So family friend says her ds was diagnosed asd at 9 months old

[letitbeletitbeletitbe]

Is this possible? I always thought that would be way too young. Just for some information, he is what would be called high functioning, no learning difficulties. I am interested because this woman tends to think she knows it all and this just seems a little extreme to me, but happy to be told if I'm wrong

That sounds very peculiar to me.

No, that is not possible.

No it’s not possible. But perhaps a HCP told her they thought it was a possibility.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/how-early-can-you-and-should-you-diagnose-autism-2019082317653

This is an interesting read on it but basically even if a diagnosis was made its not very accurate and reliable diagnosis aren't seen until about 2 years

Possible to observe some ASD features in babies but can't see a clinician diagnosing at that age.

I’m happy to be corrected, but I think it’s very very unlikely a diagnosis was made that young. As PP said, I can see that someone may have noticed some ASD traits, but not made a diagnosis.

It's possible and there definitely are specific signs to look for and professionals can assess, what makes it unlikely thought is how long the road from seeing a gp,referral,being seen and finally get a diagnosis is. But that can be a bit of a postcode lottery or shortened by going the private route(same steps but shorter waiting times).

It's absolutely impossible to be diagnosed at 9 months old.

It's possible a professional told her there were signs but the official diagnosis came later. Even without learning difficulties you can spot signs like lack of eye contact, no social smile, but I haven't heard of a diagnosis much younger than about 18 months. I'm not an expert though, just a parent of an autistic child.

At extreme end of ASD then certain things can be noticed very young, but nevertheless no diagnosis would be made at that age.

Yes this is possible. Where my daughter was assessed they have no lower age limit and the company are well regarded

My son was seen by a developmental paediatrician at 11 months who mentioned it as a strong possibility, but the diagnosis wasn't confirmed til he was 3. He has severe autism though, nothing subtle here?

She was probably told by a HCP that it was possible and she is taking that to mean/describing it as a diagnosis.

18 months if the youngest I’ve heard with formal diagnosis but many of those kids were being seen from a younger age and it was suspected

No, it's not good practice to diagnose this young and very few places would even consider it. One of mine was diagnosed at 2 but he was a sibling of an older child with ASD and he is intellectually impaired. It was considered an early diagnosis.

A child with no intellectual impairment or learning difficulties, I'd find it very hard to believe an accurate diagnosis was given that young.

Yes a HCP could have raised it as a possibility and she's taken that as a diagnosis.

Oh no she definitely used the word diagnosed, we was talking about when my own son was diagnosed. I don't believe there was a mistake.
I just don't get why people feel the need to make stuff up or exaggerate

Dd was referred to a developmental paediatrician at 13 months following a regression where she lost all skills. She had blood and urine tests for chromosome and metabolic disorders and then when they came back clear she was referred for a multidisciplinary assessment. She received her autism/ global developmental delay diagnosis the week of her second birthday so it took almost a year. I wouldn't have thought there would have been time for difficulties to be noticed (I had had concerns before the regression) and referrals assessment and diagnosis to be made. Dd's referral was swift not least because she had a brother with a diagnosis but because the GP saw her just before, during and after she lost all of her skills which was pretty dramatic.

Out of interest why is she your friend if you think she's "extreme" and she "thinks she knows it all"???

Our nursery referred us to the Dr because my daughter has a rare movement disorder, that her dad who also has Asperger's has. They quite heavily hinted they believe she has that too: she was less than 18 months. The consultant who we saw was really clear that as she was meeting milestones, no one would be interested/able to diagnose until she started school. So it's swings and roundabouts, but 9 months is ridiculously early.

Anecodtal only but I have never known a child get a diagnosis within 9 months, whatever age they are when they start the process.
I have worked with children 0-6 over the last 15 years so there have been a fair number of families who have been reaching out to services for support. Of those who I know to have had a diagnosis at some point, very few came before school age. Those that did had displayed quite extreme behaviours that a baby wouldn't be physically capable of.

She's not my friend, it says family friend, so somebody known to the family

Also I never said I thought she was extreme, I said that the situation seemed extreme. But she does think she knows it all, I stand by that

What traits did she say were present for them to be able to diagnose as such a young age?

I wouldn't trust a diagnosis that young.

I would suggest paying less attention to a family friend you wouldn't call a friend.