Seeking advice...

[Somersetlass]

Hi Everyone,
I have never posted here before, I am usually on the colloid cyst site.
I would like to ask for some advice:-
I am working as a montessori teacher in a creche in Ireland and have come across an incredibly sweet girl. She is almost 3 years old, but seems to have a connection problem.
She does not talk very much, nor very clearly, although she will recite the alphabet with me. She does not play with the other kids and spends most of her time standing beside me when we are out in the yard, unless I encourage her to climb on the climbing frame she will not attempt to do anything playful. When encouraged, she will climb up the frame and slide down the slide, but then come and stand beside me again. If another child is crying, or there is a lot of noise in the classroom she will start to cry herself.
I am new to this creche and do not want to over step my boundaries, so I was wondering if anyone on this site could offer me any advice or information as to whether this sounds like an autistic child or if you have an opinion on what the deal could be, before I take this any further. Or if I am just over reacting and should let the girl come out of her self on her own...I just don't want to miss an early warning sign.
Thank you.
Tracy

[LIZARD]

Hey, Stranger! :D

Unless she's crying because the child's crying is hurting her ears, which is entirely possible, it's probably something else, but she certainly could have a developmental issue. I would check out Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID) on Google. It sounds like this is an issue for her.

Have you seen any other signs? Does she flap her hands, rock, repeat what others say? Any ritualistic behaviors? Can she stand to deviate from schedule?If not, I'd say SID is a fairly safe bet. Of course, she should have an evaluation to be sure. (What happens when you ask her about how she feels when she hears the noise?)

Good luck!

LIZARD :)

[Mayzoo]

I agree with Lizard. My sweetie happens to have both, but the symptoms are mostly different. Autism and SID can go together, but they don't have too.

Does she ever cover her ears with loud noises, shy away from light, have trouble with certain food textures, tug on her sleeves or pant legs, do her socks bother her, or rub hard against things?

SID works two ways.....hypo or hyper. She can shy away from sensory things, or she can overly seek these things. In my kiddos case she is hypo texture wise (tactile) and hyper auditory wise (vestibular) and needs extra pressure to focus (proprioceptive). She sees an occupational therapist to help with her issues.

Check out the book "The Out of Sync Child" and their web site: www.out-of-sync-child.com .

[Isabelle]

observe the interaction between her and her parents. is her environment at home safe from screams, perhaps a father drinks and screams? are there other children in the house? are they aggressive towards her?

if she is a fearful, clinging child, perhaps all what she is needs is extra support, reassurances that this new environment is nothing to fear.

to rule out any others situations as the cause for this kind of fearful behaviour, very discreetly try to figure out what her home and family is like? be friendly with the mother.....etc. good luck!

[peglem]

I don't see why it would make any difference whether the autism label fits or not. Honestly, autism covers such a diversity of behaviors and issues that the term isn't that useful or individually descriptive. From an educational standpoint, I think all you have to do is determine her issues and how you will address them. If she seems to have sensory issues- what can be done? How can you encourage and facilitate socialization? The label won't change what you need to do to help.

[Tootsie]

Tracy, how much experience have you had with children of this age? Have you noticed any other types of differences between this child and others you have had experience with? Is she shy? How long has she been in this environment?
Perhaps she is a "watcher," and needs more time than usual to join in any social activity? Has she shown interest in anything at the school? That might be clue as to how to reach her...by showing interest in things that seem to fascinate her. Cheerio.

[Somersetlass]

Hi, thank you all for such thoughtful replies, they have made me think more about Orla and the way she responds.
I have been working with children for the last 18 years, the last 8 have been with 3 to 4 and 4 to 5 year olds. This was in New York, where it was a totally different enviroment and different children.
Orla has a new baby (a week old) I do not know very much about her family, it is a case of drop off and go..so no chance to talk to the parents to get a good feel of the family life...not sure about the yelling at home, but I have a feeling it is sensory thing. I do know of other kids that reacted the same way, just do not like the sound of other kids crying.
I am going to pass along the advice and information that I have received here to my colleagues, let them know what to keep an eye out for, but I am thinking that she is probably very shy, or slightly delayed in learning...I forgot to mention in the first post that she does not seem to have very clear speech. It is hard to understand her when she does speak and she doesn't talk very often.
So, again, thank you and I shall certainly continue to 'keep an eye' on her, along with giving hugs and encouragement.
I will look into finding some information on SID, and to be honest I would not try to make any opinion on her being, as she is so young, but the other staff members are convinced there is something not right about here.
Tracy.