losing skills, words , signs

[AmyinWI]

I know there has been a lot of discussion about autism spectrum here lately.
And my little guy is not a "typical" ( is there such a thing as typical?) autism spectrum kid (PDD) ,due to his down syndrome.

But I was just wondering how much of this is from his developmental delays,and how much is the PDD?
I have read a few times now about ASD kids "losing skills". My guy will learn a sign for something, then not repeat it for awhile. He has signed "milk" , "bed", "more" and "light" ,but maybe only 3 times... then doesn't do it again.
He has 3 words, mama,dada and ball is his new one. Learned it beginning of november- but now hasn't used it all month! But it's not like he had all these skills at once, then lost them all .. He just gradually gained words/signs then lost them. is this the same thing- or it just because of his particular delays?
I wish I could get some answers for him- none of his therapists really know what's going on with him.

[Hollie in SC]

Amy, Noah has definitely lost words. For about a year he used milk, but he hasn't used it in at least a year. He is not very verbal at all (most of the kids with Down syndrome at his preschool are MUCH more verbal than he is) but he is trying. :unsure: Not sure that helps.....but that is our situation.

:group: to you!

[Alice R]

I think I understand you...

Your child will learn a skill and then not use it again for a month or so or maybe not for a long time? That is characteristic of a child with PDD. Skills come and then skills go when dealing with speech and language skills. That is one reason why ABA is effective. It kinda "forces" those skills to be retained and not lost because they do them over and over and over again.

As for what we've been posting about children suddenly loosing skills...that is referring to a time in the child's life where they were developing normally and then suddenly their speech regresses. It occurs around 18-22 months and is usually accompanied with other PDD symptoms but parents always notice the speech disappearing. I've heard parents say "on their first birthday they were saying 5 words and then at 18 months, I realized that they haven't said their words in the while. I thought it was because we moved/got a new babysitter/had a baby/the child had a cold but it's been too long and those words never came back. I'm worried". Professionals who are working on a diagnosis will want to know if there was a point where their speech regressed. It is a red flag for PDD.

Your little guy is dealing with a dual diagnosis so it's hard to separate which is which. In working with children with PDD, it is common to have a skill and then it disappears.

I hope that helped.

[Chalane (FL)]

Amy,

Hope my having one of each may assist you somewhat. It could be a combination of the two. Leighton (autism) used to loose words/signs as a toddler. He has really improved since starting ABA, ASL and the seizers have stopped. Recently we had a nurse that would give him what he wanted when he only used one word to request it, so we've had to reintroduce sentences again. :sad: On the other hand Joey (Down Syndrome) seems to get something and then just as quickly forget it. :unsure: I swear it took almost two years for him to be consistent with knowing his colors. One day he knew them and then it might be weeks before he got them all correct again. Just to forget them the next day.

Have you googled the two issues together. I did this once trying to find out if anyone has ever had two biological kids with such different diagnosis and all that came was children that had both diagnosis. That may lead to a clearer answer.

I wish I could give you this in person:group: I know it is so difficult when no one seems to have an answer.