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DS does not know what direction noise is coming from and where I am pointing.

15 replies

tacal · 15/07/2013 10:06

Hello, DS 4.5 and is due to start his autism assessment at the end of this month. I have been keeping notes about all his behaviour and there are a couple of things I am wondering about. Do the following indicate any type of problem or do they seem ok?

  1. DS does not know which direct noise is coming from. I have asked for a hearing test because of this but as far as I can tell he has no problems hearing.


  1. If I point to something he does not look in the direction I am pointing. Sometimes it is impossible to get him to look in the direction I am pointing. There is nothing wrong with his vision.


I would be interested to know if anyone has any experience of these things.

Thank you
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zzzzz · 15/07/2013 10:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tacal · 15/07/2013 12:20

thank you zzzzz. So it is a case of him having to learn where to look when I point. I feel like a bad mum not realising this. I always thought it was to do with his lack of attention, that he just didnt want to look. But recently it has become obvious that he just doesnt know where to look. Is this an ASD thing?

I think it is only very recently it has began to sink in that DS can not do things by instinct and he needs to learn most things other kids just seem to be able to do. Like climbing up climbing frames, holding a pencil, playing. He cant play unless someone is with him to show him what to do. It is making me very sad.

Thank you for your advice, i will start the pointing and listening games today.

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buildingmycorestrength · 15/07/2013 19:58

My son (borderline ASD) also doesn't naturally look at my finger first. If I say, 'It's over there', and point, my daughter will look at my finger and then to where it is pointing. I have to say to my son, every time, 'Look where Mummy is pointing.' and even then he only looks in the same general area, like within 180° ish.

Have not noticed the directional sound thing. But he has sensory issues which makes me think that in general he can't pick out noises from the background very well, or concentrate when there is noise.

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tacal · 15/07/2013 20:13

thank you buildingmycorestrength, I think what you say about sensory issues probably applies to my ds. I am still trying to understand all these things but I would say he definitely has sensory issues and it is often to do with noise so it would make sense that he has trouble picking out one sound from all the other sounds.

When you say your ds is borderline ASD does that mean he has a diagnosis? I think my ds could be borderline too.

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beautifulgirls · 15/07/2013 21:18

DD has ASD but she also has APD (auditory processing disorder). One of the specific issues she has is with directional noise - ie she can't tell which direction a noice comes from properly. She was diagnosed at Great Ormond Street with this though there is a minimum age for them to see children (?poss 6yrs). I would get hearing checked first and speak about the ASD checks and then if you are still uncertain it migt be worth looking into APD a bit more

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OMGGG · 15/07/2013 21:29

my ds doesnt understand pointing although ive taught him a little now and he does look at the end of my finger now. the first time i noticed he just had no idea of what i was doing he didnt think naturally to look at where or what i was pointing too. we didnt know about his ASD back then and i couldnt underdtand why he couldnt work out what i was doing, its nothing something i taught my dd . so didnt think.

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tacal · 15/07/2013 22:17

Thank you, beautifulgirls for telling me about APD. I will look into this so I understand a little about it.

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buildingmycorestrength · 15/07/2013 22:22

Well, he's been seen by a paed who says he is borderline ASD but doesn't want to commit to a formal diagnosis for now except to say Social Communication Difficulties and sensory issues...my son will have occupational therapy for sensory stuff and extra help with social stuff and anxiety and he'll see him again in a few months.

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tacal · 15/07/2013 22:26

Hi omggg, thank you for your reply. It had not occurred to me that I should teach my ds where to look when I point. I suppose I just took it for granted that he would know what to do and I just couldnt understand why he wouldnt look in the right direction. I have only recently been reading about ASD and coming to terms with the fact that DS is probably somewhere on the spectrum. I am glad I asked this question because it has made me realise that it is not always obvious what things ds needs help with. I need to help him a bit more with these simple things.

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tacal · 15/07/2013 22:31

Hi building, it is good to hear that your ds will have occupational therapy and get help with social and anxiety issues. I hope it all goes well.

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OMGGG · 15/07/2013 22:34

i hope the assessment goes well. sounds like u r getting on top of it all. good luck

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tacal · 15/07/2013 22:36

thank you OMGGG. I am nervous about it because I do not know what to expect. I have been told it should take 4 to 6 weeks so will be glad when it is over. How long did it take for your ds to be diagnosed?

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OMGGG · 15/07/2013 23:14

we awaiting assessment so im not much help with that. ds has a private diagnosis to date - HFA.

dont be nervous, you will feel very relieved once you get through it and get something 'concrete'.

best of luck x

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buildingmycorestrength · 16/07/2013 07:12

It helps to know, honestly. If you can have compassion towards them instead of thinking they are naughty, everything changes...having the professionals involved helps with that.

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tacal · 16/07/2013 09:23

thank you omggg and buildingmycorestrength.

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