How early did you know your child had autism?

[TheLoneWolfDies]

Ds is 6 months, I have always been concerned, since I got pregnant, that he may have ASD as my brother has it and so does my uncle.

He makes eye contact, babbles, responds to his name most of the time, cries for me and DP if an unknown person holds him, is smiling since 3 weeks and laughing since hust before 3 months. He can roll and sit independantly.

However, when in his highchair or on my lap he bangs his head back quite a lot, he hand flaps and pulls his hair and I'm just mildly concerned incase these are early signs.

So when did you know and what were the first things you noticed?

So is it common then for them to regress? I've heard that a lot but thought it was quite rare. I wonder why it happens?

Nursery started making noises about it when he was 3 yrs old. We started the process of assessment when he was 4 yrs and he was diagnosed at 5 yrs.

He met all his developmental milestones - in fact he walked early, talked early, always had great eye contact, very imaginative and communicative, so he didn’t fit the classic stereotype. It was his difficulties in social interaction once he started nursery that raised the alarm.

Flapping when very young is totally normal. As is banging their head. Relax

I didn't know it was autism at the time but there was a feeling around 12 months that something wasn't right. She used to become hugely distressed at strip lights when out shopping. She was also tube fed at this time because she refused to eat anything. Still has a v limited diet now she is nearly 5. She also didn't wave or point etc but would get excited when she'd see people she recognised. She was diagnosed with HFA a couple of weeks before she turned 4.

@TheLoneWolfDies

Regression isn’t THAT common. It mostly occurs in the more severe cases.

In the case of my son he never regressed. But he tends to plateau developmentally for a while.

About 3 years old. DS was suspected of having Mosaic Down Syndrome at birth, this was diagnosed when he was 3 weeks old. All developmental delays were put down to that.
He started saying a few words around the age of 2, this stopped at 3. His behaviour changed, started really acting up in supermarkets, put it down to the terrible 2’s. Became very sensitive to noises, ie car alarms and dogs barking completely freaked him out. He was officially diagnosed with autism at the age of 9 after fighting for an assessment (professionals seem very reluctant to assess for a secondary condition if one has already been diagnosed) Now he is a teen it is patently obvious that autism is the cause of his delays rather than Down Syndrome. He has far more in common with the autistic children at his SN school than the children with Down Syndrome.

DS1 was around 18 months when I suspected, and by the time he began school we knew but it took another few years to be formally diagnosed.

His development was all very much within the 'normal' range, but there were always quirks that had me thinking, and by 3 I was certain. I think the fact that I was aware before he began school meant that the speech and language could be accessed earlier through our GP, and then once he hit school I could work with them and the OT for his dyspraxia. For me the biggest help was researching ASD and understanding that if he was diagnosed as being on the spectrum that I was already a step ahead in terms of understanding what he (and we) needed. Researching support groups locally and nationally helped, too, as did opening up and speaking to people who'd been through the process of diagnosis.

I'd say more than anything your awareness of ASD and understanding it will be your biggest tools.

6 weeks, though I thought it would be learning difficulties. Always asleep and a very, very poor feeder.

I had an idea from about 12 months, but it was all much clearer by age 2. He wasn't diagnosed til 7, though. it took years to navigate the system.

Dd also had seriously bad eczema in the first year of her life. That's also supposed to be another early sign of autism ( apparently)

So is it common then for them to regress? I've heard that a lot but thought it was quite rare. I wonder why it happens?

I don't have the answer but what I will say is that it's not really a case of going from being a typical, chatty child, full of eye contact and communication to diminishing behind a veil into shadow. It's not a sudden regression. It's more of a lack of progression at an age where communication should come to the fore. They just sort of slow down in their progression. So rather than going backwards, it's more like the moving ahead doesn't quite happen/go according to plan.

This becomes more obvious at an age when communication/speech/language really comes to the fore.

In every case that I know of (I work in two classrooms at a school for autistic children and my own son is autistic), the kids didn't go from being totally 'normal' (for lack of a better word) babies/toddlers to autistic kids. They didn't 'regress' into autism. They just didn't progress in the usual manner of NT kids. And I'm not talking about intellectual ability. Some of them run rings around even the teachers, they're so sharp. How can I describe it? I almost feel like a needle gets stuck in the development of certain areas of the neurological system. In certain areas, they just get overloaded easily and can't cope. Most of them have OCD tendencies and almost need to complete the picture in their heads that they're trying to express before they can move on, which is why transitions are harder for some of them. Things need to be rather ordered- in their way. And society isn't structured for autistic brains, hence the overload and tendency to get stressed or frustrated over situations you and I can roll through. Anyway, I am babbling.

Your baby, by the way, sounds totally fine and NT. I am no expert, but going by my own experience, I would not be worried.

@Thevanguardsix for dd it was a complete regression, not a slow down or stop. The day before her first birthday dd started to make a funny noise like a constant hum, she had ever made it before and she did it constantly unless feeding sleeping or being jogged about. I took her to GP as I thought she could have an ear infection or it was teething or something. GP checked her over she had no signs of infection, no temperature or anything told me to bring her back in a couple of days if I was still concerned.
I took her back two days later the noise had stopped but the baby I had taken in two days previously had gone she didn't smile or wave at the GP like she had two days previously and was silent. GP said to come back in a week if she wasn't back to her usual self.
I took her back as she had been silent for a week, hadn't laughed or smiled her few words had gone. She referred to developmental paed that day.
It took six months before she made another sound, at two years her developmental age was between 9 and twelve months. It wasn't a slow down it was a complete loss of all skills in five days. Paed speculated that the noise was cerebral irritation but it was only speculation.

