Signs of Autism in 2 year old?

[Bellasima20]

Would be so grateful for any parents with ASD children or with knowledge to take a look at my list of DS and see what you think? Thanks so much.

Not signs?
-puts his teddy in toy buggy and pushes him
-picks up my mobile, holds to ear, says “hi”

• good speech generally, not really at sentences but can respond to instructions ie. “please go and give the crisps to daddy”, asks questions, will say sorry if asked to and what do you say? Will respond with please.

-Points at some things ie. The moon and says “moon” -Is very smiley, asks for cuddles, when I ask for a kiss comes up and gives me a kiss -Sometimes not interested din playing with kids, not always instantly bonding/engaged but will hang around them/watch them/try to take a toy/follow them -seems to have empathy nd understanding for emotions ie. If he sometimes smakcs me, I am sad/cross and go and sit facing away from him, might take him a while but he will ekep perring over and eventually come up tome, with sorry/guilty smile on face, try to cuddle me or lean his head on me and say sorry

• Doesn’t line up toys and very relaxed about any changes in routine etc

Possible signs?

-Is obsessive about anything that spins and turns, in particular washing machines
-He will stand infront of spinning things and flap arms in excitement- but does not flap arms when not excited/normally/at any other time, only say 10% of the time when in front of a spinning object
(know the above 2 are very concerning?)

-He is sometimes on tip toes but I think this is only when stood in front of say the tv and trying to get a better view, doesn’t walk around on tip toes
-He hears us say phrases ie. (to my shame) a naughty phrase DH shouted to another driver in the car, and carry on repeating this, to our shame, in random situations
-A lot of his words are said as questions,. But then they are questions! Ie,. Asking for more food/water/to be carried

sorry for typos!!

Nothing you've said sounds in any way concerning. But you can check against the MCHAT test if you like.

Children with autism can be stuck in certain behaviour/development stages for longer than typical children. So a 2 year old on tip toes is quite normal, a 5 year old not so much. Fascination with eg. washing machines, quite understandable at 2, again, not so much at 5.

He doesn't sound autistic to me. Regarding the spinning thing - google "rotation schema". It's how he learns. You'll find lots of activities online to appeal to his schema and aid his development.

Thanks both for your very helpful responses, very grateful x

I don't have an autistic child but that sounds like a normal two year old to me X

Sounds exactly like my 23mo ds. Why are you worried about autism? My ds does sometimes line things up, but he also gets upset when other children are.

Thanks, I think its just the spinning/washing machine utter obsession, along with the flapping arms when watching this?

Actually the above are not concerning at all in a 2 year old - it is a failure to outgrow them that is sometimes seen in autistic children.

Ds2 still flaps age 8 so this is something I've looked into a lot. He has Gross Motor Stereotypy but is not autistic.

Tbh the things you list aren't really things you can use to assess a likelyhood of autism. Can your ds copy you? Does he sometimes copy other children? Does he point to show you things (shared attention) or to communicate that he wants something?

He definitely points to things to show me in general or that he wants it.
He plays peek-a-boo in terms of hiding behind a wall and then peeing out at me to see if I've spotted him etc. I dont see him that much with other children but yes think if one bangs a spoon against a table or shrieks, he would copy and join in?
Thanks for taking the time to respond.

I have an autistic child an trust me you really don't have any concerns to worry about Hun my boy is 3 he's a flapper he can't speak at all his language is of an 8/10 month old he tiptoes all the time thats how he walks he headbangs everything with melt downs slaps himself you name it he has bad sensory issues too I could go on an on about him there's much more to autism .

The 3 significant indicators of ASD are speech delay, problems with socialisation & delayed play skills. It doesn't sound like your DS has any of those from your post.

My DS2 has autism. At 2 he had very delayed play skills (no imaginative play) very limited language, and very non-typical social skills. If there was an unknown adult in the room, he wouldn't attempt to interact with them or even show any interest.

If something is niggling at you then you can talk to your PHN or GP, but hopefully it's nothing you need to worry about.

As for the washing machine thing - sometimes 2 yr olds are just odd

The 3 significant indicators of ASD are speech delay, problems with socialisation & delayed play skills. It doesn't sound like your DS has any of those from your post.

My DS2 has autism. At 2 he had very delayed play skills (no imaginative play) very limited language, and very non-typical social skills. If there was an unknown adult in the room, he wouldn't attempt to interact with them or even show any interest.

If something is niggling at you then you can talk to your PHN or GP, but hopefully it's nothing you need to worry about.

As for the washing machine thing - sometimes 2 yr olds are just odd

He sounds just like my DS was. I watched for autism like a hawk (back story I will leave out as to why) and I had anxiety over the obsession with spinning things

DS is now 3 and I know 100% he doesn't have autism

My DS just as said above had a rotation schema - literally everything has to have wheels or he's not that fussed. Teddy - meh. Teddy in a pushchair on the other hand - suddenly teddy is interesting enough to play with.

We also had the washing machine excitement about that age. He's still pretty fond of it.

Both my ds and dd have autism. I've become quite the expert over the last 16 years. Your little boy sounds perfectly fine, enjoy him, don't look for problems. If there are any problems you'll get to know without looking for signs.

Thankyou all for your very helpful, kind, insightful responses. Was just getting bit paranoid after a fellow mum seemed to be pressing me to get him checked re. the spinning obsession. Thanks x

Dd1 has autism and nothing you wrote would greatly worry me. sounds rather like my NT dd2.

agree that the Mchat is good if you worry. spinning is something my autistic DD loved but she had a lot of other signs too and in isolation it is probably just a toddler quirk