Worried mom

[Ontariomom204]

I posted on another board but thought this board would be better

As on par with the scary giant being google, looking up things that your child does results in scary things. My daughter 26mo does most things normal she can name all her numbers colours, and animals and communicates non verbally fine and occasionally says hi or bye or up, and makes eye contact and seeks affection. My only concern is her habit of lining up toys a lot, she sometimes plays with things normally like with crayons or building blocks but anything else she’ll line up and will get real mad if you touch it. She sometimes gets mad if you try to play with her while she’s playing with something, she has also started spinning in one spot looking out the corner of her eyes and googling it has lead to the ASD results. I would love her still regardless, I just live in the middle of nowhere and medical evaluation is hard to come by. I am looking for opinions am I overreacting? She does most other things completely fine.

Hi. I'm often on these boards apologising because I completely missed all the signs of autism at this age so I'm particularly bad at answering these questions. However I'll give you a bump and try to start you off!

Have you looked at the mchat test?

What I can say as the mum who missed it completely is that autism is a very broad spectrum. I have an extremely articulate, very affectionate, eye gaze holding, charming girl. She has playdates and friends. She is responsible and thoughtful. she doesn't go to mainstream school anymore because it almost destroyed her. So being autistic can come with significant challenges but also be a joy. She can completely ignore strangers who demand the attention of a pretty female child in a way I still can't as a socialised adult female. She speaks the truth loudly. She's a joy.

I think lining up toys and spinning are both neurotypical toddler and autistic child behaviours, but if your lovely little girl is autistic, don't panic. You already love her, however her brain is wired. And when you learn more about autism and start thinking about it, you'll probably start to see that members of your family were /are more neuro diverse than you think. And it won't feel so strange or different.