ASD - what was your DC like at 2 years old?

[laurabatty]

Hello all. Our DS has been diagnosed with Global Development Delay and is showing signs of autism. As you all well know this is a time of enormous anxiety and uncertainty and I'm just looking for others who have been in a similar position to share their experiences. I have found that reading this board - real life and non-sensationalist - has helped over the last few weeks. Just ploughing randomly through the internet looking any new info about autism has not - far too scary.

Had your DC been diagnosed at 2, if not, what signs were they displaying and did you know it was autism? What could they do/ not do? What did you do at this point in terms of activity, around the house etc? Did you go into panic mode and try to frantically start teaching them in the hope that all would be ok soon enough? What is your DC like now? Have things turned out better than you hoped when you first realised things weren't as they should be?

Thanks all.

DS2 was DXed at 3.5 with ASD. At 2 he ran everywhere, holding his hads up at shoulder height, elbows bent. He was a whirlwind. Toys were to be tipped out of the box, but never played with, unless they were fun cause and effect toys, like ball helterskelters, pop up pets. His eye contact was poor, it was good as a baby but deteriorated at 12 months. That was his only regression. He just stalled. All physical milestones were on time but communication and social seemed to stop. He had no words at all at 2. He wasn't interested in the TV. He loved opening and closing doors, turning lights on and off, flushing the toilet. He's very hypo sensitive so was always sensory seeking, movement, sound, light, mouthing everything, snails, gravel, sand etc.

He was also very tactile, always laughing (or screaming!) very beautiful in a 'fey' sort of way, loved music. I found I could get through to him using games such as row your boat, round and round the garden, horsy horsy and lots we made up! He went to a special school at 3yo and started using PECs, which kick started him to see the point in communication. I heartily recommend More than Words by Hanen as a good starting point for anything you want to try at home.

He's now 12, still a whirlwind and in Y7 in a MS secondary school. He's still beautiful, but teenage spots are threatening...

Poor you, it's a horrible place to be where you are now. You're right though, this is the best place to get real, useful, relevant information and advice (and just share experience). Random internet = Bad.

My ds was dx at 3.5 with ASD, at the high functioning end.

At 2 he had language but was nothing like conversational. He only started to use the word 'yes' at this age. Had some echolalia. Trouble with pronouns (you/me), and he used "what" or "where" but never "when" or "why".

His playing was impaired, he had no imaginative play, much preferred cause & effect toys (eg ones that light up, press buttons etc).

Liked repetitive play, spinning plates round, pouring soil/sand. Threw toys rather than played with them.

Copied others but never showed much iniative of his own esp. with play & language.

Very poor social understanding.

Others said things like "he does his own thing doesn't he". Just generally harder to engage than other children, and didn't do the normal sharing things with me that other children did.

Liked familiar things, toys etc. eg would build the same tower with the same colour bricks each time.

Limited diet.

Little interest in engaging with unfamiliar people, especially other children at nursery. Played alongside but never with them.

Controlling of everything.

He's now almost 5, and after 18 months of ABA is unrecognisable, to the extent that he probably wouldn't get a diagnosis now. Very chatty. Bit obsessive still, and some anxiety (eg toilets). Interaction still a bit different, but not too bad. He's lovely, kind, sweet, and clever.

Like star said, the best thing you can do is start intensively working on interaction & communication.