Low scores at 2 year development check

[Jas115]

Hi,

My dd has recently had her 2 year review and was very low scoring in all areas.
I have suspected asd for some time but now I’m thinking could it be something else as well.
She isn’t quite 2 yet but they did it early because of my concerns about her development.
I can’t make sense of it, as in a way although I see there’s many issues with her speech and communication, she says loads of words, is so happy, smiley, sociable at times and literally loves life. It’s just hard to get my head around the fact that she is so delayed.
I just wondered if anyone else had been in this situation on similar? Feeling very anxious.
Thanks

I found the 2y check a bit odd to be honest. Mine scored fairly well with no concerns but I often found my response to the questions being 'no because she's never had any need or desire to do that' or 'no she can't do X but she can do Y which is IMO just as clever and demonstrative of that skill' What does your HV think? If she's scored low on all areas I would've thought she needs investigation more for GDD which would hopefully pick up on any indication of ASD. I would push for this otherwise there's little point having a 2Y check system in the first place. I don't know what it means ITO her likely future development. Perhaps others with older kids might be able to elaborate on that. Is she at nursery? What do they think if so?

Thanks very much for your reply @Jannt86. I agree some of the questions at the check seem very specific and I would have thought she could show some of the skills in other ways. HV wants to do the assessment again in 3 months and then refer to paediatrician which would then be at least a year wait. I think we prob have no choice but to go private. Nursery haven’t been that forthcoming with feedback (that’s another story) but haven’t mentioned delays only asd characteristics like low eye contact, not responding to her name all the time and not interacting with other kids much.
It’s hard when so many people who know her are telling me she seems fine but clearly this isn’t the case.

Were there any specific areas where she was delayed in? or was it across the board? it is very difficult to know what it can be, it can be GDD as a previous poster mentioned, or autism or many other things are that she can grow out of. However, there are many misconceptions about autism - many toddlers with autism are happy, loving, cuddly, very socially motivated, etc, just like any other child.

Ugh, two year checks.

I’ve done hundreds of the things and they are always a source of upset for parents! Almost regardless of the content tbh.

The criteria is tricky and different professionals approach the same areas of development slightly differently. Personally I think this is due to personal approach mixed in with the vagueness of the EYFS guidelines on checks.

It is also so important to remember that, as a professional, we can only score based on what we actually see.

So, for example, imagine I am assessing a child on their fine motor skills by watching them using a pencil to draw. They pick up the pencil, but drop it. I encourage them to try again, but they become distracted and walk away. This happens on a few occasions.

Now, I’ve seen them pick up the pencil but not actually use it. I believe that they could based on their understanding, grip, etc but I haven’t actually seen it. You may tell me that he draws all the time at home. But I haven’t seen it. Therefore, I can’t put down that they are secure in this skill. If I see it once or twice, I can still only put emerging or developing, because I haven’t seen it regularly. They can do it, but that isn’t reflected in the language of the assessment.

I’ve very much oversimplified it there, but I hope you see what I mean!

Your nursery have to keep a leaning journey for your child (it varies between nurseries but it has to be some form of written record of their development) which may be more useful to you - each area of development should be covered regularly/weekly. They should be sharing this with you - have you got any of that? It will give a much broader idea of development rather than the ‘snapshot’ that is the 2 year check :)

Hi @Eggcellent29 thanks very much for your comments.
I do see what you mean, although it wasn’t the HV observing what dd could/couldn’t do, it was a questionnaire I filled in and she scored it. So it was me doing the observing I guess and I must admit there was a huge amount on the questionnaire that she’s not able to do yet, which is the worrying thing.
That’s really interesting what you have said about nursery though as I haven’t seen the learning journey at all. She has only been there 6 weeks which of course isn’t long, but I have had no feedback at all from them apart from a 5 min call which I initiated. So I will pursue this with them now I’m aware of what observations they should be making.

@AladdinMum thank for your comments also. It was delayed in all areas so not specific. I’m guessing it might be useful to speak to a paediatrician to try and get a better idea of what the problem is.

@Jas115

Oh I see! Sorry about that, I got the wrong end of the stick.

You know, it might be the case that she can’t do some of the things. But children really do develop at different rates. If you have a room with 30 kids in it, all within a few months of age, the difference in ability is staggering. Honestly. Some kids talking in full sentences, some barely saying a word, one who wasn’t walking at 23 months but went on to just randomly get up one day and do it (while we all looked on open mouthed!), the list goes on.

I am surprised that you haven’t had any feedback! It is an ofstead requirement so they should be doing it. I guess they may do once a term there, but that’s very shoddy! I would ask them about it. At the very least, you should get feedback from the key worker about their day.

If you are worried, then yes of course speak to your doctor/HV/etc. But please don’t worry too much at this point.

Easier said than done and I realise that I am being a MASSIVE hypocrite as all I do is worry, but it’s sound advice 😂

Thanks very much @Eggcellent29 And good to hear someone else’s opinion about the nursery as I was sure the limited feedback didn’t seem right. This is supposed to be the best nursery in our area - on the waiting list for 18 months before getting a place.

To be honest my nursery seems brilliant but gives very limited feedback on what my dd has done all day or what abilities they observe from her. I didn't know they were meant to do this to such a level...

Blimey!

As far as I am aware, each child needs to have a written record of their learning journey as evidence that they are actually being taught.

So where I work, I do observations on the child every day they are in which I Evidence with photos. At the end of the week, i give an A3 sheet of photos and observations to the parent and keep a copy myself for my records. I use these to plan what teaching activities I will do with the child in partnership with the parents - I encourage them to bring in photos and written statements about what the child likes to do at home to help me plan too.

At the end of each term, I update their learning plans against the EYFS criteria and hold a meeting with the parent to discuss. And this is for every child! Of course it is in addition to regular daily feedback, like what they ate that day, slept, main activities, etc

Gosh! My nursery doesn't do anything like that either! We chat to the nursery staff at the end of each day but we don't get anything formal apart from an occasional summary sheet. Mind you, I'd rather the staff were spending their time with him rather than on evidencing everything. My son seems so happy there so I'm trusting them to do a good job looking after him. As he gets older I might expect more info but at only 2 I'm just grateful he lives nursery!

Have you had a look at the M-CHAT? This might give you a better sense and if it considers her at risk for autism, you could push for s referral now rather than later.

Hi @Eggcellent29 thanks for your comments regarding nursery. I decided to bring up the feedback issue with my dd’s nursery and they have been great about it, things have improved. Really pleased about that.

@LongDivision thanks for your response. I have done the mchat (medium risk) and she also scored high on the ASQ SE questionnaire, so I do know there’s a risk of autism. Some days I’m convinced she does have it and other days I wonder if I’m going mad because she’s doing loads of new things and being so communicative. I know it’s not a complete disaster if she does have it, but I just feel a bit helpless at the moment because we don’t have answers or help in place.

My nursery is excellent, however, on my son's last report there was a lot of areas where he wasn't improving. Then there was the lockdown and I hadn't a clue what criteria were in the EYFS (early years foundation stage).
I agree that some professionals have a snapshot of opportunity to observe our children. Also what they see and what we see may be different so I started creating fun activities that meet the EYFS criteria.
I did lots of research and put together EYFS guide for parents. It notes each criterion and then I added an example that we do at home.

raising2children.com/the-ultimate-free-eyfs-guide-for-parents/

If you are concerned I would definitely look into gaining support e.g Early Help services, speech and language or each nursery will have SENCO coordinator.