3 1/2 year old "autistic" boy, compare to video at 2 years old and be amazed!

[80sfanjilly]

he is so cute. He sure knows his ABCs well. I remember when I was his age, I was a slow learner too.. ^_^! Keep up the great job with school little one

[eribella03]

Irenabobena05- My son with autism is 3 1/2 and is very similar to how your son is in this video. How is your son now at age 5 or 6? I'm just curious because I wonder where my son will be 2 to 3 years from now when he goes to school.

[sacredgem1031]

Beautiful boy. I am happy for you and your family. Precious, precious, precious gift !

[3shagh]

so happy for u, god bless him:)

[samythehedgehog]

youre son is so precious =)

[sweetyaya56]

He is adorable! You are a AWSOME mother :)

[ifp2o1]

I live quite near u lol I'm in marysville. I have many autistic friends (6 I think) and im very interested in autism and asburgers he is do cute btw

[ascii211]

Damn lady u is probAbly the most dedicAted mother ever because you didn't give up and kept at it and made a difference

[LeePutnam1]

My nephew did not start speaking until he was 5.. A year later he is the cutest, smartest and most social person in class. Thank God his mother did not have the OMG!! my kid can't talk at age 2 syndrome. Kids have been late bloomers for centuries.. Can someone please tell me what changed? Valuable tax dollars are going to these people for made up services? If your kid can't talk by 7 years old , maybe there is a problem.. BUT 2 years Old!!! What is the world coming to?

[irenabobena05]

@LeePutnam1

Always nice to have the input of the experts on social and emotional development! Glad to hear your nephew was just a late bloomer. Too bad that isn't always the case.

[StRuMzNdRuMz]

@LeePutnam1 *sigh* your an ignorant douche bag...

[rockout0909]

I'ts amazing to see his progress! I just have to say that he has the greatest mom :)

[aboyden2011]

*Ugh his cuteness is killing me!*

[kah1675]

My son LOVES Salsa!!!! we eat a lot of Chips and salsa

[MrsHervias05]

Watched both videos god is good and im happy for him as well as your family!!!:)))

[miamirox99]

Wonderful!

[smsigler]

I dont see how this child has autism at all!? He seems like a normal 3 yr old to me.. judging from this video. He's certainly saying and able to answer questions which my just turned 3 yr old son cannot even do yet.

[ayaamaya]

@smsigler are you an autism expert? She said high functioning! Autism is a rainbow, no two children are the same. Some do better than some in speech etc. How much therapy have you had for your child? Maybe your son isnt high functioning, maybe he or she is and you just do not know it yet.

[devriesdana]

thank you, cus mine just turned 3 in august and i get worries bout him.....but he's a smart kid, just late learner????

[Mistyscherrys]

great job i can't wait for my son to be just like him

[VictorButny]

nice, how is dealing with the fork at this age? :)

[irenabobena05]

@VictorButny

LOL I saw your post on the other video, thanks for watching both. He is doing awesome with forks of all shapes and sizes... ;)

[KeswickCamp08]

hes so cute!

[majestyher]

Awesome!!!! My son is 2 with ASD. I pray that he will be doing this well next year!!!!

[NervinasOneDaughter]

God Bless you and your son. I was in tears from the two videos because the first one was exactly like I go through with my 2 year old son, who's recently been diagnosed with PDD. I had him in early intervention since 18 mths because I suspected from the very beginning that he was on the spectrum. Did you put Braden on a special diet or give him any supplements? What was his therapy schedule like? My Aitan only says "Mama." He still crams cheerios but is doing very well now with a spoon.

[JoHnNiEGuNnS]

If my son turns out like him id be so happy .he seems perfectly normal to

[Davor23Mirkovic]

God bless you and your son.

[Mrallthatvi]

A w so cute I watchd both videos he has come along way my 2 year old has autism I believe we have him working with early intervention now, god bless all good luck

[MrProticalson]

Awww so cute!!!

[SeezyMaryJaynexx]

And by the way, I noticed the "snow hill" and seahawks jacket. I got to Stephen Decatur :) Just wanted to throw that out there. I have a twelve year old brother with autistm. And it's taken him almost thirteen years to get this far. He is truely a gifted, lucky child. Take care xx

[SeezyMaryJaynexx]

He makes me giggle :) He's adorable. And has made amazing progress. Who would ever have the heart to dislike this ?

[ShellaBer]

Lord, he is so cute! :)

[SeilorSun]

little einstein :p

[teemell19]

Haha, so cute

[vintagemarshmallows]

Aww (: he's so cute! I'm happy for him and you!

[TheRealVenna]

You are fortunate. My son will be 4 in a few weeks and still mostly non verbal after a year and a half of therapies. It's very possible though that my son isn't HFA and he has assaultive behavior issues as well. I'd actually love to try Mutli Sensory Therapy with him, but unfortunately it isn't therapy that's covered by medicaid, or any other insurance. We shall see what the next year brings. We're waiting to hear about joining the Autism program at OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences Univ.)

