In this segment of Ask Dr. Doreen, Dr. Doreen Granpeesheh, BCBA-D Phd, discusses autism diagnosis, Hyperlexia, Trauma and more! Don't miss it!

6:56 Does it Get Better?

I've never posted but it's getting so hard for me to deal with my son. I guess I'm just here to vent..sorry its so long and jumbled together. My son is 4 years old and we have an evaluation scheduled for Thursday with our developmental pediatrician. I know he is autistic but am hoping we get an actual diagnosis. He has a few stims that he does when he is excited or mad, he gets frustrated so easily and has meltdowns, he avoids eye contact, he likes to smash his face into us when he's mad, he has trouble with transitions, he is verbal but doesn't communicate.. I could go on. Does it get better? Will he speak in complete sentences? How do I exist w/o being miserable? Will we ever be able to do things as a family, like going to a pumpkin patch, going to an indoor play area, meeting Santa, etc? (We went to a pumpkin patch recently and omg it was horrible) Will he ever understand birthdays or Christmas? I feel so much guilt for not being happy with the children I have. I often wonder if this is karma. Or that maybe I was never supposed to have kids. (I went through 4 rounds of IVF for my son) I feel like the depression is ruining everything - my marriage, my connection with my kids (because lately I've just wanted to walk away rather than keep trying to engage) and my life. It's hard to make friends as I am just triggered when I see their neurotypical children. My 2 special needs kids are not really interested in each other and it breaks my heart. This is not what I pictured. I have siblings and am very close with them. I guess my heart just breaks every day and I grieve the life that I know we will not have. Thanks for listening. I really hope things get better because I don't know how to do this 10 years down the road.

25:05 Autism is neurodiversity then why it is treated as behavior problem?

33:21 I have a very specific question. Every allergy season my son gets super sick and he doesn't know how to blow his nose, any tips?

36:43 Hi Dr Doreen, what is the correlation hyperlexia and autism? Is it a predictor of functioning level?

39:14 When my daughter was diagnosed with mild autism the therapist said her language delay was due to the autism and had nothing to do with cognitive impairment. He also said that she would catch up to her peers and I shouldn't worry about it too much since her case is pretty mild. He did however recommend ABA therapy. When I was having the assessment interview with the ABA therapist she recommended 40 hours a week which is way higher than I assumed my daughter would need (since she has such a mild case), and she also said my daughter is at the level expected of an 18 month old. My daughter is 2.5. I really wasn't expecting this. I know my daughter is behind but to hear that she's like an 18 month old was jarring and I'm worried now that my daughter will have struggles beyond the challenges she'll face being autistic. I guess I just don't understand the huge discrepancies between the two therapists and now I'm freaked out. Does this mean she has a cognitive or intellectual impairment as well as autism?

41:58 The mind does not switch off, so sometimes the alcohol sometimes switches off the brain. People sometimes don't understand the strength of the brain with Autism. I don't wish to say to much but I know lots of things that I have learnt. But what I find is that most, don't understand how my brain is running at 1000 miles an hour from waking to sleep and sometimes in sleep because of the day. I can watch one thing and never forget it. Unless I suppress it. I also work like a computer with a data bank of information I can recall if needed.

47:06 Any advice on how to stop licking my child started this behavior licking their hand and wiping the saliva over their face the behavior started with a series of colds and now continues although well.

Likes to use wet wash cloth as well if not licking.

55:16 Son refuses to go in bath tub. He is not afraid of water. ABA does water protocol. He is afraid of tub . Where do I start. He is so traumatized from last bath which we had to wash hair.

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