Cone shaped head at birth

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My autistic son was an off center conehead with a big bruise to the side because he turned his head at the last moment going into the birth canal and they tried to use a suction cup (plus an episiotomy ). No go though, with his head out of alignment. C-section was done (and because of that both younger siblings ended up being C-section too).

But his different nature was very apparent within a few days. As a few day old infant he would be awake for 8-9 hours at a time, never slept more than about 12 hours total in the day. Also he would look around with eyes that suggested he was "aware" of his surroundings more like a 3 month old or older, looking at people and their faces. I doubt very much this was from the birth complications because it sure didn't look like 'damage' in any way.

At 1 year he walked. At 1 year and a month he was running. Not fast walking or sort of falling forward constantly, coordinated running. Nearing 18 months, really building up to it in the months before, he would pull the cushions off the couch and run back and forth, back and forth shoulder checking the arms of the couch as hard as he could. He'd run along the top edge of the couch. And leaping. Leaping off the couch. Leaping from the coffee table to the couch. One day he gave his mom a real fright because he decided that wasn't challenging enough and leapt from the couch to the coffee table. Harder and not quite as safe because you can't push off as easily, and the landing is harder too. We didn't allow that ... at first. We also have always outlawed climbing shelving. Eventually he started leaping off the couch arms to nearby furniture or long distances away. Very rarely falling, usually only if he was sick.

When he leapt off things and landed he didn't land stiff legged like kids normally do, he had the coordination to flex his knees and absorb the impact. By the time he was a little past this second birthday he was regularly jumping down off heights of about 5' onto grass and such and off kitchen counters to a tile floor. It'd scare the crap out of people that visited but *shrug* he was good at it. I once saw him standing on the coffee table watching TV and do a two-foot-together leap up over a 24" exersize ball, orientate about 45 degrees turn mid-air and land and sit down onto a stool in one smooth motion while continuing to watch the TV, just as casually as you or I would walk across the room.

A couple "words" came and left early, around 1 yearish. The first was "cat" although I'm not certain he actually connected it with the cat. He still wasn't going to sleep till midnight or into the morning sometimes and instead of sleeping, count to 10 while laying in his crib (unless he was upset and then we'd watch Spirited Away over and over till well into the morning). But this was likely rote sounds, his grandma would say this to him when she was babysitting him. The first couple of words that ever stuck were well after he turned two, the first was "circle". He really loved shapes.

Although we were concerned about his speech delay, and talked to his Dr. who signed him up for a hearing test by about 20 months, the first sign, the first inkling that this was autism was just after 18 months when we noticed that a few sounds would upset him a LOT. He'd cover his ears running from the room screaming for certain shows (all on DVD, we don't have broadcast/cable). For example Dora the Explorer was right out. Also if a jet flew overhead, even way way up where it was faint enough you'd not notice it unless you were intently observing, he'd also scream and cover his ears. So it wasn't a volume thing.

At his second birthday checkup with the family doc he still wasn't talking and he wasn't responding to his name and he was beginning to have screaming meltdowns (of a magnitude that's hard to convey). The Dr. got us into the local children's hospital evaluation clinic, waiting time was only a couple of months (just good luck on the timing, although we also got a bit of a rush because we were expecting his baby brother at that time). He wasn't pointing. By his 2nd birthday he knew all the phonic sounds for the alphabet (Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD) and had even started stringing them together one after another when he saw them on signs, license plates, etc. You might even mistake it for reading but it wasn't with any sort of comprehension. But he wasn't pointing with his finger at all and if he wanted you to do something he would grab your hand and move it to the object he wanted manipulated. Next to no eye contact. He had maybe 6 real words, tops. He was going to a daycare (and bless their hearts for being so accommodating) but his interaction with other children was extremely minimal, he didn't even really like being beside them and for months wouldn't even sit at the same table with them. Till one day out of the blue he walked over and did that, and apparently the kids just stared at him mouths agape [while he just went about why he was there, playing with a toy].

Yeah, he had the regular vaccinations schedule in there. But besides the mountain of evidence that the connection to autism is no more than superstition, the seeds were sown early on if you happen to notice it and understand them. It makes perfect sense that when he's approaching the typical "terrible twos" that his very switched on senses, and he's switched on in ways that no NT I've ever seen is, are going to be problematic. If the world is SCREAMING AT YOU EVERY WAKING MOMENT OF EVERY DAY, WEEK AFTER WEEK AFTER MONTH, with extremely limited means to control that world, and with a deep driving physiological need for certain kinds of sensory at certain levels then you'd be a little grumpy too.

Twin birth- on first son they used suction forceps, so there was birth trauma and a misshapen head
- second son delivered 9 minutes later, very easily, no trauma (or at least less)

Second son has considerably more sensory difficulties and autistic traits. So that theory doesn't work for us.

I'm not as far north. It's nice where you are

On trauma, it's difficult to be sure, since I'm only speaking from personal observation. I had an emergency C section because my son was showing signs of distress, and the distress could be a factor. He didn't get enough oxygen at times and he sucked a lot of meconium. But also the birth itself, which skips the birth canal. A friend who is a teacher once told me she could always pick out the C section kids, because something doesn't click in them without the birth canal experience. She wanted me to do exercises to mimic the birth experience, but I thought it was hokey. Now I wonder ... could it have something to do with sensory integration? Who knows.