ASD in Girls? And toys for ASD toddlers

[rachndan]

Hi all,

Our daughter turned 2 in January and we have suspected she has ASD since her first birthday due to lack of eye contact, lack of response to her name, no imitation or imaginative play etc.

She is currently seeing a SALT due to lack of speech and also Portage/Send.

We are waiting for SALT to provide us with PECS cards of her favourite things but I just wanted to know if there are any parents out their with autistic toddlers that are girls? And if there are, how are you finding day-to-day life etc? I cant find many threads at all relating to girls.

Our DD2 goes to nursery twice a week, which she loves, we can take her to new, different and busy places, she loves to walk, its just the communication side of things;

Does respond to her name, but not everytime.
Understands simple commands like NO.
Only says a couple of words but never on command.
Doesnt imitate anything.
Only thing I have managed to teach her that she copies is clapping and high five.
Doesnt point.
Doesnt wave.
Doesnt hold eye contact for long.
Doesnt feed herself (with a fork/spoon).
Fussy eater.
Wont keep hat or gloves on.

I was also interested to know what toys entertain your ASD toddlers?

Thanks

Hi my dd has autism, it's my understanding that is not as common in girls. Like you I noticed around 2 an tbh your dd sounds very similar to how my daughter was (she's 6 now.) she attends mainstream and is managing well. I actually don't find dds austism holds her back as she's high functioning but certain things can trigger her and her speech still is behind although she's able to how basic conversations. Can't help with toys as obviously she's quite abit older and mainly plays with her dolls!

Hi. Following with interest. My DD is 3.5 and nursery and her health visitor are questioning that she is on the autistic spectrum (as am I). She only really starting saying single words when she was 2.5, and only really started making 2 word sentences after she turned 3. Her HV assessed her language skills about 3 weeks ago as being those of a typical 2 year old, so about 18 months developmentally behind her age. She also doesn't play with other children and actually gets quite upset when other children get in her space, and can play with toys in quite a 'odd' way (e.g, lining them up rather than 'playing' with them). We're awaiting further assessments at the moment.

As for toys, our DD likes cars and building blocks. She also really enjoys puzzles and colouring books.

My dd is 4 now, diagnosed with asd nearly a year ago. She had very similar red flags to your dd. She's never pointed or waved, doesn't nod or shake her head. She is non-verbal but did have some repetitive language up until about 2 -2.5yrs of age but that stopped.

She's progressing well with using pecs for requesting basic things now whereas she used to pull our hands and take us to what she wanted. Widgit online or boardmaker are good for making your own pecs cards, now & next boards etc.

If you think your dd will need support at nursery/school it might be worth initiating an ehcp assessment if you haven't already, ours took 10months to finalise so dd could have 1:1 support at school.

My dd doesn't really 'play' like a typical 4yo, she doesn't do make believe play or dolls evwb though we have bought them for her.

She likes sorting and lining up toys. She particularly likes wooden puzzles and Melissa and Doug type toys. She loves being outdoors, sand & water play and play dough. I find her really hard to buy presents for actually as she doesn't ask for anything and her interests are limited.

Im going through a similar time with my DD at the moment , she is 2.4 now . I'm still unsure if she has ASD, although our speech therapist hinted that might be the cause of her Social communication delay.

Between 14 and 18 months she started displaying few signs which were a bit quirky , lack of pointing, showing, occasional tippytoe walking, flapping when happy or excited and the odd spin ( all sometimes, not every day or often) - so I got a referral . Health Visitor said she's fine, but developmental paediatrician said she was a bit antisocial (Wasn't interested much in her just toys that were in the office).
Apart from the social thing, she is a happy little girl , affectionate, sleeps well, eats well, no routines, no tantrums, plays with variety of toys normally, imaginary play is ok not great , but she does like to have a little line up and organise stuff (not toys but weird stuff like my creams/body lotions :D, oranges, crayons, like identical things?)

Between 20-22 months she started pointing like crazy , and saying first words, stopped flapping, tiptoe walking and spinning.
Aged 2 she had about 40 words , right now at 2.4 she has bout 200 plus , also some short phrases like : Whats that, what happened, are you ok, Lets go, Ready steady go etc. She asks for things (but sometimes asks and hand leads which is also a potential ASD trait ?) , she points to show, follows point ok. Understands well. She's still behind on her speech id say 6 months but she's definitely getting better and not regressing. She can count to 10, and can sing some nursery rhymes (not all correctly but you can definitely guess the tune)

SALT says her IQ and cognitive skills are good but she's not very interested in people (more in objects) and lacks that social interaction and eye contact with strangers is poor.
Now at home she's really interactive with her family, grandparents, family members she knows, and she really likes seeing a little girl bit younger than her in or building.
She goes to nursery 2.5 hrs in the afternoon and likes it , enjoyed playgroups, parks .
But!
There are things that worry me.
She's not that bothered about kids, mostly does parallel play and is a bit crap at sharing toys (maybe its just a toddler thing) .
As much as she's good with familiar people she can absolutely blank strangers. Could she just be slow to warm up? God knows.

Im really torn and some days I think she's definitely on the spectrum, but there are periods when I think she's completely fine.
Anyhow, we'll continue with Salt, and Im looking into ABA tutor, but I dont think I will go for diagnosis before she's 3.5- 4, I kinda wanna see how she continues to develop.

Toys wise she likes building blocks, puzzles,sticker books, and lately little handbags where she can put a few of her bits and carry around :D

My daughter is showing some very strong signs of autism at 15.3 months. I’ve been reading your stories and kind of drawing the positives out of them so thank you. You often mention SALT, what is this please? I’ve been told the doctors will not be interested until she 2 1/2 years old is this correct. Also is there anyway you can recommend for early intervention. Many thanks

Also is speech therapy been very successful and how early could she start this.

SALT is Speech and Language Therapy

Hi i know thi us an old post but I was wondering if you could share an update please?