[ejdlopez]

just yesterday, my 21month old son was observed and not officially diagnosed, but did show signs of autism. my wife and i have been so worried. We even stressed out to the point of leaving work today. So I began to search online for answers. I'm now pretty convinced that my Davian is autistic. However, these two videos have given me a sense of hope. I thank you. before now, I was seriously afraid.

[Jibbaribba]

@ejdlopez but please do not push development in any way, it could really backfire.

[EverythingMe15]

SO cute :)

[lulu2dani]

is there cilantro juice, or do you just chop some and add it to his apple juice?

[GavinsMommy1109]

My son is almost 3, and we just found out today what we already had been thinking, that he has autism. He's not speaking at all, and has bad eye contact. To watch this video, in contrast to the video of him at age 2, is remarkable. In the first video he reminds me so much of how my son acts currently, so its great to see success being done, and I can help him. Thank you!

[jrosenbusch]

Thanks for posting the videos. My son was diagnosed at 21 months. I watch this and hope the therapy works as well for my son as it did for your son.

[mathieusabbagh]

seems high functioning

[2boddah]

omg he is so cute! heheh aww I have 3 kids and 1 on the way. One of my friends has a son with autism and I want to help love this vid. He's so funny!

[bngroves]

My wife and I have a 26-month-old son with autism, and the "2 year old" video of him is so much like our son. The progress that Braeden (I hope I spelled it right) has made is very encouraging to parents who are so new to this. Thank you.

[adeleida1]

Hi! Your boy is just lovely! I also watched the 2-year old video and I really think any autism diagnosis at that age was really incorrect. Perhaps he had delayed speech development but that does not imply autism, at best it is one of many indicators of possible autism. He definitely comes over as a very neurotypical and bright child - well done on the incredible progress!

[liquyddance]

@Shazadee (4/4) It was so hard to not allow the frustration to take over, but he is young and when my son was 2 1/2 I was scared he would NEVER be "okay", now I see that he is an evolving genius, all in just a year... He still needs alot of therapy, but he is on his way to a great life!!! (as I am typing this he ran over to say "hey Mommy", another miracle)

I wish you the BEST

[liquyddance]

@Shazzadee (3/4) he is always pointing to objects, waving hi & bye at the appropriate times and all his gibberish has turned into word-play! Just yesterday he grabbed his 2 year old God-brother by the hand and said "let's go", leading him into the room for play! These moments are like miracles!!! We have also begun taking my son to more and more public events aside from just the park, he MUST learn how it feels being around people!!! (cont)

[liquyddance]

@Shazzadee (2/4) By no means the medical expert, I did some research and found that Cilantro is a natural chelator (removing metals from the body). I started buying cilantro for his salads and sandwhiches, he like the taste! The REAL awesomeness happened when I juiced the cilantro (you can also steep it into tea, but do not use a metal pot), adding it to his apple juice. I did this daily for two weeks. He has since begun READING to us and sounding out words phonetically! He is expressive! (cont)

[irenabobena05]

@liquyddance That would be something to wonder about, as my son also LOVES cilantro. He doesn't eat it as much since we moved to the south, but we started making fresh salsa and pico the summer of the first video and we'd have it just about every weekend.

Best of luck!

[TheMatrixGuy101]

@liquyddance OMG really? I need to do that with my 4 year old. Thank you so much...

[liquyddance]

@Shazzadee (1/4) I know each case is so different, but My son was just like you describe throughout his 2's. He started a speech and language based daycare at 2 1/2 which is when we started to see some progress. But I must say, he has shown us through the months, that he learns EVERYTHING he is taught and is constantly observing. The flash-cards I read to him daily with NO response; One day (just out of the blue) he placed them in a row on the floor and read each and every one to me! (cont)

[Baebol]

wow at leas he's talking in sentences to people now at 3 and a half. there is a difference cuz the last video when he was 2 he didn't talk at all & didn't seem to understand at all about what were saying about using the fork to eat. he heard ya he was looking at you but i guess he didn't know what you were saying lol & hes a really cute boy!

[liquyddance]

WOW! I would love to see n his 4 year old update! Our son is 3 years old (39months). At 2 years old he had practically no speech but knew his alphabet and numbers. Now he is reading, giving eye contact and even waving bye and hugging loved ones. He FINALLY calls me "Mommy" and calls Daddy "Daddy"! He is still in need of lots of therapy but his progress this year has been astounding!!! Your son is adorable and seems, in this video, to be at a similar level to my son. Very encouraging...

[shazzadee]

@liquyddance My son's nearly 2 1/2 and still no speech. Over the last year and a half, he has said about four words once over 18 months. "no", "spongebob", hello", "yes". He has only pointed twice, he waved once...He mostly babbles and makes strange sounds. Eye contact very limited. Very similar to what you see in the 2 yo vid. Same difficulties with feeding himself. Very similar to my son. I hope my son makes similar progress.

[twinklebear22]

My son is autistic and i must say that your son here is doing well for being 3 and a half. My son didnt know how old he was, what a spoon was, look into your eyes, his sisters name. He didnt even say his first word until he was 5 and he is 13 now and is still in speech therapy and occupational therapy for his dysgraphia and his comprehension skills are still very low. Each child is different when it comes to autism, that is for sure. So good to see your child is doing so well. God bless!

