Possible ASD in 19 month old - need advice

[rachndan]

Hi

For a long time (approx 8 months) we have suspected our 19 month old daughter has autism.

When she was 11/12 months she wouldnt respond to her name, she didnt point, wave or babble/talk. She was a very fussy eater and some other things too.

However it was then determined that she had glue ear, so this could have been the cause behind the above issues.

The NHS couldnt do her grommets until about November so we paid to have them fitted privately about a month ago. Her hearing has definitely improved and she responds more now to her name and the command "no".

But thats about it.

Still no talking (makes lots of noise but nothing that sounds like a word), doesnt point or wave, couldnt/doesnt follow any instructions other than "no", extremely fussy eater, eye contact is sketchy.

We have done an online M-CAT-R test and being generous with the answers she still scored an 11 which says is high risk.

She goes to nursery once a week and gets on well with the staff and other children, she doesnt get phased by new environments or going to new places, she doesnt mind interacting with other children but does like her "me time" and/or her own space at times.

The HV has monitored her over the last few months and now we have ruled out the hearing she is referring to us to the community paed. What happens now?

We already have a 6yo daughter so we know what NT development should look like and whilst our 19mo is a very very happy girl she is not on track for where she "should" be.

It could be possible that she is say 6+ months behind due to the effect of the glue ear but I am not so sure.

Any help or advice about what happens next and how best to handle it would be much appreciated.

I also want to make sure we dont get fobbed off due to her age. Surely the earlier the help the better long term.

Would also be interested to hear from parents of young girls with ASD as most I have read up on is about boys.

Any advice on how to improve her fussy eating would be welcomed too.

Thanks

We are not sure what you mean by that? Doesnt make any sense. What does anyone having a career have anything to do with autistic children?

As I said sorry wrong thread

We have another SALT session tomorrow, her babbling is improving. We then have a community paed appointment the following week.

Its one of 3 things I think -

1. Just a delay due to the hearing issues she had.
2. Possibly on the ASD spectrum (communication wise).
3. Possibly has ADHD - she just literally cannot ever sit still.

Hi there rachndan , was just wondering if you had any update on how your LO is doing ? My son is in a very similar situation I cry everyday for him as he cannot yet talk or communicate with gestures x

Hi
I know long shot any improvements ? ☺️

Hello, she is now nearly 9.
She does have autism and goes to a special needs school. She doesnt have complete language the same as typical 9 year old but she started to talk when she was about 5 (in Year 1 of school).
She has come on leaps and bounds.
Although from when I wrote this 7 years ago wondering whether she would ever talk to today telling her to be quiet because she never shuts up.
I hope things go well for your child.

Many many thanks for your words . My DD is 19 M now and eats pretty much everything if I feed her . Was there any particular food that you remember that your DD didn’t like back then ? I know a lot of time has passed ☺️

She was (and still is) very fussy.
It was all bread sticks, Ellas kitchen pouches etc back then. Now its;

plain pasta
nuggets
breadsticks
boiled eggs
rice
chicken
fruit
pom bears
fish fingers

Nothing too outragous.