Autism spectrum

[Fifi05]

Hello. I have been told by a paediatrician that my 2.5 is probably on the autism spectrum. But we are waiting for referral to a community paediatrician for further assessment, Also have been referred for SALT. This is very recent but for the last year of so I have know he has a development delay, it’s taken a long time to get this help. he is such a beautiful happy boy, he just doesn’t say many words and has little understanding. He doesn’t respond to simple instructions like would you like a drink, or where is the ball etc, he wouldn’t know what I’m talking about! He does communicate in his own way though and pulls me around the house to things he wants, then will stand there waiting whilst I try and work out what he wants, he sings nursery rhymes in his own little language, he does give us all lots of eye contact and plays a lot with me and his dad and his other brothers and sisters. But he is also happy to play his own thing, mainly lining his toys up. This possible diagnosis has really worried both me and his dad., we don’t know what this will mean, what help will he get?. Is there anything we can do to help? But I’d be grateful for positive stories as feeling very down and worried. Anyone else had a 2.5 year old that was similar who can now understand and talk? We are so worried 😟

I'm sorry it's such an intense time pre-diagnosis and it's really hard (much harder in my experience than once you have a diagnosis and know what you are doing). Your son sounds lovely and it's great that he enjoys spending time with you all and is already finding other ways to communicate with you.

Do look up Nurturing Neurodiversity on YouTube. Faye's older son Dexter is autistic and is now communicating using AAC and starting some verbal communication too. She hasn't posted anything for a couple of months but is about to restart I think. She has videos of Dexter when he was your son's age and now (I think he's about 4 or 5), and also some good videos on things to do to help encourage communication, etc.
www.youtube.com/nurturing_neurodiversity

She also has a support group on Facebook which has a lot of other parents in the pre-diagnosis stage. It's a very positive place and sounds like it might really fit what you're looking for now.
www.facebook.com/nurturingneurodiversity/

The Coming Home to Autism channel also has videos of their autistic son as a toddler and then today (he's about 10 now I think) and again some ideas on games and stuff (though their son is a bit older, so from memory it would have less for little children).
www.youtube.com/channel/UCnchM3CaFnK8PRonAR_qQrg

For ideas on activities and games and sensory supports and visual supports/prompts and all that stuff I like the Chirp Special Needs YouTube channel. She's an SLT and has done a recent series of videos specifically on autism but also has a lot of videos on sensory issues too, which are a big issue for lots of autistic children, and understanding these issues better can really help with communication and happiness/wellbeing.
www.youtube.com/user/ChirpSpecialNeeds

The Autistic Not Weird website is really good too. It's run by Chris Bonnello who is autistic and has also been a primary school teacher and special needs teacher, so he really knows what he's talking about!

autisticnotweird.com/

I also like Purple Ella's YouTube channel. It's more adult focused, but two of her three children are also autistic, so it does have some good videos about autistic children and also about sensory needs etc (this is her video on her family's "Sensory Aid Kit")

I'm sorry that may be too much - but start with Nurturing Neurodiversity at the top and hopefully that will be somewhat helpful and reassuring!

Wow this is great, thank you so much for all this info. Will have a look xxxx

Hi @Fifi05 Just saw your post and thought I’d reply. I don’t have any experience of an older child with autism but have a daughter who is 28 months and was recently diagnosed privately. I found the time before the diagnosis to be so difficult and obviously still worry constantly.
I just also wanted to share a couple of resources which may be helpful to you.
I can agree with all of the links on the above post, all very useful - I especially love the Nurturing Neurodiversity group, I’m guessing you may have joined already but if not, it’s a great place to find other parents who can really relate to what you are going through and a very positive space.
While you are waiting for SALT there is a free of charge line called iCan - not sure if you have heard of them but you can have a call with a speech therapist and they will send you some strategies through to use at home - [email protected] email to ask for a call back.
I also follow an Instagram account called @mrsspeechiep and she has lots of Autism highlights saved, I think it was really from this account that i learnt more about autism and was able to see it more in my daughter, so I was more confident to try and push for support.
It is an extremely difficult thing to go through as a parent, be kind to yourself and just know that whatever the outcome your son will progress even if that’s on a slightly different path and timescale to the typical milestones.