[Souri7Sarah]

Are you making videos of Eva too??

[ehavstad]

He's adorable, wonderful to see he has made such progress.

[mookiepearl]

Hi, your son is very cute! I must say I am not sure why you wanted a comparison between him at 2 1/2 and 3 1/2. In the first video, he just looked like a kid fooling around with his food. Lots of kids only like eating with their hands when they are young and some continue to do so well after. He is a lot more in tuned in thew second video, but it might just be because he is older. Anyway, he's as cute as a button:)

[aebrown1023]

I agree, start therapy early - even if you don't see progress because all of a sudden everything will CLICK. My son was "diagnosed" with PDD-NOS - got him into a program at the ISD and at 3 yrs old he can write and SPELL his name, count to 30, knows every letter and sound it makes, can spell pig, cat, dog, mommy, cow and can sing songs, etc...this from a kid who took us a 1 1/2 yrs to get him to say "help please"...In 3 months time his vocab has doubled, almost trippled, so don't loose hope!!

[hloni13]

I am in tears....your story is truly inspiring...

[ShyEyes77]

Watching your son at 2 and then at 3 1/2 has given me so much hope for my son who is 2 n 3mths .... You have an adorable son bright son ....Thank You for me giving me so much hope x

[MsLadyFreak]

did your insurance pay for majority of therapies and school?

[MsDREable]

Actually the state paid for most of the therapies until she was 3 and now she goes to an all Autistic school called Baudhuin Preschool.

[MsDREable]

Thanks for sharing your video. He is adorable. My daughter also has Autism and didn't say mom until little after 2. She is 3 and now starting to make sentences and reminds me of your son. She has been in therapy and in school for over 2 years, since I started to detecting early signs. Early intervention is the best thing you can do. You can see her on 3rd birthday in September of last year.

Savannah at mgm 2009 knocking on mickeys door

Good Luck to you and your family!

[gamiezion]

as an autistic i must correct you: whats important is for the parents to emphesize the things an autistic is doing well, or state how they should do something when theyre doing something wrong.

therapy mostly focuses on the negative and to pick up on the good things you need a mental capability autistics inherently lack.

[chloesmummy362008]

He has come a long way :-)

[irenabobena05]

He was 2 with no use of language. He didn't say Mama until his 2nd birthday. Little response to me, virtually no eye contact. He is doing well today, at almost 4 years old. Still very little eye contact, poor use of language in social situations. He does extremely well at home, and developmental preschool... He's loving, super smart, and engaging... just socially awkward. Bless you all for your support and watching the videos!

[aebrown1023]

My child was just "diagnosed" with PDD-NOS, and they said with the right developmental preschool and speech therapy (which we have had him in already) we can "pull him out of it" - Your son is absolutely adorable! Thank you for posting this!

[irishamrep]

we were told the exact same thing! Keep up your Therapy and hope!

[irishamrep]

God bless you!

What are your expectations for him in a few years?

He seems a lot like my two year old little girl.

[aebrown1023]

If you check out my latest videos you will see a child who about 6-7 months ago would barely even say "Help Please" when he wanted his juice. Now he's typing on the computer - knows where all the letters are, can spell and write his name, sings songs, dances to music, says "Mommy?" when he can't find me, can SPELL mommy..etc etc.. He has doubled his vocab since starting the HISD program..we knew this would happen with one-on-one attention his "daycare" was not providing. There is hope!

[irishamrep]

Kathleen starts he intensive therapy today, she just made two. We are hoping and praying for geat results.

She is loving and happy. Good eye contact most of the time, she has said many word, even at times fom a flash card.

But has never asked for anyting like juice or food.

Thank you for your responce!

[zoeyvoey]

@irenabobena05 have your tried enrolling him in a Montessori school. I am no child psychologist but since he was slower to grasp onto things like talking have you tried putting him with younger children that are at the same level as him, he may find it easier learn things with children at a similar level. Once again I am not a child psychologist.

[zoeyvoey]

@irenabobena05 he is adorable. Montessori is good for children that like to go at their own pace you should try that. I'm not a psychologist, but as for his social skills how about placing him with children that are also at the same social stage as him, that may help.

[tastycajun]

@irenabobena05 how was he as a newborn? Where there any signs that you may have noticed thinking back in hindsight?

[nikitobu]

@irenabobena05 wow he speaks alot and clearly my girlfriend's son is the same age as yours and doesn't communicate at all he looks like he's 2 yrs old, only eats chicken nuggets.

[UnitCallingGoAhead]

That's amazing.  It gives me great hope as my son will most probably be diagnose with it as we're awaiting the reports. However, I didn't really see any issues with the 2 yr old video except he didn't want to eat with his fork.

[xSPFLDxOHx]

wow...this gives me a lot of hope! My daughter has not been diagnosed, but has delays and has been seen regularly for speech and language development and therapy. Its exhausting for me and the progress is little at times...but seeing your two videos has renewed my strength...so thank you very much for posting and I hope you and your family is doing well....you have a beautiful son.