. Thank you in advance!

My 5 year old with ASD has been in underwear for about 6 months now, but I wouldn't call him fully potty trained. He wears pull ups to bed and has accidents about 2-4 times every day. I keep him in underwear because he will at least make an effort to get to the toilet once he notices that he's starting to go in his pants, whereas he will not even try if he's wearing a pull up. To even get him to this point, I had to offer major incentives. We spent days bribing him with candy to simply stand in the bathroom and count to ten. I set a timer and when it rang, he had to stop what he was doing (difficult for him), run to the bathroom and count. Then once he mastered that he had to pull his pants down and count. We slowly moved up to sitting on the toilet, etc. For poop, we had to bribe him with really good toys. He couldn't do a sticker chart, so for every poop he earned a $5 toy. It cost us a fortune, but it was the only thing motivating enough to make him want to try. I think the first couple of poops may have cost more lol. Also, coupled with this, we started making him change his own diapers (with as little help as possible). He LIKED being in diapers, and STILL wants to wear them, so I had to make that experience as unpleasant as possible since he had absolutely no good reason to stop wearing them in his mind. There were other kids in his class (special needs) who wore diapers, so I couldn't convince him that they were not for 4 year olds. Not that he would have cared anyway. Now that he's in underwear, he seems to be on the right track. He's using the toilet independently, for the most part. He peed all over the floor a few times, but making him clean it up (with as little help as possible) solved that problem very quickly. He makes it to the bathroom without first starting in his pants a couple of times per day, at least. He hasn't had any public accidents. In my book, this is major progress.

Thank you! I really believe in early intervention. We saw the biggest improvements with my older boy between the ages of about 21 months and 3 1/2, so he was pretty young. We started therapy with my younger son at 10 months 😀 Thankfully I was able to get the same service coordinator this time around, so she was able to really advocate for services on his behalf due to family history. She knew as well as I did that he would end up with an autism diagnosis. She's been awesome.

Thanks, everyone :)

*UPDATE* Yep - they did diagnose him. The ADOS made it pretty clear. The psychologist prompted him to engage with her over and over again in many different ways, and each time he generally just turned away and played with something else. She shot little nerf type darts across the room, and even though he seemed to like that, instead of making any kind of indication that he would like her to do it again, he just picked them up and threw them himself. When she interrupted his play in a way that was intentionally annoying, he turned around and immediately played with something different. He wouldn't request more bubbles, even though he clearly enjoyed them. He used the "pretend play" fork to dig into the carpet, and kept returning to this fork to do that over and over again throughout the eval. He didn't seem to know what to do when she was prompting him to bathe a baby. He kept blowing on the pretend shampoo and conditioner for some reason. We weren't sure why. He wouldn't play peek a book with the psychologist or with me. It was....interesting. I'm glad that he made it so obvious though. It was easy to feel good about the diagnosis, and now this part is behind us. The team that evaluated him thinks that we're already doing all the right things, and they didn't really have any further recommendations. I know that having the official diagnosis will just make our lives easier in the future though. I have been walking around ever since we got home thinking "I have TWO children with autism. No wonder I'm so tired all the time!" lol :crying:

Hi there, I've been posting a little bit about my autistic 5 year old and some of his various issues recently. I've been so caught up in his transitioning from special needs preschool/therapy to homeschooling that I all but forgot that my 22 month old is being evaluated for autism this week too. It was in the back of my mind, but it came up FAST. This morning, an OT, PT, teacher and speech therapist came to the house and did the first half of the eval. We haven't gotten any results yet, but they did note that he is speech delayed, socially delayed, delayed with his feeding, has a ton of sensory issues, and that he was having trouble regulating himself. They recommended picture communication, so they obviously also saw that there are general communication delays present. I don't know, I guess I kind of filed this eval away in the "waste of time" folder in my mind because when we started this process with my older son who was more severe, we were told that he was too young the first time around. The way that they are talking though, I'm starting to think that he might actually get a diagnosis. That would certainly make things a lot less complicated this time around! I'm not happy about it, but we have a family history, so I'm beyond prepared mentally. Anyway, we're going to their facility tomorrow to meet with a psychologist, and so that they can observe him in a different setting. While we're there he'll be given the ADOS test as well. He's already in therapy, but the sooner we can get the actual diagnosis the better. At the very least, I'll be able to apply for state funding for respite and various programs. It's nice to have, even when I'm not quite sure what to do with it. I will let you know how it goes!

