Just behind or Autism?

[Hunneybee]

Hi there. I am new to Mumsnet so I apologize firstly for poor first post.
I wanted to know if there was any mother's out there with 2-3 yr olds they think are autistic.
How have you delt with it? Who have you gone to for support? What problems are you having? What is your child's development like?
I have a lovely son who is very happy. He is 26 months old. His mobility is excellent... runs and climbs up everything. But totally failed his 2 yr check, as he has never says a word. He only makes baby sounds. He does not play with toys....he just puts them to his mouth. He has never pointed at anything or waved and never responds to his name. Is he just a but behind or is there more to it? He loves the TV and hears it when first turned on.
Autism has been mentioned but what do I do now?
Who is the best person to see?
I've been told he needs a sensory assessment, but what is that? Any help would be very much appreciated. I feel very overwhelmed and isolated.

When he had his 2 yr check, was that with the Health Visitor ? In which case, what did she say ?
She would normally refer for further assessment. Who that referral is too, is area dependent. I understand from MN in some areas that is CAMHS, but where I live it is to a Community Paediatrician, at the Child Developmental Centre.

If she hasn't done that / explained anything, then make an appointment and go back and tell her what you have written here. If you get nowhere then make an appointment with your GP and get her / him to refer you.

However, if your dc goes to Nursery / Daycare / Pre-school then they too can refer in for assessment.

It would be an Occupational Therapist that does a sensory assessment. Most people who have autism, have sensory differences. They can be 'hypo-sensitive' or 'hyper-sensitive' which means under or over sensitive to all 7 senses, or to just one of them, or to some of them. Confusingly, they can be both hyper and hypo sensitive. The mouthing tends to suggest a hyposensitivity to touch.

Another source of support is the National Autistic Society - you don't already need a diagnosis to benefit from their support. Do contact them.

Yeah I was given a paediatric appointment for the end of August.Still feels a long timre to wait. The health visitor made the referral after the two yr check . I'm very nervous about it. I have no idea what the dr will be interested in or plans to discuss.
Can you tell me more about what the sensory assessment is. I am looking at booking a private assessment as the health visitor says my son is very sensory in his play but can't refer me to OT. Everything he plays with goes in the mouth. But I have no idea what this involves or how it will help. The test is £350. Will this help him? Any information you can give would be great. I've looked it up online but can't find much about it.

Hi - my DS is 3.3. He was diagnosed with asd at age 2.8. He also has great fine and gross motor skills. His main struggle is communication and language. I honestly haven't found the 'diagnosis' to be very helpful. I think that understanding his strengths and weaknesses and how we can help him learn has been so much more useful (and all of this was achieved without a diagnosis!)
Things that helped us are:

• Hanen more than words book
• Laura mize website and books (particularly her stuff on the 11 skills children need to master before speech emerges)
• aba therapy principles

Have you looked at the mchat? It's an autism checklist - maybe helpful for you

Still feels a long time to wait.

Presuming your ds didn't have his 2 yr check before he was 2, and if he is only 26months now, trust me, the end of August isn't a long wait.
In my authority the longest wait is for the multi-disciplinary assessment after they have seen the Paediatrician for the initial assessment though.

Others may be along to tell you it is different in their authorities, but what would happen here is : You have about a 45min appointment with a Paediatrician. They will watch ds whilst he is there, and might try to engage him, but most of their information is going to come from you. they will generally take a history - from pregnancy, birth and through 'milestones' to present day. They will ask you why you are here / what your concerns are. It is really, really helpful if you think about this beforehand...... write down some notes or some jottings to remind yourself. Think about all different areas of development..... gross motor / fine motor / speech / understanding / desire to communicate / desire to interact / how does he interact - with adult, and then with other dc / eating - what does he eat (or what won't he eat) typically over 3 or 4 days / routines - does he need them, can he cope when things change / transitions - what happens when you need him to stop doing something he is doing / play skills - does he play with anything appropriately or does he just carry things, or mouth things, or throw things, or does he 'play' oddly with thing (eg turn a pushchair upside down and sit and watch the wheels spin, rather than pushing it round with a toy in it) / does he like (or not mind or dislike) different textures.... walking on sand or barefoot on grass....getting mud or paint or foam on hands.... what about the texture of foods he does or doesn't like, is there a pattern / when things go in his mouth, does he chew them or try to eat and swallow them, or lick them or ...? / does he chew his clothes / does he lick fences? / Does he eat chalk and crayons and mud etc ?

I understand that specially trained OTs can help children with sensory processing differences, enormously, but I'm afraid I don't have much experience as my authority hadn't been able to employ them.

I often recommend this book from Falkirk Council. It is written for school children, but much of it translates for Early Years. Full credit to Children with Disabilities Team
Camelon Social Work Office
Falkirk Council
It is a great booklet.

Have a look at P30 - 33 of This from Tower Hamlets authority - they've lifted it from the Autism Education Trust and it is helpful to understand sensory differences.

I hope some of this helps you.

Does he go to Nursery at all ?

Thank you so much Backforgood. I did not know there would be another assessment after the paediatrician sees my son. I am terrible at waiting. I think it's the anxiety over it all and feeling like I am not helping my son. I need to print out your post. The information you have given me about the paediatrician appointment and what to do to prepare for it is invaluable... Thank you so very much. It's just what I needed. I had already written a list of his behaviour but you have given me a great deal more to think about. Thank you so much!!

You are very, very welcome.
It is very overwhelming.

The reason it is usually a MDT Multi Disciplinary Team) that assess for autism is that there isn't a definitive test. With many (most?) conditions, there will be a blood test or some kind of scan or lab tests that will give you a definite yes / no for any diagnosis, but for autism, it is a considered opinion, so they don't usually make it in isolation.
I have to say, the wait in my authority is a year from when the paediatrician refers now though, so they are surely going to have to start looking at a different assessment route, for at least some of the more clear cut children.

Do come back if you want to ask anything else.