this is not a stupid question but, it might be better answered in the Autism / Autism Spectrum support group. Good luck to you!

regarding "how much do I have to worry"

not at all.

worry is a complete waste of your energy, and as a mother, you need to keep all your energy reserves on hand...

I see the chance for my response to appear trite, and I just really want to impress on you how critical and practical it really is.

The future always has a component of uncertainty. There is no shortage of possibilities to "worry" about.

But what does worrying about the future do in our present?

It LITERALLY robs us of it!

Life is happening, right now. And if we allow our concerns about possibilities steal us (emotionally) from this current moment, not only will we stand to miss out on just how precious this time in our childrens lives is, but we also run the risk of putting undue emotional burdens on ourselves which will hamper our ability to cope with what is right in front of us.

With the fears of "what if" looming in our hearts, we are likely to have less emotional resolve left over to deal with things like staying patient, staying calm, staying positive, and being receptive to the cues that are flying at us about what our childs emotional needs are RIGHT NOW!

Am I harping on the word "worry"... yes. Take it out of your vocabulary, and pull up the root emotion that corresponds to it.

All we can do is be present in the moment, and do our best. The more worries that are cluttering up our hearts, the more likely we are to miss what is right before us! Your list of worries can't possibly contain every future scenario. So if we are spying for clues of autism, we might miss glaring clues of something else. Is this making sense?

IF something comes up... you will have more energy to deal with it in a positive way, too, if you haven't wasted all of your emotional energy on worrying about boogie men. And until you have any evidence of something being wrong, thats really all it is. By keeping the heart free and present, we will serve our children well, and we will have a storehouse of strength to draw on when whatever comes up, comes up.

Maybe this isn't quite the direction you were intending with your question... but just the same, pardon my little lecture, but I think there just might be someone who needed to hear it.

If you (any of you) have an issue with worrying about the future... please don't hesitate to seek a counselor and work through it, for your sake and your childrens. Counselors aren't only for extreme issues and dysfunction... they are for any and every aspect of imbalance... to bring it into stasis.

Of course. Perhaps I didn't word myself well, as I wrote this post late last night.

I don't sit around and lament the 'what ifs' at all.
Since April is Autism Awareness month, the issue has just been at the forefront of many of the news sites that I read. A good number of the articles that I have read have cited many parents stating that their child was fine with no issues and then all of a sudden, some unknown cause triggered what becomes diagnosed as Autism or ASD.

I guess what I really wanted to discover, was how accurate these accounts are.

Were there really no signs at all in any sort of developmental delay, and that with no warning behaviors, speech, and actions switched modes so rapidly as what they say as 'overnight"?

I suppose I just find that so difficult to believe, but I wanted to fins out what others who might be going through it thought.

"What? Me Worry?"--Alfred E. Neumann
----Mad Magazine

I also believe that worrying is a waste of energy, but I also believe that knowledge is power...I to was having concerns about autism and the triggers, so I did a bunch of research and talked with my health professionals and now feel better for it. I beleive in being proactive rather than reactive...When I find myself worrying about something, I make sure I am doing everything within my power and then let it go - it is actually quite freeing to do so....

Um....
Right-o then.
Question withdrawn.

well, I just wanted to say that worrying is a completely normal part of motherhood! Whether it be about autism or if your kid is ok at the babysitters. It's ok.

With that said. I am not sure about how it happens or why it happens. So, maybe the autism board would be the right one to look into. good luck;)

worry is just another symptom of loving your kids..:) everyone does worry whether its about what food they are cooking for dinner or waht is really in our vaccines!

i also have this fear more because it is always flashed across the news in a horrible fashion and sensationalised etc...if only someone would sit down and make a documentary showing what we need to know..does vaccination have terrible side effects what re they and cn they be stopped???

i know the world will always be split Vaccinate..dont vaccinate..me i vaccinate and so far all has been good!

Am still waiting for someone to vaccinate me for bitch attacks :P he he he! Hubby tried to give me flowers once to see if that had any effects but i swear he is still trying to remove the thorns out of his butt!!!

xox shellxox

I am by NO means an expert on this, but have had some experience, the worrying aside, cause I worry more than most! LOL...My step son has AS which is a lighter form of Autism and one of my friends grandsons is full out Autistic. From what I have come across, there was no sign in either child till about 3 yrs old. With my step son, he was over and beyond smart for his age. But he began to have social issues as well, this is what really lead to the AS diagnosis. With the other, he was behind, very behind in basic skills and coordination. I understand the concerns, we all want our children to be as healthy as they can be, and that does not take away from the fact we will love them equally even if they have one of these issues. All you can do is pay attention to your child (which I know you do!) and at any sign let the doctor know. I believe this is key, the sooner you get help to deal with these situations the better, so many children go undiagnosed........

In reply to post #5....LMAO....guess you did ask a doosey of a question!!

Anyhow, my 2cents is that I don't think that autism just shows up overnight and there are other signs that are missed either by the parent or doc.