I'm pretty sure my brother has (undiagnosed) autism and often wondered whether any children I had would be similar.

Ds was absolutely fine for the first 7 years - all developmentally ahead, no signs of any SEN. The minute he hit year 2 everything deteriorated and the wheels fell off. He's nearly 9 now, diagnosed autistic, sensory processing disorder, high anxiety and is academically gifted. He's been out of school for a year and not attended full time since the end of year 1. He starts at an autism specialist school in September.

Randomly I remember looking at his development and communication etc when he was about 3 or 4 and thinking phew - he's not autistic...we got away with it 🤦🏼‍♀️. That said, he's an amazing boy and I'm proud that he's mine. His path will be a little different and a bit harder but my god, he's going to do something amazing with that differently wired brain.

Flesh that is frightening. And I'm sorry if my post sounded one-sided. I can only comment from my own experiences. And I know that even though I am in a school for autistic kids, these kids are themselves not all one and the same. You know the saying, "You've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism." Your DD's journey is proof of how variable the experiences are.

There is a correlation between brain inflammation and autism, undeniably.

How is your DD doing now and what age is she?

@holdingonbyathread, that's interesting. my brother probably has undx autism . He is very successful professionally but socially not a party planner shall I say. But more than able to hold a conversation. Anyway, a lot of my male cousins were similar. Lots of engineers. The women were more neurotypical or sociable as we thought. I also remember feeling when my son was commanding me to do his bidding with only eye movements and grunts! ''phew, dodged the autism bullet' because he was communicating so successfully with me!

She is sixteen now, she outstripped every prediction which was pretty bleak when diagnosed tbh severe autism , global developmental delay etc etc.
She is intelligent, still autistic obviously, has plenty of talents and a few deficits that she hides well. It's not until you see formal testing results that you realise her ability levels range from 0.01 centile to 95 centile. Not sure yet what the future holds but we will get there.
Dd was always going to have autism, I had concerns from her being four months (ds has autism) just didn't expect the "event" I suppose expected her to be like ds who was "odd" from the off.

I started to suspect when DS was 3 and went to nursery. He was a very hyper baby who did not sleep though the night until he was 4. He met all the developmental milestones but when he went to nursery he really did not want to play with the other children at all. They had a computer with an alphabet and numbers program and he spent as much time on that as they would let him, needless to say he was good at his alphabet and numbers.

The main thing for him though, and that is still the case as an adult, is that he does not need people. I could leave him in a room on his own from a toddler onwards and he would never come and look for me. His ideal day will contain 5 minutes interaction with me and his siblings and the rest on his own.

As a teacher with an interest in special needs, reading this is proving very insightful. @fleshmarketclose what were your DD's signs at 4 months? I wasn't aware you could get signs in babies.

The thing is, if you’d met my DS prior to 12 months you’d think he had it.
Smiled late - maybe 10 weeks. Never ever smiled at anyone that was not me or his Dad. If someone else made eye contact he’d start screaming hysterically , even people that saw him regularly. Rolled over at 6 months, so a little late.Then was a really early talker, had loads of words before 12/13 months and suddenly changed, it was like once he could express himself he was ok. Is 3 and very bright now. Doesn’t love other children but likes the company of adults. No signs at all.

Really, no signs at all? However did you come to that conclusion? With everything you've written I'd be thinking possible Aspergers. It's interesting how you see the need to mention he's "very bright now." Almost like you think that's proof he's not autistic. You are aware not everyone with autism has a learning disability?

*that's interesting. my brother probably has undx autism . He is very successful professionally but socially not a party planner shall I say. But more than able to hold a conversation. Anyway, a lot of my male cousins were similar. Lots of engineers. The women were more neurotypical or sociable as we thought.

If there was autism in the family and my baby was handflapping and headbanging, id flag it up with the health visitor. The earlier you can get some support services in place, the more likely you are to have things in place for school and to make school life run more smoothly. Its not an insult or a death sentence. Theres a lot of us out there doing just fine. Your boy sounds lovely.

My 4 year old wasn't smiling or making eye contact at 4 months. That was when I was convinced he had autism. Paediatrician referred him to opthamology to check his eyesight and then we watched and waited as developmental paeds would see him until he was 2. Now 4 and still being assessed.

There were other signs like not sleeping and screaming a lot from birth but I thought that might be because of his traumatic birth.

that's interesting. my brother probably has undx autism . He is very successful professionally but socially not a party planner shall I say. But more than able to hold a conversation. Anyway, a lot of my male cousins were similar. Lots of engineers. The women were more neurotypical or sociable as we thought.

Ugh, stupid tablet posted before I even had a chance to start writing my comment.
I don't think it's helpful to anyone (least of all people who are actually diagnosed with autism) to have this engineer/autism myth perpuated.
If there's one thing that really annoys me about people on the internet diagnosing their relatives with autism it's this one. Being a socially awkward engineer does not make them autistic.
And being unsociable doesn't make a person autistic either. Lots of autistic people are very sociable, they're still autistic though.

I read a thread on reddit the other day, about an autistic person's experiences with an employment program. And the program was entirely for tech related stuff, for the jobs that according to stereotypes autistic people are good at. Guess what, not at all autistic people are good with numbers, patterns, computer stuff, coding, etc....

People and their "socially awkward probably autistic engineer workmate/brother/husband" are playing their part in perpuating a very annoying and not at all helpful stereotype.

Dd1 13 years it was suggested and diagnosed at 16 years old. Dd2 is 4.5 years and I have had a twitch about it since she was about 2.5 years and we are now on the pathway waiting certain assessments. Both children have met milestones on time or thereabouts. Dd1 is HF and if dd2 is on the spectrum she too will likely be HF.