Autism concerns

[Mariaab]

I have a 3 year old daughter and I worry about autism almost since she was born.
her positives as below:

she hit all milestones on time.
she pointed 9 months, walked 11 months, talking in full sentences 2 years old
she asks questions, she can communicate wants and needs, she can describe a fairytale and how was her day at school.
she is really good at pretend play.
She eats, dresses by herself and she has a strong desire to do things independently! She understands when someone is angry happy or sad! She loves babies and wants to hug them all the time. She followed instructions since one year old and this year she participated at Xmas school celebration by saying a poem and doing a small act.

her struggles:
eye contact seems to be unsteady! Although she does look at the eyes , sometimes she tends to avoid
physical touch is on her terms
struggles to play with peers unless a parent is next to her all the time
doesnt like noises
doesnt like the feel of some clothes
doesnt like sun light
she likes lining up everything but she also plays functionally
she afraids unknown environments and wants to be held from parent
she doesn’t like messy play
she picks her lips and does finger crossing
was never a good sleeper and regarding food she always eat everything at school but at home she is quite picky eater

i had her evaluated when she was 14 & 20 months old but they did not confirm that there is autism possibility. I think it was too soon for such subtle signs. I m thinking evaluating again.
any similar cases??

I don’t think you can really tell for sure at that age unless there’s a developmental delay as well so I think it’s just a case of waiting and seeing how she develops. TBH even if she was autistic you just get discharged after diagnosis, there is no after care unless it’s something like speech and language so having a diagnosis isn’t going to make any difference

Sounds to me like some sensory issues but not autism. What makes you think it is autism and not sensory related (which is not always associated with autism )
did she ever score high on MCHAT?
has anyone had concerns regarding her social communication ?

I think sensory issues are usually linked to autism or ADHD. Usually they do not stand alone that’s why I m concerned.
I was never sure if I replied correctly in M Chat. She was failing at two or three questions but the reply I wanted to answer was neither yes nor no!
more specifically she fails in the below

1. she is sensitive to noises but doesn’t cry or scream. She may closes her ears sometimes though but without over-reacting.
2. she used to look at my face when she was about to do something she was not supposed to but she did not check on me when something new was happening. 3)when I was smiling she was not always smiling back. She was doing it with inconsistency.
3. she always liked to watch what other kids are doing (and copy them) but she wouldn’t join from her own. So I never knew what I should reply in that question. I replied positively.

the DPs who evaluated her did not raise concern but she was too young I believe and as far as I know unless there is an important delay they cannot diagnose ASD.

So I actually heard from a few specialists that sensory issues are not always linked to autism and some children have them without this diagnosis and either outgrow them with age or it persists sometimes. Where did you hear they are always linked?
autism is a social communication disorder and although a lot of children with ASD also have sensory issues it doesn’t mean every child with sensory issues /concerns has ASD or ADHD if that makes sense?
number 3 I would say if she mostly smiled back even if not always that is a pass
number 4 sounds like a pass too

@Mariaab Hiya, I really related to what you said about the mchat questions, I had literally the exact same queries about my little one. Did you look at the expanded version? Because I had to say, in all honesty, that my child didn't reliably smile back at me every time I smiled. However when I looked at the expanded version (they have flow charts) they did pass under the 'pass' circumstances they described. I don't get autism from your description at all by the way and it struck me you said you'd been worried since before she was born. I mean this kindly but could you have some sort of anxiety about this which you might be projecting? I am in the same boat by the way, it doesn't matter who tells me my child is fine I find myself googling and trawling these boards almost looking for something to panic myself about X

I know no case is the same, but my ds is 31 months and is being referred to neuro diverse services in my local area. And the reasons why the SENCO is concerned is the following:

Global delay in almost every area with ability of about 15 months.

No speech, though babbles a lot.

Does not acknowledge most people's existence, and as a result is in his little world most of the time. He does however engage with me and his dad so I'm hopeful this is a positive sign.

He rocks when happy in a very unique way.

He is begun to swirl for no reason another type of rocking

Head bangs

Overwhelmed by emotion particularly at hellos and goodbyes.

Solidarity play no interaction with others.

He sees through people he doesn't interact with.

Beige boy one day foods will be fine other day not.

If your child is meeting milestones then I wouldn't be too concerned yet. Even in my case which feels pretty challenging they can't fully diagnose until he is much older. He still has two 1/2 years of development left. I'm hoping it's a global delay.

Your child seems to display sensitivity to sensory stimulation, this can be a single issue, especially if she is interacting with others and meeting milestones.

Hey how is your baby now? X