HTH! Maggie

I found your question very interesting. I have 4 children, the oldest has been diagnosed with Aspergers. I worry about my other children, I too have a 14 month old baby girl, as well as a 4yr old daughter and a 7 yr old son. My oldest,Jacob, was a normal, happy, well developed actually advanced 18 month old when all of a sudden he started banginghis head when he would get mad. As he has gotten older, more symptoms have appeared and at first I blamed the shots, that seems to be when it started. The last round of shots. No one has any for sure answers and I worry about my other children, well not so much any more since the have past the 2 yr mark and seem totally normal unlike Jacob.I still watch my baby girl like a hawk though right now, even though autism is more prominent in boys than girls. I pray she is ok, Jacob is a handful. I love him to death but he does put us through the paces.I would love to talk sometime if you want. Hope to hear from you soon. I dont think it hurts to be watchful. They say 1 in every 166 kids will be diagnosed with a form of autism. I think awareness is the key. Take care. Melissa

From what I read, there generally are signs before 18 mo, but they are very minor and easily overlooked. I don't think anyone understands the sudden onset of symptoms. About vaccines, there is correlation shown but no causation and in science these are very different things. (sorry I teach college biology and that was the teacher coming out in me.)

If it will help relieve some of your worry, ask the doctor to give your child preservative free vaccines. They are available. I plan on asking with my next child, not so much out of autism concern, but out of a personal belief that we shouldn't be exposed to mercury unless we have to be. You can also ask to space the shots out some although this may cost you an extra office visit. If you look at a lot of the vaccine schedules they will give a range of months (say 18-20 months of age) that the shot should be received during.

The other problem is that the diagnosis of Autism is being applied to a broader and broader spectrum of disorders. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, applying a label gets children the help they need. On the other, is the label as valuable as it once was because it is being used so broadly?

Thanks to all that attempted asn answer. Yes, it was a doosey (doozy? doozie? aw hell) of a question.
I guess it's just because my littlest is at that age where according to some folks she might wake up and be a whole different person...(if it is believed that it just appears out of no where...) I never gave much thought to this possibility with my eldest (she's going to be 8 this October). It didn't occur to me--though perhaps it wasn't in the forefront as it is today.
Thanks to those with the wherewithal to attempt to answer. Not an easy one, but I appreciate it just the same.

hthomas98--I certainly don't mind the biology mind to back you up. I prefer it. It's a realm where I know not much. I do believe my little one's vaccinations are preservative free, i.e. no mercury, but I have never been a believer that vaccinations are the sole causation of autism or asd. There has to be some sort of genetic predisposition for it. Though again, I know not too much about it at all to make that claim, I suppose.

I do agree with you that the diagnosis for autism, or rather especially asd has increased. In my childhood, the children that had shown these signs were labeled with a "Slow Learning Disability' (Geez, I think that sounds worse than being part of the Autism Spectrum. I agree with the dilemma of the broadening of the range in which children are diagnosed as well. It's quite a dilemma.

just came across this. in response to your question..i do not think autism is 100% understood. i work in the field and have spoken to a # of parents..the majority state that they saw signs early on. others swear that the mmr at 18mths affected them and they regressed. but sometimes subtle signs are overlooked. i have a few friends who children exhibited certain signs and they chalked it up development. i think if your child is meeting their milestones..specifically in the communciation and social areas, they should be fine...however, that being said..one really cannot be 100% sure. i have a child who is 22 mths and bc i am in the field i watch him like a hawk...bc i do not know.

Unfortunately Austism is mystifying the health professionals. Some people say they could tell early (lack of eye contact, poor vocalization) many times they are suspected as having a possible "hearing problem." As the child develops some notice, "flapping and self stimulation" behaviors. My son is developing normally and I check and monitor for signs, trying not to overly worry. I think we are all concerned that a child appears to develop normally and then triggered. Reseach has located a gnome, and a chromosome that appears to be defective in children with autism (some gentic link), but question what is "triggering" the disorder, instead of it lieing dormant as it seems to with some (siblings that have the same defict), for example we might have a genetic predispostion for heart disease, but may not develop it due to "not having the environmental triggers." Shots, wheat allergies have come into question. There is a high correlation with a bacteria in the intestinal track, but no one can find causality. As far as shots.... yeah they do make them (basically perservative free...still some aluminum in them). The Vaccine Book, by Robert Spears is great resource... tells you what company to get the vaccine from. That is what I did with my son, and we go on a different shot schedule (one a month), I also have him on wheat free diet, for now, just as a precaution.... even though the jury is still out... I guess that is about all we can do as parents, and pray.

My oldest son is autistic. The MMR question has always been a debate. I did not notice anything with my son after his MMR. In fact, we didn't notice it until he was 2 years old and then he got diagnosed. However, I have heard some parents say that right after their child had the MMR, they noticed a difference. I have a 15 month old and I am concerned about his immunizations, but I spoke to my doctor and we are going to spread his immunizations out instead of getting a whole bunch at once. Talk to your doctor about your concerns. There is still so much to learn about Autism. Log onto the Autsim support group and you can read everyone's stories. Please support autism.