If your child is ASD.....

[ml01omm]

...does the younger the age the symptoms present mean they will be more severely on the spectrum?

DS is 7 months old, and is starting to show some signs that could mean a later ASD diagnosis.

DH &I are somewhat overly aware of signs, as DH is persuing an adult diagnosis of Autistic traits ( mild/HFA , what would have been aspergers under the old classification) and there are other males on his side of the family who are ASD too.

As DS is still so young, I was just wondering, if he is showing signs this early, does it mean he might be at risk of being more toward the severe end (level 3?) of the spectrum? Or did your child show signs as a baby but stayed mild to moderate ASD.

@drspouse

I also think age at diagnosis is a misnomer - it probably has more to do with awareness of autism traits in the adults supporting the child (parents, teachers), easy of getting a referral and waiting list times. To some extent this is true - two children with the same features at 4 may be diagnosed at 6 or at 13 depending on awareness etc. But children who are diagnosed at 3 are usually those who also have delayed milestones etc.

True, but there are very few children being diagnosed aged 3 if the waiting list for assessment is 3 years, unless their parents are spectacularly on the ball!

Yes the IS ASD was a bit annoying! Change that OP :)

My daughter is almost 2. We've had our suspicions for about a year now. She had her referral for speech and language therapy at 17 months - which is quite early. And I thought that we were doing the right thing getting her seen to early etc but, they won't actually do anything until she's 2 or older in the way of a diagnosis (as she's too young) and the speech and language therapist only talks to us every 3 months so we don't actually even feel that supported.

I thought getting on the ladder early would be helpful but actually I don't think it's changed anything at all.

So my advice would be to enjoy your baby, see how they go with their milestones and of course if they're 'behind' speak to your GP. But don't spend the whole 2 years worrying like I have because it doesn't change anything...my daughter is still who she is Autistic or not!

I'm hoping that we will be taken seriously now that she's 2 but time will tell. I'd really love her talk.

Good luck op. I know how stressful it is but the Dr's won't diagnose your baby right now so just keep and eye and try to enjoy his babyhood xx

Okay so a couple of things to address: under the age of 12 months there is absolutely no way to predict a possible asd diagnosis.
My daughter is 2, and currently heading toward the asd pathway. She has shown most symptoms from 12m+ ... this does not reflect on how she'll be as she grows, wether she'll be on the more severe end of the spectrum or not. We will only know that as she has more interventions, and more support.

I have 3 with ASD. With all of them, I knew that their development was not typical.

Eldest, I knew from around 6 months old. I didn’t know what we eventual diagnosis would be, but it was as clear as anything that she was not developing typically. She has severe ASD and was diagnosed at 2 1/2, having been ‘in the system’ from around 9 months old.

Middle child was more subtle, but by then I had done a lot more reading on typical development. She had a LOT of sensory issues, and by 10 months or so it was apparent she was not developing typically. She has Asperger’s (as was, her ex was a while ago!) and was formally diagnosed at 7, although it was clear long before that.

Youngest was the most typical in terms of development, but even so, it was plain by the time he was 14 months old. He has mild-moderate ASD, and was diagnosed by the time he was 3, having been in the system since about 16 months old.

Looking back, with all of them, it was not so much any one particular behaviour that flagged anything to me, but rather that their behaviour as a whole, and their reactions to everyday people and events, highlighted that they were not behaving/reacting as I would have expected them to.

OP, I’d say keep a watchful eye, take note of things that concern you, speak to your health visitor. But don’t forget to enjoy your baby - time really does fly by (mine are 17, 14 and 10 now!).

There are studies looking at the siblings of children with ASD. Siblings of children with ASD have an increased risk of ASD. The earlier you can get a referral the better outcome. If you are incorrect and your child doesn’t have ASD then you have not done anything wrongly. My child is now receiving care from an early intervention group and they are flourishing. I wish we had not missed the early signs. Our progress has been amazing over the last year.

