Autism and Development Delay

[doadeer]

Hello,

If your child is autistic and has a development delay, when/how old was this diagnosed?

My son is 3, was diagnosed autistic at 2. We are making very very slow progress on communication milestones, just wondering how global development delay etc is diagnosed as no one has mentioned this yet but I believe he must be. I'm a bit confused to be honest.

Thanks

How was he diagnosed? That seems really quick. My son is 9 but diagnosis was only Complete at 5. Just asking because children develop at different rates - initially my son seemed really quite autistic but he’s levelled out a lot as he’s grown.

He didn’t speak in sentences until he was about 5 - now totally fluent and more articulate than most children.

You might need to reassess your milestone expectations - it’s a hard slog - but also remember he is still really little. A lot can change.

We contacted our HV at 2 with concerns about autism, they weren't very helpful so we saw a private paediatrician who referred us to an educational psychologist who agreed he met the autism criteria, a full assessment took place.

We then relayed this to our HV and we were suddenly referred to SLT, Portage and OT. 5 months later another assessment was carried out by local authority multi disciplinary team who also agreed he is autistic.

So essentially he has had two full assessments.

We have been working for a year and a half on helping him to understand the concept of "more" and make requests through lots of joint interaction and play based therapy.

I'm not expecting him to suddenly start talking but I'm just wondering when would we know if it's more than autism? Not sure if I've explained that right.

In my area, once Autism diagnosis is made, children are discharged from the paediatric service. Getting another diagnosis ie. GDD, PDA, ADD becomes very difficult as it seems unless there is a mental health need the Paediatricians aren't interested.

When looking at schooling provision, an EHCP may be needed and that can be an updated Educational Psychologist assessment who may identify issues but unless you push for any further diagnosis nothing is forthcoming.

My son is nearly 12 he was diagnosed with autism and learning disabilities at three ,he's non verbal and has complex needs ,all children are different and I think at two it's difficult to say how things will pan out .

My son was diagnosed with autism at 2 years 4 months . He didn't start speaking at all until 3 and there was no non verbal communication either by 5/6 he had pretty much caught up speech wise and was just out of nappies.

He's 9 now and has caught up, he's doesn't struggle with the academic side of school and most people would think he gets on well socially too

At 3/4 I thought he'd always be delayed though

Thanks everyone I know everyone's journey is unique.

I guess for us, it's not just the lack of speech, I know there are other ways of communication but it's impossible to tell what comprehension he has.

Eg when he is finished eating toast, if I bring a bag over he will put crusts in it, but he would never do this himself nor if I tried to instruct him to put it in the bin.
He doesn't really follow or show a response to any instructions. It's just impossible to tell what he understands

Did you know your children understood you even if they couldn't talk?

@doadeer

Did you know your children understood you even if they couldn't talk?

As the time has gone in yes but he's nearly 12 and understands pretty much everything we say but he has progressed over the years albeit at his pace .

DS just turned 5, and has ASC, GDD and learning difficulties. He uses some makaton and pecs to communicate along with a few words. In terms of measuring the developmental delay - you look at the typical milestones and how your child measures against those. At 5, my DS is within the 24-36 month bracket in terms of fine motor, communication etc.

When my son was assessed it included developmental/cognitive assessment. I think it was called the Bayley Developmental Scale or similar. He was 28 months. So I would presume some level of cognitive assessment was done as part of your diagnosis? If not, a Psychologist could do one if you have concerns.

Not when he was younger no, it didn't seem like he had a clue what we were saying and he really didn't seem to have any interest either

Thank you everyone.

Wish I just had a Crystal Ball!!!!