Son with pdd-nos need help with affection part of it?

im so confused one says sensory disorder and one says pdd-nos. getting the right help thats all that matters, but missing on piece from son, will his affection for me grow as he gets older, will i ever hear i love you mommy. he is verbal and progresses everyday. wish i had that crystal ball :) any one know anyone or has been through this, the bond between son and parents will it ever be there..........thanks in advance,,,,,,Son with pdd-nos need help with affection part of it?
The whole PDD verses Sensory processing disorder (SPD) can be very confusing. We have been dealing with this for a while now and here is my take on it:



It is possible to have SPD on its own but usually this would mean that the child would have normal (or near normal) language development, social interactions etc. If you are dealing with sensory issues PLUS language issues PLUS social interaction issues (eg affection) then chances are it is some kind of PDD. Just to confuse things further, most people (some would argue all people) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (PDD-NOS is one of the Autism Spectrum Disorders) also have SPD; it is part of the condition.



As for affection and bonding, I found with my daughter (she has Asperger's - another Autism Spectrum Disorder) that it did improve as she got older but it also took a lot of work. I realised that she was probably never going to be very affectionate on her own so we set about teaching her. We tried to show her affection any way we could. In the beginning she preferred short bear hugs to long cuddles so we tried to give her lots of quick hugs throughout the day. We also did lots of touching in other ways (tickles, back rubs, physical play etc). I realised that she would tolerate being on my lap for longer if she was doing something she liked (eating a favourite food, reading a book, watching tv etc) so we tried to do that every day. We also played bonding games like making funny faces in the mirror together and putting stickers or cream on each others faces. One of the best ways of bonding was rather than trying to get her to do what I wanted, I would just get down on the floor with her and do what she was doing. This felt safe to her and it enabled me to slowly but surely connect with her.



We taught her to say "I love you" by saying it to her a lot. and saying things like "say 'I love you daddy'". At first she just copied us but now she says it on her own and over time has become a very sweet and affectionate little girl.Son with pdd-nos need help with affection part of it?
It sounds as though your little boy is pretty young and high functioning. How old is he? Keep telling him "I love you" and prompt him to say it back. It won't be long until he says it and means it.



My 19 year old son has Aspergers. He was overly attached to me as a young child, still is in a lot of ways. I always wondered if he would ever play with other children or stay with someone else without melting down. It was so difficult when he started preschool. He cried for almost the whole first year and a good part of the second!! He wasn't diagnosed until kindergarten so no one knew what was wrong at the time. It was almost a relief when he was diagnosed because at least I knew there was a reason for his behaviour. Back then it wasn't as common as it is now.Son with pdd-nos need help with affection part of it?
My son has high-functioning atutism and I still remember the morning when he first said, "I love you." I didn't even catch it because he still talked jibberish so much that I actually had to replay what he'd just said in my mind to realize what I'd actually heard. He's now a teen and says it all the time. He gives and asks for hugs. He has always shown affection, but the help your son is getting now will help him over come his sensory issues. You will hear it someday. Hang in there!!!! Believe me, many of us know how hard it is.



Best wishes and may the Lord continue to bless you both!