DS8 ASD diagnosis at 5, goes to a mainstream school, would be considered HF but still has real struggles.

He's articulate, intelligent, kind, funny and so loving and cuddly.

I knew by 7 months that there was 'something' about DS. I can't remember all his signs but he constantly rocked had sensory seeking behaviours he also had some digestive issues.

My son was diagnosed as HAVING (but not being) ASD at 5. First signs were sensory (food issues, loud noise aversion, he'd lock his legs when we changed his nappy in earshot of hand dryers to the extent that our childminder was insistent he needed a GP appointment for his legs to be looked at) from about 10 months old.

He is a blossoming 8 year old now. Yes he has his 'issues' and challenges but having changed his primary school to a far more aware and caring one, he's doing fine (although we even have to take in food for them to cook for school dinners as he won't eat 50% of the menu but also hates all bread!). He has social issues too but even that is improving.

I really don't think age of seeing signs, (especially when you are hyper alert) relates to severity. If anything, my son is less impacted than we feared (he used to pull his own hair out but doesn't now) although we are very mindful it changes with age.

I had all sorts of suspicions with my DS, he lost words at one too, so was speech delayed. He's fine now ( age 5) caught up with some speech therapy and us doing certain things. I think sometimes we just over worry especially with our first babies. My DDad is certainly has ASD, I think many people do and they live happy lives anyway.

Sensory issues are really common in TD children too though as babies/toddlers. My DD still hates hand dryers though no other sensory issues at all after the age of about 2. Look up videos of babies meeting grass for the first time. It's thought to be an immature neurological system and is found in other developmental issues as well.

We only started the process for our son being assessed on his 10th birthday.
He'd shown some signs as a toddler but we didn't think that much of it tbh. He got worse as he aged and his teachers flagged it up last year but covid meant we couldn't do much about it. He is very intelligent so he excels at school and his behaviour is kept in check if they keep him busy so they know how to handle him. We only really want him diagnosed so that he is not branded a "bad/misbehaved" kid once he has to move to high school. Ours is a hand flapper, this was the earliest sign, he did need glasses but it wasn't why he flapped.

I think your lo is a bit young for you to be worrying too much. You could speak to the GP or health visitors about it though.

Mine came out screaming and screamed for 3 years. He was hitting his milestones until a certain point and then just stopped. He would crawl to door frames and walls and just tap his head against them repeatedly. That's when I knew.

There's a strong family link and it's said that if you have a child with autism, the close family member it came from isn't far away.

He's 14 now, high functioning but obviously autistic. I don't think he'll ever be able to leave home for a slew of reasons but obviously that may change as he grows into adulthood.

Your bairns still a baby OP, but I wouldn't just dismiss anything just because of that. It's the perfect time to learn about it and how to best advocate for him when it's needed. If you don't need it then that's fine.

They don't diagnose until 7 here because apparently many kids grow out of autistic traits.

My DD was early reaching all her milestones till about 15 months. She didn't lose any skills or regress but she stopped developing at the rate of her peers in the area of communication and speech.

7 months is way too early to worry.

Have you had a eye test to rules out vision issues? Sometimes babies need glasses

I’m don’t think it is necessarily too early. I told my health visitor at 6 months I thought ds1 had asd. I was fobbed off and given a pnd questionnaire. Very unsupportive.

For me, the symptoms were social- very little reciprocity and no imitation stood out.

We pushed hard to get diagnosis before school, when he was nearly 4, ready for school

He’s 5, has what used to be called aspergers. I assumed it would be more severe because of early symptoms, but at the moment he isn’t. We have no idea how he will develop, but he’s doing fine right now.

Don’t panic, but there’s no reason to ignore your concerns. It’s a long road and it’s never to early to be aware of additional help your child may benefit from

At 7 months old, whacking themselves on the head with a book is about the closest any baby will come to 'reading' they have no idea what a book is and what to do with it. They likely don't care about the pictures, they just want to explore how it feels. I honestly think you are massively over thinking