27 month check fears

[digitalpaintartist]

I have posted about my DS before and am posting again as there has been no development and I wonder if there is any advice out there.
I received the checklist for DS' 27 month check and sadly, most of my responses to what he can do are a no.
DS was 2 at the end of August and is still yet to say a word. He is becoming frustrated and has started to lash out when he obviously means no. It saddens DH and I that he is yet to refer to us as mummy or daddy. He will wave when we say hello or bye but won't actually say those words to us. He does babble and shout. He points to the sky when he wants us to look at a plane and makes a noise that sounds like 'look' but isn't. On his 1st birthday he said, 'uh oh' and continued to do so, in th right context, for months but this has ceased - could this be seen as regression?
I sit with him everyday and go through colours/animals/fruits etc but if I ask him to pass me one of his cars or an apple (he has one daily), he doesn't respond which worries me as these are things we talk about daily. He should know what those are at least.
We have a SALT working with him at his pre school and are still awaiting a hearing test (though I am sure his hearing is fine).
Has anyone else been through this? Any success stories? Anyone going to confirm my fears that there is a real problem here?

I have been trying to encourage some signing but this also doesn't seem to be taken in. His pre school also encourage signing to aid communication.

What I would say is that you think there is a problem then get on the ball with it now as assessment and waiting times can be horrendous. Everyone knows late talkers who just suddenly caught up etc and that's what I kept telling myself. In the end my son received a diagnosis of ASD (he had many other difficulties aside from speech e.g. No social interaction, eye contact etc). There is a test checklist online called MChat which is an ASD assessment for Toddlers. Maybe have a look through that before your health visitor comes. It's a well respected test so if it comes up with anything it should be taken seriously.

I'm not saying your DC has autism but just what my experience is. I'm now two years post diagnosis, he is 6 and doing great. Still challenging some of the time but he is amazing and I am really proud of him. It's not the end of the world even though it might feel like it at the time. Good luck.

Cakes thank you. I have used MChat and it has come back with results that indicate a reason to be concerned. DS has been assessed by SALT and GP but everyone seems reluctant to diagnose ASD. I would just like to know one way or another. Can I ask what signs you saw? DS has days where he maintains eye contact and days where he isn't interested. Socially, I can't tell. Pre school key worker says at aged 2 the social interaction goes as far as just being happy to play alongside other children which DS is fine with but is that really the case? Should DS be making friends? DS goes to soft play and is fine around other children. Are there social keys I should be looking out for? TIA

My son was happy being alongside children but there was zero interaction but I don't think that's so uncommon at that age. Things became much clearer at age 3 when he started preschool. He was still virtually non verbal, rarely responded to his name and had poor verbal understanding e.g. If I said get your coat he would appear to ignore me but it was that he couldn't process the instructions. I spent years speaking to him in one word sentences. He also had angry tantrums, banging his head on the floor etc. He would spend long periods of time watching wheels of toy cars spinning. Everyone said how lucky I was to have a child who played well alone but I knew in my heart something wasn't right. He would get agitated in busy environments and did t understand to say hello or goodbye etc. Even now at 6 we don't have conversations but he can express his needs and can answer simple questions. Sorry this is rushed as I'm on my phone in work but I will say that you will get through it.

I cried and cried with worry and felt really distant from my son as I was so overwhelmed with it all. I was scared for his future. I was sad for the things we wouldn't do together. I worried if he would live independently. But now (although life is often far from easy) we are all at peace with what is normal for our family. When he was 3.5 he said 'look at that car' to me as he saw a noisy car out the window. It was the first sentence he ever said and the first time he had ever spontaneously spoken to me directly. It was amazing and I just remember crying with pure joy!

Sorry this is rambling and poorly typed!! But I would persevere with asking for investigations. You really need to be like a bear - you are your child's only true advocate and champion and the system really sucks. There is lots of great support on the SN boards on here too.

And although we didn't get our formal diagnosis until he was nearly 4, I was using ASD strategies for over a year before that with him e.g. Visual schedules to help with transitions etc. There is no harm in trying these things witch any child.

Thanks for sharing your experience with me cakes. I really appreciate it

make a list for of concerns, take the m-chat result with you and see your GP. I would insist on a referral to a developmental paed. no speech, difficulties understanding can be red flags for autism (my DD has ASD and these were the first things we noted). it may be nothing and he could just be a late bloomer but nobody here can tell you either way.

if he is fine, then great but if he needs help then the sooner his needs gets identified the better. good luck.