Advice please

[Mum2threexx]

My 5 year old son has been diagnosed with gdd, autism and is non verbal I started spotting signs around 18 months, he'd not yet said a single word, he would stim, spin around, lining toys up, loved anything that spins, walk on tip toes, flap his hands, make vocal noises, now I have a little girl too who is 2 in October, she has a few of words like do when she needs help, ball, cat, go, daddy, baby. She has pretty good understanding for instance if I tell her something is dirty she will go and throw it in the bin or laundry basket, if I ask her to fetch her nappy or shoes she will, she will help tidy up, wipe down table after eating etc.. but I'm also seeing signs in her that she could possibly have autism too, she also makes vocal noises, flaps hands, walks on tip toes now and again, spins, likes pairing toys, has little screaming melt downs and throws herself to the floor over very small things that irritates her, am I looking to much into these things as I'm worried she may have it too or should I raise my concerns? She's presenting differently to my son as he's been mentally aged as a 18 month old where as my daughter apart from speech I'd say is on target for her age and didn't have any clear signs of regression. Maybe irrelevant too but she was born nearly 6 weeks early and was very tiny which I believe can delay her learning slightly

Hey! Have you tried the MChat screening questionnaire for dd? I would say at that age my ds who is now 6 (and diagnosed as autistic) was similar to your dd. By the time he was 3 it was really clear and I regret taking being fobbed off by nursery and HV. It wouldn't hurt to talk to the HV now even if they say watch and wait until 2, with my younger ds I would say that was whenI really could be sure his development was on track although I do still question nursery regularly!

I second speaking to the HV. You could also look at a referral to SALT. In some areas, you can self refer. It could be autism, but could be also be a delay possibly caused by being premature. Some of the things you list as being signs of autism can be typical development for some toddlers. As well as the MCHAT, look at the Ages and Stages Questionnaires.

Thank you, I have done the M chat questionnaire and it has come back as 8 (high risk) I thought as much, I will try and contact HV but she's a nightmare to get hold of, I don't think she realises my children even exist at times x

Try your GP, they can refer to a peadiatrician, there’s always a wait for that but it’s in the system and probably a lot faster then the HV. You can request a telephone apt to talk over your concerns and that’s faster too.

Also if your daughter goes to nursery, flag your concerns up and ask them for support.
Wait times are horrendous for everything, starting early helps.