Thanks to anyone who reads this long post .
Now , I am aware that it cannot be diagnosed until much later as lots of the symptoms mirror toddler behaviour but I’d like to ask for the unbiased opinion / share experiences with other toddler’s mums . My little one just turned 2 ( 25 months ) and she is my first . She has tons of words and uses them to get what she wants , lots of 2/3 word combination . She eats and sleeps well and , although shy ( only child ) , she did engage in a ball game a couple of days ago with another little girl by tossing and kicking the ball between each other . She is perfectly able to follow 2 step instructions and mimics everything. Both good expressive and receptive language .
- she asks for food
- If I ask pick up the glass and put it on / under the table she does it .
- She asks questions like where’s daddy ? What’s that ? What’s that sound?
- She answers questions : what color is the ball ? What’s /where’s that ?
- She recognises herself in the mirror and us in pictures
- When holding a big and small object she can identify the correct size .
She doesn’t hit , kick or bite ( so far ) , plays appropriately with toys and when she is in a bit of a mood she runs towards her teddy and hugs it ( she doesn’t get destructive or hurt herself ) . She sits for lunch and dinner .
When she has a tantrum always ends within 5 minutes and seeks comfort .
What concerns me is :
- if I’d take her to do circle time she wouldn’t join ever . She would watch from afar / next to me .
- She wouldn’t sit still to read a book at the library but prefers to explore . Yet she sits happily at home drawing .
- She is highly anxious ( so I am ) in the way that she sobs and gasp for air when scared .
- She has a memory of steel . She remembers where a bit of purple fluff that she found a while back was
She has always slept through the night from 7 to 6.30 since 12 months and eats fairly well ,
Any of these red flags rings a bell please ?
There is no family history of ASD but obviously no one knows for certain and , from what I can tell , there is no quirkiness so I’d like to know how asd can develop when not genetic ? I am aware of environmental exposure but I have had a textbook pregnancy and was never exposed to anything harmful ☺️
I know that Asperger doesn’t exist anymore since 2013 as a separate diagnosis but , from what I was told by professionals, AS doesn’t present with any communication delays , just social delays and repetitive/ rigidity interests , alongside with food sensitivity and emotional outbursts . Where do we draw the line between asd and personality traits ?