Is it possible for a really smily/giggly toddler to have ASD?

[Finnygook]

Just this really. He is 19 months and has one or two words but that’s it. Doesn’t really point or try to do any joint attention stuff. Isn’t interested in other children, when we are out he just marches around oblivious to what else is going on. He doesn’t really ask for anything or make what he wants known. Doesn’t seem to have any particular attachment and is fine left with anyone. He does wave though!

BUT with his trusted adults he is so smiley and giggly! So I think he couldn’t have ASD despite the other stuff because he is so sociable in this sense? There just seems something a little ‘off’ compared to his peers if this makes sense.

I don’t think being smiley and giggly would eliminate the possibility of ND. Have you got a check coming up? Has someone said he may have ASD? He is presenting with symptoms as per your op.

Hi, thanks for the reply. No checks until he is 2 years old Nobody has said anything as such other than comments about how in his own world he is, he is very chilled etc.

He just seems a bit different, but then as I said he can be so giggly and smiley one on one, and has now finally picked up a word or two (said nothing until about 18 months, still no mummy or daddy) maybe it's just who he is.

Yes my little boy was always smiley and giggly and diagnosed as autistic at 4. He is 7 now and still very giggly (loves jokes and has a lovely sense of humour) and also very tactile and cuddly, constantly asking for cuddles and lots of heartfelt ‘I love you’s several times per day. He also has a lot of very stereotypical autistic traits.

Having been through the ASD diagnosis process with my own kids, 19months is still very young and you may be amazed how much he might develop over the next 6 months. All kids develop at different rates so can be worrying when you compare them against eachother. And there can be many reasons for development delays.

Aside from being on his own agenda, and delayed speech does he have any other symptoms?

My middle son was a very easy happy baby, who smiled easily and ran about with his big brother, he was on the quiet side and often had a faraway look in his eyes and although he talked it was usually about something from his imagination rather than reporting things to me if Iyswim and often other people like grandparents couldn't understand him!
He hated holding hands and the first real quirks I noticed were sensory aversions from 2/3 onwards . He also started running up and down in the house which I now realise was stunning.
Real alarms bells rang when he started school and from then on he was unofficially ASD and diagnosed at 11 before High School.
He is a happy, well adjusted, nerdy bloke now , still a bit of a late developer with some things, love life, learning to drive etc. But generally doing much better than I imagined he would during the primary school years.
Mother's instincts are usually worth paying attention to.

He is young

But you can go through the M CHAT yourself

It s about joint attention not just giggles or smiles or not. Does he take you by the hand to what he wants?
https://www.autismspeaks.org/screen-your-child

(Apols for sutism speqks lini i dont agree eirlth everythjnv they do , but this is helpful questionnaire to see if you need to push with hv )

My DS(6) has always been happy and smiley and affectionate and sociable. Still ASD.

https://mchatscreen.com/

Yes my 4yo with asd is very smiley and giggly and happy. Also very affectionate with me and DH - he's a very loving little boy. Massive issues with communication though - non verbal, doesn't understand a lot of what is said to him and developmentally delayed.

Yep. My autistic 6 year old was a chilled out happy smiley baby and toddler. Issues became really apparent once he started school. He’s still super affectionate, and a happy social child in his own way.

I’d recommend keeping a diary about his development - ie when he hits different milestones. I struggled when he was just turned 5 to remember quite when he’d first walked, when he’d done full sentences etc and all of that info is useful for diagnosis.

Too soon to know for sure but being smiley definitely does not rule out ASD.

My ds has autism and was a very smiley giggly toddler. Even now at 12 he’s very smiley and giggly and can be very overfriendly. It’s a myth that all autistic people are very serious introverts!

He scores as high risk on the mchat

No he doesn't do this, I don't think it would even occur to him.

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I will try writing these things down.

Is the fact that he has a couple of words a good sign?

Honestly it’s quite hard to say at this point, some autistic children will be non-verbal at that age whilst others not, it’s extremely varied. My son had a handful of words at that age, now speaks in sentences but took longer to reach this point. Delayed speech was one of the traits that led to diagnosis but it was accompanied by other things.

All my Autistic DC are very affectionate. Two were giggly and smiley toddlers, one of them even pointed and had lots of friends. The other two very much ignored non sibling children as toddlers and preschoolers. That would be a possible flag for ASD. One would leave an activity station in preschool if another child came to play beside him. One was an early talker, the others only had handful of words at 2.

There's really not any one thing that can definitely count it in or out. A lack of early speech could be a speech delay or hearing problems, something as simple as glue ear. A lot can change between 18 months and 2, but if he doesn't have many words he can speak clearly by 2 I'd be getting him checked out by the GP. Usually start with a hearing test if there's speech issues. If you're worried there's no harm in seeing your GP or health visitor to discuss your concerns.

What I would recommend you do if not already is start making some detailed notes of where he is now and what you can remember from earlier milestones too, as well as birth, they ask you this a lot and in detail if you end up needing to seek help with his speech or a ASD diagnosis.

Speech is really neither here or there, he's so little and it could mean something or nothing. My DD scored nothing on the mchat at that age, was an early speaker of complex sentences, still Autistic. DS1 very high score on mchat and a dozen words at 24 months old, also Autistic. I know how hard it is, but the only thing that can give you an answer here is time.

Get him iinto a nursery a s a p they will observe and can support referrals if needed

Taking by hand to things is asd, they see you as an exension of themselves .....rather than communicating "i want xxxx" by pointing or shouting or signing

how’s your ds now ?x

Hi forgive for the question but for sensory aversions did you mean food and may I ask what sort of diet he used to have as a 19 M ? ☺️

@Claire123e He didn't like strong smells, particularly food & cooking smells, hair washing and cutting, bright light hurt his eyes and he didn't like loud noises or getting sticky hands.
His diet was really pretty good and still is apart from a lifelong strong aversion to butter, cheese, mayonnaise and creamy sauces so I sometimes had to give him a plainer version of what we were having eg. Plain pasta when we were having Mac & cheese. He is very slim now as he never eats to excess, only when hungry and loves fruit and veg.
He is 23 and will eat mozzarella on pizza but he tried cheddar again the other day still a no no!