*UPDATE* So, I did make some progress with the aide hunt. The inclusion director DID return my call before I had a chance to call her again (yay!). It sounds like the process takes about a month, but she doesn't see any reason why he will not qualify. It doesn't sound like the aides on staff are generally available during the day when I would want one, but she did say that part of the reason is that people generally do not want aides during the day, so she's going to see if anyone does happen to have availability. I can make evenings/weekends work, but I was really hoping to get him involved in a homeschool class. He had kind of a hard time accepting that he would not be going to a school building for Kindergarten, so I was really hoping that he could meet other kids who are homeschooled. I also found an outside agency that can provide an aide for an activity of our choosing, and it looks like he already qualifies for that, so I'm going to contact them to get that process started as well. Maybe they will have availability during the day. Still working on finding a respite provider though. I like the idea of staying home with them until I feel comfortable.

Thanks, I'm starting to put the word out there. His old teacher is looking into it (she's also my toddlers current teacher), and she seemed really eager to help, so hopefully she will come up with some ideas. I'm going to see his old service coordinator tomorrow (again, my toddlers current coordinator), so maybe she will have some ideas.

Thank you, I did find out that I have access to a list of providers through one of our local agencies. I don't know why, but I hadn't even considered hiring more than one provider. I guess I figured that hiring one is hard enough, but maybe hiring more than one will actually be easier because then I don't have to find just one person who happens to have the exact availability that I'm looking for.

I haven't heard of a federal fund, but our state does have respite funding - and we qualify for a certain amount every year. The problem is that it is our responsibility to find the provider. Even if they did provide someone, I can't imagine that I would be comfortable with that random assigned person doing it.

Thanks. I'm not sure if it's that he doesn't have the skills to participate in these activities, or if he just gets so overwhelmed by them that his impulse control goes out the window. He does OK at the beginning, so I think it might be the latter. I can't say that I really enjoy sitting through these things acting as a 1:1 for him. I usually sit there dying of embarrassment because I have very little control over him and I can't stand up on the chair and declare to the gawkers that he has autism. Not to mention, it's stressful when he does something dangerous like running out the front door of the building and I'm trailing behind with my two year old who's kicking and turning to liquid when I try to pick him up to go chase him. So, no, can't say that I find it enjoyable. But what's the alternative? We live out in the country, and staying home all the time gets so isolating and depressing. Classes (or whatever) with NT kids aren't a good fit for him, but at the same time, whenever I have him in some kind of a special needs class, he starts mimicking their behaviors at home, and that creates different problems that didn't previously exist. He tends to absorb the most problematic behaviors that he witnesses and it can take years sometimes before we're able to extinguish them. He will not mimic appropriate behavior when he is exposed to it though. If anything, he tries to get the other kids to misbehave with him, and he will find whichever child is most willing to misbehave and befriend them. We do not have access to behavioral therapy, and we have had such little success with the therapies that are offered through the school district lately that I just pulled him out entirely. We would have to have him on an IEP and drive him up to the school for every session, and honestly, I think that the stress of it all would just make things worse. His last report said that he was even refusing to participate towards the end. I will try contacting a few of our local agencies to let them know how our situation has changed recently and to see if they can offer any suggestions. The aide idea isn't going great so far - the inclusion director hasn't returned my call. I tried to contact her a couple of years ago about swimming lessons or something and if I remember correctly I couldn't get in touch with her then either, so this probably isn't a good sign. I will try calling her again tomorrow though, and if I still can't get in touch with her I guess I'll try a manager or something. I was hoping that would go smoothly though. But yes, I will add more school work. It really is the only positive thing we have going on right now. The rest of the day is just drudgery.

Thanks, I'll try asking around. I hate the idea of leaving strangers in my house with my kids, but I just don't have any better ideas.