SLT thinks 20 month old DS may have autism.

[Sadmum2]

Hi all,
I've posted before about the hard time I've been having with my DS. Since then he has had his first appointment with the speech and language therapist. She observed him and said he has a speech delay as at 20 months old he has no recognisable words and has only just begun understanding some basic commands such as "get your drink". She also said he is not playing appropriately for his age as has little interest in toys or doing pretend play but prefers household objects, posting things, playing with doors / Windows and generally throwing everything he gets his hands on.
She also observed his tantrums when entering the room and when things didn't go his way and how he wanted me to pick him up but then wanted to be placed back down immediately.
From this she said she wonders if "There is a bit of autism there" and has placed him on the waiting list for an assessment.

While I am relieved there is some form of help on the way I'm now also feeling very upset as I'm so uncertain of the future.
I'm worried my DS will never talk and all these struggles I've been having surrounding his behaviour will continue forever if he can't grow out of it.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation where their child hasn't spoken at 20 months and then has started to speak in their own time? Or perhaps had someone suspect autism but for the child to turn out to be fine?
Sorry for the very long post but my head is all over the place.

Anyone?

Hi my 21 month old son has very similar problems.. I'm really unsure what to do as I feel that sometimes his behaviour is difficult. My son seems to be very particular in his ways and has been head banging to the point of bad head injuries. I have been attending a mother and baby group since he was 3 months and now he hates being there. I've had to leave as he is adamant he does not want to stay, and begins to head bang and have bad temper tantrums. He doesn't attempt to play with other children and would prefer to play alone. But he is very social with people he knows...

I'm beginning to wonder weather there is something underlining with him. But am unsure what steps to take.

All I know is when we are in a room with 20 other children his behaviour stands out and seems abnormal.

A family member thinks he is ADHD or Autistic. I have an Autistic brother and see no real resemblance with symptoms with him.

Sympotoms:
Head banging to point of injury
Temper tantrums
Doesn't really play with actual toys for long apart from a tablet where he is a genius
Very social child unless he is in an unfamiliar setting
Very particular and knows what he wants to do and can't cope when he can't hav3 his own way.
Very stubborn
Absolutely no patience
Can't bare waiting for anything or que's of people have a complete melt down..

Not sure if you have any of these symptoms I'm knocking my head on a brick wall wondering what to do.
One thing I will add is that I always did makaton with my son. It's a form of sign language and he does around 15 signs and attempt to say the words....

Let me know if you have any further advice and help.. I know the feeling

Far too early to say whether or not he could be autistic. But take all the help offered and put him through the assessment process.

My son had very few words at 20 months - maybe 5 or so simple words and these were not very clear. I was always told that understanding is very important - following short clear instructions is a great sign.

My son is 5 now. He had two years of speech and language help. His speech is perfect now.

But he has just started school and has become quite aggressive - don't know if there is an underlying issue or not. I think he gets frustrated very easily and don't know if that is his personality or something that is connected to his struggles with speaking.

MarineKemp, you are describing my son exactly. He has the same behaviours as yours. His head banging has started to get less now but in it's place he is now spinning on the spot, slapping his chest or pulling his hair.

I feel exactly the same as you about him standing out in the room of 20 other children. My DS seems to be the only one at group who charges around the room throwing everything he can get his hands on or sweeping everything off the tables onto the floor. He throws himself to the floor screaming if he is told not to do these things or if he can't have his way with something.

He has just completed a second hearing test today which has determined his hearing is fine but again the lady there commented on his behaviours such as pulling his hair etc.

It's very very hard and I feel for you. The worst thing is the uncertainty and the not knowing as only time will tell how it will all turn out but in the meantime it's extremely difficult to remain calm and not stress out to the point of exhaustion over the whole thing.

If you were wondering where to start if you wanted any help then I would suggest phoning a health visitor and speaking about your concerns which is what I did and they arranged a meeting with me and DS and then began to put me in touch with who they thought would be the appropriate people.

Sailorsgirl44 thank you for your reply, I know it's very early days so I'm trying to keep in mind that things may all change for the better. It's hard to keep positive when there are all these appointments and you get so much information thrown at you about your child and then are left to stew on it for a few months until the next appointment.