What’s wrong with my kid? Created by Randy Zell Isidore Newman School New Orleans, LA

Background story: Bonnie was a young female, 21 years of age, when she married her husband Tony She was quite active both physically (She was a runner.) and socially (She was a social drinker.) Bonnie did not know she was pregnant for about 4 months Missing her period due to running and occasional spotting during her pregnancy caused confusion She continued to drink regularly throughout the first 4 months of her pregnancy Then, to make matters more difficult, she became very sick with flu-like symptoms during month 6 However, her baby was NOT born prematurely

Baby Allen When Allen was born, everything appeared normal However, a growing list of signs that something was wrong developed throughout his early life Delays in motor milestones: Most babies learn to sit on their own without support between 6 and 7 months; Allen would not do so until 1 year of age Most babies typically begin to crawl between 9 and 10 months; Allen would not crawl until 15 months Most babies take their 1 st steps between 9 and 12 months and are walking well by 14 to 15 months; Allen did not take his 1 st steps until 2 years of age

Other problems: Allen would also learn toilet training much later than typical infants As Allen became a toddler, it was clear that he had poor muscle tone and poor motor coordination At age 5, his parents thought his lack of coordination may have something to do with visual impairment Sure enough, a physician identified lesions on Allen’s retinas As Allen began interacting with other children at school, yet more would be discovered

Problems seen at school: While playing on the playground with other kids, Allen’s teachers noted that he seemed to have a low perception of pain – he never cried after tumbles even when skin was torn open or bruising occurred An IQ test at age 8 showed a normal IQ Yet, Allen was not demonstrating some higher-level processing typically seen at this age, particularly when it came to interacting with other children At age 9 he had 1 seizure, though not severe, and never had another one By the time Allen entered middle school, it was obvious he was not making normal social connections

Allen seemed unable to pick up on and identify subtle social cues from other kids He seemed incapable of understanding facial expressions displayed by those around him Initially, a neuropsychologist diagnosed Allen as having Asperger’s syndrome, one form of autism However, a CT scan of Allen’s brain revealed the true problem and a new diagnosis In the scan, Probst bundles were observed Diagnose Allen’s condition