Suspect ASD

[Bertieboo1]

I was hoping for some advice from parents with older children who have been through the process of identifying autism in a young child.

Our DS is 2.5 and we have been to see the GP as we have started to suspect he is on the spectrum. She said she would refer us to a specialist but also questioned (in a nice way) if his behaviour was due to his younger brother arriving. So now we are not sure! I appreciate autism is different in every child (I teach teenagers in mainstream with ASD).

Our son's speech has been very slow to develop and regressed after his younger brother was born. It is not slowly improving. He probably has about 50 words but doesn't talk much to interact, more when looking at books or singing, so words that he has memorised. He has always found baby and toddler groups difficult, though this has improved slowly and does not engage with other children of his age. Ditto birthday parties. He is slightly more interested in older children. No interest in his baby brother at all.

He is very affectionate to us and his grandparents and loves cuddles. He sleeps and eats really well.

I'm not sure if we are overreacting or if we should be perusing this.

Getting an ASD diagnosis is a very long process. In your situation I would carry on with the process and drop out if your son changes and you are no longer concerned.

Good luck.

It sounds to me like you should be pursuing this- as you say, it's different in every child but your DS's behaviour seems to tick a lot of boxes. You'd expect a NT child to show an interest, positive or negative, in a younger sibling, certainly.

FWIW my DS (6) is autistic and also loves cuddles, eats well and slept well at that age and does again now thanks to the miracle that is Melatonin.

Thanks so much for your replies! I definitely think we will carry on with the process. I just really want some tips for how to support him at this stage whether he is or isn't autistic.

We first raised concerns about autism when our youngest son was 3 years old, but we did not get a diagnosis until he was nearly 8. He had developmental delay in a number of areas, severe language delay, poor concentration, virtually no social skills and exhibited bizarre behaviour frequently. He also had sensory issues with labels in clothes, wearing socks and shoes and having his hair cut. He has always been very affectionate.

In the early years I spent a lot of time talking to him, looking at books with him etc. to try and develop his language and improve his concentration.He was referred to the Speech and Language Therapy service at 2.5 and went there regularly for many years. They did stuff with him which I then practised at home. (All incredibly deadly boring.)

Even though we knew something was wrong it was a long time before professionals actually started listening to us. Things may be different now(our son is now 21) but I think you need to go with your gut instinct and badger everyone who will listen that you have concerns about your son.Good luck.

Thanks so much for your reply. We now have SALT involved and a referral to paediatrician. Speech delay and bizarre behaviour are definitely evident here and poor concentration. As I say to grandparents etc there is no magic pill just lots of love and support.