Autism in girls?

[inmycarwithcoffee]

I’m wondering if autism may be the explanation for a myriad of symptoms my daughter has been showing for the last 6 months.

She is nearly 9 and always been very attached to me- didn’t think much more of that. Had some changes last year at school with her 3 good friends all moving away for various reasons and it seemed to really throw her, more than I thought it would.

She has started a few repetitive behaviours - making sure her hair is brushed the “right” way which can take ages, her pillows have to be in the correct order, she can’t step on one step etc. lots of little things but they add up. She says she feels she “has” to do these things. She’s also started what looks like small motors tics- a turn with her shoulders, shrugging, heavy blinking.

She often has nightmares now and seems very restless in her sleep.

She’s now started having meltdowns at times of transition which is I guess the one that made me start on the Google hole and fall down in and autism seems to fit all the
above too. They are meltdowns that are disproportionate to the event and definitely not what her peers are doing.

she now only has one friend at school and her teacher mentioned to me at parents evening that her face is expressionless- she is impossible to read and hates making eye contact. (She does with me and the rest of our family but I guess not with others)

I have made a GP appt but just wondered if anyone with experience of autism in girls could give me a handhold/ tips as I feel I’m failing her now. There
weren’t any signs before this academic year so I’m a bit confused. And also a bit worried. On my own so that never helps when you’re worried! TIA

It could well be, girls mask a lot of the time too, and mimic behaviours that they see in others, my DD16 for example holds states too long as she realises she needs to make eye contact. It could also be OCD, there's often a Venn diagram of behaviours/symptoms. You likely won't get far with the GP, still go through as it may help. We went through the school system, probably different in each county but we had people that came and assessed both our children and they went through the small steps route (called something different now) it took ages so get help and assessments ASAP
Good luck

It could be but it could also be anxiety that's causing the meltdowns, repetitive behaviours.

Have a handhold from an autistic (autism, adhd, pda, gad) grandma with an adhd (autistic) daughter and autistic (adhd) granddaughter.

Our neurodivergence was apparent from the start (even though we didn't know enough to recognise it). Did your dd toe-walk? Or does she still? Poor sleep is a nd thing. Transitions are very uncomfortable for us - even transitions from being in the car to out of the car.

Keep researching online and reject anything that doesn't seem right to you. As we used to say in the 1980s, 'You are the expert on your own child.'