GLP and autism

[Claire123ee]

Hi fellow parents
I am a mum to a lovely 21 months old and would like some input on GLP and how it presents please . Needless to say , we have seen GPs and Hv and have gone nowhere .

What she can do

1. follow my point and use all the gestures
2. 100 plus words with two words string together
3. She can identify things in books and family photos correctly
4. She can answer simple questions but very sporadically and she always says yes .
5. Follow simple commands like : stop , wait for mummy and no
6. Answer positively to simple instructions: feed dolly or brush dolly’s teeth , pick up that you and bring it to mummy , bath time ( she runs to the bathroom)
7. She pretends cook and brings us books to flick through/ read , bring dolly for a walk and pretend mix with a tea cup . She is very gentle with dolly and gives a Cuddle all the time .
8. She is very affectionate and her tantrums never lasts more than a few seconds
9. Sleeps through the night since she was 12 months .
10. She brushes her own teeth and can point to all of her and our body parts

I am wondering if what I am about to list is cause for keeping an eye on .

1. she started walking at 12 months on the dot and started tip toeing on and off since she was 15 months ( doesn’t do it with shoes ) . We have taken to an orthopaedic and he gave the all clear
2. She can count to 10 and tries with her fingers as well .
3. She is a bit of a picky eater but eats all vegetables, especially raw ones like carrots , celery and cucumber and loves fruits like bananas and apples but still pull faces when trying new food
4. She is a bit of a nervous one but parallel plays with others kiddos and waive and engage by smiling and talking with people outside her family .
5. My biggest concern and the point of this post is the echolalia : she tends to repeat the last word of what we say but I was told it is normal for toddlers .
6. Scripting ? I don’t know if she is scripting . I will give you an example , sometimes she says “ what’s that’s? It is a quack , good girl ? Whilst holding a duck and pointing at it . Is this normal ?

I guess I’d like to know how GLP works in girls as I know it presents differently . Is it all done by memory for kids with GLP . I saw an instagram mum explaining how her GLP daughter was having many words and identifying things in books before she was two but none of it was her own language but It was learned from memory .

Any advice massively appreciated

Your daughter may be autistic. She may be a gestalt learner. She may not. Either way, she is who she is and you can’t change it. Just keep parenting the child you have. Even if the HV and GP agreed, what are you hoping for? Because I can promise you that there is no real support or miracle that will change anything. I think your instinct will always tell you if there is something going on and you are obviously reading about it so just keep going as you are.

I was really triggered by this post and angry and I deleted it, but having time to reflect I think my anger was misplaced and dismissive. I was angry because you basically listed the features of a typical child and then tried to make links to conditions my child has. Now I initially thought, wow if my three year old could do what you listed I would be on cloud nine! So as a result I was quite dismissive of you in my first post.

But on reflection I think I was wrong and I'm sorry about that. You see I'm a parent of a globally delayed, autistic, gestalt communicator and that doesn't give me the right to make a judgement about any other child. But I can support. There is a great person called autisticdad on insta who sums up support and being part of a community that is caring because the decisions we make and our children are judged so much!

Unfortunately the system in my view is incredibly flawed and under funded, everything is a long wait, funding is a huge battle, then you get family and friends who I band 'everything will be ok' dismissing everything you have fought for as he will grow out of it, there's nothing wrong with him. Etc etc. which as well meaning as they try to be it's so dismissive of the worry, the battle for anything medical, the help you receive, the sleepless nights, the tears, the road of acceptance you need to go down.

You seem like a fantastic mum, you are observing your daughter's progress and you feel concerned about some aspects. Keep monitoring her and if you feel worried please do make a GP appointment. My health visitor put me in touch with a service called portage who have been wonderful, sign posted next steps and what I needed to do to get further help and guidance.

So I'm sorry I was dismissive, everything child is uniquely different, and therefore my experience of these conditions are not always the best way forward for everyone x keep doing what you are doing, you are doing a great job your child is lucky to have you x

Thank you so much for your words and really we all need to be kind with each others. My little one is quirky for sure and I guess what worries me the most is how the world is gonna treat her ( having said that we still love in a society that bullies kids who wear glasses 😞) and despite having always worked and earning what I believe to be good money between me and my husband I feel like I don’t have the means to give her the best support and it is breaking me .
anyway I will wait till her 2 year old check up and go from there .
I know the spectrum is wide and there are different presentations but I have been told that meeting the criteria is quite rigid . I am not even sure I want an official diagnosis. I feel a bit lost and hope

Hi all
Small update : my little one is about to turn 22 months and after a chat with the HV she has been referred to a developmental paediatrician . The reason being that socially she is very withdrawn. I am gonna give some examples: she is a very easy baby to raise except when in social situations where whilst waiting in line for the playgroup to open she has meltdowns with kicking which she never does when in calmer settings or alone . She also gets easily overwhelmed by being in coffee shops . She gets all rigid and shaky and can’t stay still whilst at home she is perfectly relaxed sitting with us , listening to stories etc . She doesn’t cover her eyes or hears so not bothered by the noise but she is too keenly aware of confined environments. Now when people outside interacts with her she says hello and looks at the them and smile so the HV and I agree that there is no clear picture here . I have looked into SPD but it is always connected with autism and the HV thinks she doesn’t meet the criteria ( she has no eating problems , no texture or noise issues ) She doesn’t have any rigid behaviours or hyper-fixations , nor is she bothered by other kids when in groups but she parallel plays , but socially she is clearly behind . I have heard of a book called the highly sensitive child . Anyone recommends it ?

I think that's not a bad move, if only to reassure you. By the time you get an appointment, she'll either have developed and grown out of the difficulties you see, or she'll have more areas of concern.

Precisely what’s my health visitor said . I just feel so incredibly alone as my family and partner think there’s nothing abnormal about it . I was a very sensitive child myself but back in the 90s it wasn’t a concern. X

Sensory processing issues are not only related to autism.

That's great news, I'm with you especially with family. My MIL constantly tells me he will grow out of it, even one point said I'm negatively labelling him! But autism is always and by minimising, pretending that these symptoms don't exist means he won't get the support he needs.

My child is globally delayed in cognition, social, communication, self help. He is developing in these areas at about half his age. Global delay was the easiest of his conditions to diagnose, basically behind significantly in two areas or more is global delay. The reason and whether he will catch up is much harder but because of his diagnosis we have been able to apply for an ECHP and had lots of support from other services such as portage.

My son also has suspected autism which is separate to his global delay ( he has it but on a waiting list for it to be confirmed- doctors have already said it's pretty much a done deal) they could be linked but not necessarily.

I think it's a case of changing your mindset towards family and friends- they are saying there's nothing wrong because they want to believe that your child is perfectly healthy rather than to be difficult (that's hard I know). As for diagnosis and support you are definitely heading in the right direction and remember developmental delays can change so much! Fingers crossed you get the help you need x