To think my 19 month old DS has autism

[Deadinside1234]

Autism runs in my family, my brother and my cousin are both autistic and I have bipolar disorder.

I suspect my 19 month old DS has autism and he is being referred for an assessment but it’s going to take a long time.

He doesn’t have ANY words, he rarely responds to his name, he grinds his teeth, he walks on tiptoes, he’s started hitting himself in the head when he’s upset.. I don’t know. He’s been assessed for hearing problems and there’s nothing wrong there, but he won’t do things like point or copy or anything.

He is very intelligent in that he is able to express himself and his wants and needs and he is such a happy little boy. He’s very good at things like painting and colouring.

He has a programme that is the only thing that soothes him, he has sensory issues with his mouth (it’s a nightmare trying to get him to eat and to brush his teeth).

He loves nursery and plays nicely alongside other children. He loves touching and feelings things like sand and doing messy play. He loves the sounds of those metal balls bouncing on the floor.

My gut tells me he is autistic but I don’t know if I’m just overanalysing things and maybe he’s just delayed in some aspects?

Forgive me for posting here - I couldn’t find an autism thread on here (if anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great).

So I was just wondering if anyone has any experience/whether this sounds like autism?

Sorry it’s all jumbled I’m just feeling quite emotional again.

And just to say, if he has autism he has autism - we will support his needs and do whatever we can to make sure he is happy. I’d just like know if anyone can relate/advise/offer any tips or things to look out for.

Thank you. X

I think it's very difficult to say at this stage. I was convinced my youngest had autism from aged 2 months and it was finally diagnosed when he was 6 years old. He didn't smile until he was 4 months and I couldn't get any kind of response from him. If anyone held him, smiled at him, talked to him etc he would just start right through them. The paediatrician who saw him aged 4 months put in an urgent referral to the eye Drs because she thought he had a serious sight problem.

The symptoms you describe are very similar to the things my autistic child did at that age but lots of not autistic children of that age do those things too so it's really hard to tell.

I agree with elliejjtiny it's difficult to tell when children are so young.

There's an SN section on MN.
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs_chat
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/special_needs

Have you done the MChat-R questionnaire? It's a guide, not a definitive yes/no, but depending on the score, it may give you an opportunity to discuss possible ASD with your GP or HV.

Thanks both for the messages I really appreciate it. @BlankTimes I have and he scored 16/high risk. X

My dd was obviously autistic from young, she was different from her sister even as an infant. She was non verbal and mostly screamed as a toddler, certainly couldn't be in nursery with other children without it being a special setting and having 1:1. She also has dyspraxia

What you describe is a possibility but not for sure, at that age it's hard to differentiate from other conditions, and normal range for speech is up to 2 years for first words - my "normal" dd couldn't speak under 2 and was similar to your son

She's at university now though - happy end to story

Hi hope you are well ☺️ how’s your DS eating ?