How did you know your young child was autistic

[ByLoudSeal]

i know autism is a spectrum so I want to know how you knew, what the signs were when they were a baby/young child/child, the impact on their life and what led to their diagnoses TIA

No eye contact when breast feeding, really inflexible physically-baby gymnastics was hard going! Easily distracted by lights and sounds and sensations. Poo smeared for a brief awful few months.

There's no data on this. People say my child is 'low functioning' I say he's absolutely bloody brilliant.

I didn't realise until nursery recommended getting her assessed at 3. In hindsight it was pretty obvious.

Staring at lights as a baby. Slept for Very short periods only. Very startled by seeing new people. Used to go rigid when upset and throw herself backwards. Slightly late hitting all milestones. As a toddler started having the most horrific tantrums (meltdowns!) which could last for hours. Difficulty transitioning between activities. Great at naming objects but little useful speech. Echolalia. Strong interest in letters and numbers and taught herself to read by 4. Terrified of loud noises.

The fact that she had lots of words meant autism never really occurred to me. I just thought she was a difficult child.

Why would that be? I think most children are 5 IQ points up or down from their parents or siblings, so it doesn’t seem likely that a disorder like ASD would mean your child had LD.

Noticed very early on - seemed to have open mouth and tongue hanging out lots as a young baby. Collic early on. Screamed for hours between 3 and 12 weeks old but then slept well.
Fairly easy going as a baby - crawled and walked on the early.

Age 2 plus was when issues really started. Only said about 3 words until 3.5 then spoke more but diagnosed with speech disorder because so hard to understand. Became an expert at running off very fast and would have powerful meltdowns after attending parties or social events. Noticeably behind others at Preschool in speech and few friends. Went to a speech and language unit attached to a mainstream school. By end of year two was discharged back to mainstream. Academically able and loved school.

Now in secondary and doing really well . Still very few friends but happy with the ones she has. Very self aware and able to articulate difficulties and access help. Considering she didn't speak well until 7 has caught up and excels at everything except PE and drama. Few dramas at home but we probably adapt situations to suit her at home.

As a baby, DC1 was only ever content when carried around. Apalling sleep until age of 5, after that only terrible. Perpetually over-stimulated by sensory input and attempting to control the environment; very niche preferences for garments, fabrics, colours, textures and flavours ‐either unbelievably bland or extreme. Would say they could not understand certain people's speech, not because of dialect, just something about some people's tone or voice just didn't register as speech to them. I'd figured DC1 was just eccentric, but school suggested assessment aged 7. Finally made it to assessment and diagnosis 5 years later (during which time other traits became increasingly apparent) after years on a waiting list and a failed school placement and endless wrangling for support and services. DC1's life has been, and will continue to be impacted by it is so many ways but for now, we are enjoying our own version of teendom, education and family life and doing OK.