My neice is showing alot of signs of ASD, it's all very obvious to everyone but her parents.
She had speech delay, health visitor wanted to refer but parents refused.
Although speech is improving now at age 4 she will decide to go mute sometimes in social situations and you rarely hear her speak (although parents say she's more talkative at home)
She has issues with turn taking that often lead to other children getting injured.
She struggles with recognising what is dangerous (although 4yr olds can put themselves in dangerous situations at times she struggles to learn from them)
She appears to get overwhelmed in certain situations and will either freeze on the spot with her head down and stay like this for aslong as it takes to snap her out of it, or shell take herself off to a small room and do the same thing there.
When excited by something it's like she loses control of her body and will punch and hit anyone nearby who she thinks may be trying to stop the fun. Sometimes the hitting can happen asif it's a reflex when she doesn't know what to do in a situation.
She has an obsession with spiderman and the only way she would communicate with me for 6 months would be to shoot webs at me.
She struggles with conversation, back and forward chat. It's there a little, but it's a real struggle.
She can throw screaming tantrums that go on for over an hour.
My daughter is a year younger and is already ahead of my neice socially. I'm sure when she starts school it will hopefully get picked up on so she can get the support she needs, but i worry her parents have their heads in the sand and after refusing speech therapy may also refuse any help the school may offer.
Do i mention something to them? Or do i keep my nose out of it?