concerned about 17 month old.

[Pebblexox]

Hello all!
I’m new here, and I was just looking for some advice or calming down I suppose.
My daughter turned 17 months old on Wednesday (27th may) and over the course of lockdown I have noticed several things that I suppose I’d missed before as we were very busy but now we’re in the house most of the day and I just basically watch her most of the day. I then googled, which of course sends you down a rabbit hole and now I’m convinced she has asd.
The signs I’ve noticed are

• she doesn’t wave

-she doesn’t point -she only says mammma, baba, and bad however they aren’t used with any functionality. -she doesn’t communicate with us, the only communication is lifting her arms if she wants out of her high chair or cot. -she walks around just shaking her head, and throwing herself on the floor. -she loves spinning wheels, and always has to have something in her mouth and in her hand at basically all times. She’s under a paediatric consultant for other reasons, so I have made a call in the hopes that she can get back in touch with me when possible. However given everything going on I’m not holding my breath it will be soon. I suppose I just need to hear others experiences, I’m not overly worried if she was autistic I suppose my worry is you read how important early intervention is in helping them in the long run. But given the pandemic, I don’t think we’ll be able to get any kind of help anytime soon! Sorry for the long post 🤦🏻‍♀️

There’s plenty you can do at home to help develop her communication skills. There are some books you may find useful, you will see them recommended often on here. Hanen’s More than words and for a young child something like An early start for your child with autism is all about using every day activities in the home to improve communication and develop skills. Whether she’s autistic or not these techniques will help.

You can also use the intensive interaction technique while you’re playing with her.

It’s great that you’re able to contact your paed directly with your concerns. Hopefully they will get back to you soon.

@openupmyeagereyes
Thank you so much for your response. I'll definitely look into the books and techniques you've mentioned. It's such an odd time to notice developmental delays, as unfortunately there aren't very many appointments going on in my area that aren't urgent right now.
Yes, I've already left a message for her paediatrician, so it's just a waiting game. So until then I want to help her at home as best as I can, at least to help her communicate with us better!

Hi pebblexox- just wondering if you heard back from your paediatrician? We're going through a similar thing with our 17mo and she does everything you listed. HV and GP have referred us but due to Covid I expect a long delay in getting any help.

@Pebblexox @cujo101 hey, how are you getting on? My 19 month old is very similar - no words, not pointing and doesnt always respond to his name. Really worried, any replies would be really helpful.

@r1911 in the end our dd1 was diagnosed with autism and global development delay-formal assessment hopefully this summer, but confirmed by paediatrician and various other professionals already. She's just over 3years old and still non verbal, but we've seen a great improvement with her understanding and interaction since she started nursery.

We now have a dd2 who is 20months and we've got similar concerns (non verbal, no pointing, no responding to name, sensory issues, but also not walking) and she is now on the pathway to assessment for autism as well, so about to start the journey again.

Have you seen a GP about your concerns? If you are worried, try to get referred as soon as possible to get the ball rolling as the wait times are so long (in the UK).

Our dd paediatrician did say they're seeing a lot more children with developmental delays due to lockdown over the past couple of years, so may not be anything to worry about x

@cujo101 thank you so much for replying. I have an appointment with the gp in the next few weeks and hopefully they can refer futher. Its such a worrying time and i never thought it was an issue until we went to see a nursery and they commented that i should get in touch with gp for speech. I then went down a google rabbit hole of of signs i didnt even notice (not pointing, hit and miss direct eye contact and not always responding to name etc)

Have you been able to access support - salt or any other?