Advice with Autism pls!

[Murmac789]

Hi everyone,
I am looking for some advice from anyone with an autistic child or perhaps thought their child was autistic? What were the major red flags? After the health vistor what was the process? What can you do to help?
My DD is my third child, she is 16 months old and never responds to her name which is the first thing that concerned me but after searching I feel even more worried now!
She doesn't babble at all, or make any attempt at talking. she hand flaps most of the day. No pointing, waving and She rarely gives eye contact. Although she enjoys a cuddle with me most of time, she pulls away from everyone else and gets irritated often pushing them out of her personal space. She walked from 11 months and has always been quick to develop in those areas but she makes no attempt to interact with her sister (3) or older brother (6)

I am feeling sick with worry, I always just thought of her as being a quiet child but now I'm starting to believe it might be something else. I have an appointment with the health vistor and wanted any advice beforehand?
X

[Msqueen33]

Both my dds have autism. The Mchat will give you a guide. Health visitor may refer to Gp or paediatrician. I'd go to the Gp and explain her difficulties and ask for a referral.

My two have some similar but different sighs including:
Not responding to name (even when shouting)
Unengaged
Didn't wave
Didn't point
Wasn't verbal
Screamed a lot
Didn't bring things to show me - lack of joint attention
Wasn't interested in other children
Very anxious
Loads of jumping up and down
Climbing
Always moving
There's problem some more. One always has ADHD as well as autism.

Have you had her hearing checked? That's normally worth asking to have done in case it's glue eye.

I hope that helps. Good luck. It's scary when you feel there's something different about your child.

[Murmac789]

Thank you for the advice Msqueen33, your right it is very scary. I will make a GP appointment as well, I wasn't sure who was best person to talk to. When were your children diagnosed? Was it a long process? What sort of help is available?

I am definitely going to check the hearing as glue ear and hearing problems are genetic in my family but I'm pretty sure she can hear me when I'm calling her. she often wanders off alone to play on her own and is perfectly happy playing and never looks for my attention or like yours she doesn't bring me anything.

[Msqueen33]

We're in Essex so we're diagnosed via a paediatrician some areas are diagnosed via cahms. My middle dc (7) entered the system at 2 and was diagnosed at 6. Her younger sister went into the system at 2 and diagnosed at 3. Support also varies via county. My middle dc got a lot of speech therapy via NHS but my youngest who is non verbal barely has any. Middle dc has ft 1:1 in school and hopefully my youngest will too.

My middle dc showed very little unengagement when younger but is very sociable now. She's changed a lot. I found the younger years hard. But it has gotten easier (still struggling a little with my youngest because of lack of speech).

I'd go to the Gp and request a hearing test and a referral to the paediatrician. Paediatrician depending on what they think as she gets older can refer to education and you can access some support that way.

To be honest I've felt the best support has come from online groups and parent support groups.

[FrayedHem]

2 of my 4 have ASD. Not much to add to MsQueen33's post, but you should be able to self-refer to speech and language therapy. Some areas it is via a drop-in clinic, some you contact the SALT department directly by phone/email. It's worth getting referred now as waiting lists can vary in length. As she is young there may not be much actual therapy available, but I think getting a thorough assessment done as soon as possible will help you as they can give advice, and also help with any other services you may need.

I'm in Essex too. DS3 was dx a couple of weeks ago age 4. We'd gone to SALT when he was 2 and half and they referred us on to the paeditrician and a more specialised communication difficulties SALT. Here the wait for an ASD assessment is approx 8 months (it was 12 weeks when DS1 was dx 8ish years ago). Though for both my 2, we had a few SALT and paeditrician appointments before we were referred on to the ASD assessment. We did have the option of referring DS3 a bit sooner but we decided against it until he'd been in nursery a bit longer. So he could have been diagnosed about 6 months earlier so a year in total. DS1 was just about 2 when he was first seen and was dx at just over 3.

Good luck with it all, it can be a really difficult time but hopefully the referrals and assessments will give you a clearer picture of what is going.

[Devilishpyjamas]

She sounds as if she could do with an assessment. If he HV is reluctant to refer ask her if she will carry out an M-CHAT screen at 18 months and then refer if screening suggests it.

My son was diagnosed shortly before turning 3 (largely because of waiting lists - we knew much earlier). It was a long time ago so I can't say much about the process but it might be worth asking the HV whether there is anything (portage maybe?) that can be accessed before diagnosis. In my area they have a specific early intervention program for children who are at risk of an ASD (so they don't need a dx). Funding cuts mean it isn't as extensive as it was but it still provides a useful service so it might be worth asking the HV whether anything like that exists.

[Msqueen33]

Also there are Sen playgroups depending where you are.

There's normally quite a few drop ins for salt. Worth a look.

@freyedhem nice to see another Essex-er. Whereabouts are you? We're not far from stansted.

[FrayedHem]

Our area used to operate development nurseries for preschool children with possible development issues that the HV could refer to, but I'm not sure they still exist.

@Msqueen33 Nice to see you a fellow TOWIE too. We're nearish Maldon.

[user1492991825]

If you want some help and advice, contact the National Autistic Society as they are very pro-active in helping parents.