Autism at 19 Months

My autistic DD's meltdowns lasted anything up to 8 consecutive hours at that age. She fell asleep during one and started again when she woke the next day.

Toddlers get fussy at that age. Just keep offering all food without comment.

Have you tried a church toddler group for socialisation?

I would speak to the GP about her restrictive eating rather than autism as there are classes you can both go to to help- one of my friends DD would barely eat anything and she's not autistic in any way, the classes really helped

op, I mean this in the nicest way, are you seeing a lot of neurodivergent/autism videos on your algorithm lately?

sounds perfectly normal to be honest.

@Claire123e my cousin lived on chocolate, yoghurt and bread for nearly 5 years…she’s not autistic in any way!

Is there any chance of getting her into a nursery or similar? She just sounds like she'd benefit from socialising

Being picky with food is not a stand alone red flag for autism but it’s not uncommon for children with autism to have sensory issues and a restrictive diet.

I think it’s perfectly possible to spot autism in very young babies but at this point with your dd I’m not sure there is enough to suggest it. That’s not to say other evidence won’t present itself in the future. In your case I would wait until she is at nursery/pre school so you can get a better idea of her social interaction skills. I highly doubt you will get an NHS referral at this point with these current concerns.

This seems perfectly normal if a little picky. Most children enter a picky pass around this time - it’s developmental. And actually evolutionary. Listen to the experts - they are there to guide you.

Sounds totally normal to me too. Children are all different - I have 3 - 1 with autistic traits but no formal diagnosis, 2 totally NT. My 6 year old (the youngest and NT) still prefers someone to feed him at home as he is lazy. Funnily enough he manages fine when not at home

I'm not sure that's so terribly unusual. She eats more things when you feed her right? For many toddlers, food is a very important means of exerting control.

Cracker , toast and fruits are actually different food groups and texturally and taste wise different from each other, so not that restrictive.

It’s definitely too early to know. Many children are fussy with food and not autistic. All you can do is wait and see as she develops but so far she sounds developmentally normal

Is there a reason for not going to nursery? You'd be surprised how much kids will eat when they sit with other kids eating. Great for socialisation too.

Stop looking for a diagnosis

Not technically true. The process was started (assessments with ASD in mind) were started with my youngest (edit!) at 18 months. However he has two older siblings diagnosed and was showing the same traits.

OP, your daughter is reading like she’s developing typically at the moment. Unless there’s a family history of autism (sibling, parent, cousin), with the information given it’s unlikely any HCP would wish to take it further. In the meantime I’d look at a nursery setting and see if that either develops social skills or highlights needs for further support.

I do want to ask though, have you posted about this before? Writing out the above, I feel I’ve replied to a very similar post recently.

Her anxiety manifests itself as anger. She is prone to lashing out. She (and we) recognise where it comes from but she’s terrible at managing it so we get a wave of anger followed by a wave of remorse when she feels out of control in her life (for example honework she can’t answer, or being told to hurry up because we’re late). Can’t say it’s not still tough but I understand it better so manage my response better.

Yes she’s a brilliant eater now but still has clear things she has never liked. She won’t eat cheese unless it’s on a pizza (and isn’t too cheese heavy) for example. She hates the texture of kidney beans so we actually blend her chilli when we have it and she eats it in a wrap with rice (which she prefers to picking out the beans as she likes the flavour). And it’s not just savoury foods - she really dislikes the texture of donuts.

But last week she asked to try a mushroom and decided she liked it so she’s still willing to try new stuff.

Parent of an autistic child (and I probably knew by 2.5). I don't know where you get the idea she's showing signs of autism. She's not showing any at all. She's at the peak age for separation anxiety (and she's an only child who spends all her time with you - which is fine - but obviously contributing). A lot of young toddlers are fussy with food and prefer to be fed (quicker, easier) - unless she's not gaining weight or only eating five foods, brand specific, this isn't a problem.

Your daughter cannot be autistic without delays/differences in social communication. You've not described those at all. She sounds more like my DD who is the same age and about whom I have no worries than my DS who is autistic.

You sound like you've spent a lot of time worrying about this? Is there a reason why?

You child sounds completely neurotypical for 19 months.

My autistic child had and has a noticeable lack of awareness of other people being strangers and will go up to anyone and talk to them, even hug them—people he has never met before and doesn't know at all. Your DD sounds developmentally normal and just a bit shy/clingy and a bit fussy around food.

Sounds a bit like my daughter. No autism but over time there were clear sensory issues. Food texture has always been an issue as well as loud noises and also touch, especially when she is tired. That also made her fussy with certain clothes. She is also a naturally anxious and, as a result, explosive child (still working on that one).

have a look at the food that triggers her. There might be something in the textures that becomes obvious. We found that my daughter liked fish fingers sometimes and not others. Turned out if it had been anywhere near the water residue from peas she didn’t like the texture of the breadcrumbs. Something as simple as putting the peas in a different bowl solved that one. We still make small adapts like that at 13. No more issues and she eats well now.

I have one child diagnosed at 5 and one at 12. They both would have passed the MCHAT and I don't think either would have been diagnosable at 2, meeting milestones etc. So your instincts might be right but you might just need to keep taking notes for a while longer. We were fairly sure our DD was autistic by 9, our son we had concerns by 3.5.

Honestly OP this all sounds typical for her age.

She's still a tiny tot so definitely doesn't sound out of the ordinary - although I just thought mine was very shy and fussy at that age and it turned out he had Aspergers and was diagnosed at 11. He definitely wouldn't have got a diagnosis at 19 months though.
Just enjoy her for who she is, keep a note of anything that is out of the ordinary and see how she develops. If she is very high functioning (yes i know MN hates those terms) like DS is then it might not become obvious until around secondary school. But don't worry about something that may never happen! She's little more than a baby right now.