Should I be worried about my 20 month old.

[Yarnie]

My husband and I are wondering whether our 20 month old might have some ASD/ADHD spectrum issues. Perhaps some of you mumsnetters with experience might have some comments for us?

Please excuse any ignorance on my part when discussing this. It's a new area for me.

I guess the most helpful thing would be to list the area of concern.

Poor sleeping
Limited eye contact
Social interactions not enjoyed
Slightly slow fine motor control
Some impulse control issues (which toddler doesn't!)
Does not usually respond to name
Slightly behind his peers verbally
Short attention span

Gosh there may be others! That's all I can think of right now.

We're having a bit of a tough time and wondering whether we should be looking into specific techniques to improve everyone's day to day life.

I'm finding his vehement dislike of interacting socially very challenging at the moment. It's quite isolating and depressing.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, everyone.

I guess I should go to the gp, then. It's the first time we've really openly acknowledged that there may be a "problem". It's nice to be able to test the waters here.

Regarding the naming, Zzzz, he certainly knows and says Daddy. Oddly, he calls me Undee for reasons unknown. He has attempted to say the name of one person we see regularly, but he does not appear to know anyone else's name.

Pictures are not a problem, he sees and enjoys the pictures in books.

A few other things:

He doesn't follow instructions, e.g. Bring me the toy.
He seems to use tv differently to other children - I find it difficult to articulate this one very well.
He doesn't like loud noise - overreacts to shouting, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone.

I'd echo previous thoughts. If you're worried there's likely to be a good reason. Parents don't often wish they hadn't sought advice so soon but they do often wish they'd done something earlier.

You sound like you have a really good approach in terms of looking for ways to support him early on. Whether or not your fears are well founded he will still benefit from some extra support - which child wouldn't?

If you get shot down in flames by one of the first professionals you see chalk it up to experience and then be persistent if you feel that's the right thing to do.

Trusting your instincts is very important in this game.

I would say ask for an assessment by a paeditrician if you are worried - it does not mean it is a one way track to a diagnosis, just a chance to look at the issues. i don't think anyone can tell one way or the other from what you describe. When you say behind verbally, do you mean that is he is communicating verbally but not at expected level? If he is not following instructions, you need to get his hearing checked as a first step - no one will look at anything else anyway until this is resolved.

Loot at MCHAT and scoring instructions its a screening tool GP / HV can use (although I have yet to hear of one who has!). But if you score it and take it with you to GP will help you focus in on ASD symptoms. Once I knew what to look for from this I kept seeing more and more.

Hi
Check out www.firstsigns.org/concerns/index.htm

Do feel free to email me if you want to- I am a professional rather than a parent and lots of people on here know me. I have a special interest in early intervention.

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The only reason not to push at this stage is if it would disrupt enjoyment of normal family life. But you're already finding it isolating and depressing so pushing for a better understanding and help now seems like a good and empowering route for you as a family.

Agree you should push for hearing test now (not when he's 3).

Basic text aimed at empowering parents is Hanen's "More than Words" available from Winslow publications. Always worth being very much on top of the techniques that it suggests.

As parent to language delayed child sound like it Could be hearing could be language delay could just be quirkiness. But checking it out does no harm as none of the hearing or Lang or asd Investigations will be Invasive or harmful if your ds suddenly catches up.other reading....www.nas.org.uk,www.ICan.org.uk,www.teachmetotalk.com. Books.anything by hanen is good pricey but worth it. Library likely to have the parents guide to speech and language provide by Debbie feit or baby talk by Sally ward.

In general. Strip back language if you think he has probes with understand .lots of repetition of key words, be emphatic back up instructions with gestures, photos and other visuals.