Signs of autism?

[Rgm40]

I'm a mum of 3 and I'm worried about my youngest. She's 3 and there's something not quite 'right'... Her talking was a bit delayed (getting much better now) but still can't understand everything she says. Is that normal? She also walks on her tip toes, is very fussy with eating and jumps a lot when excited. Does anyone have experience of autism in a 3 year old girl? I might be worrying about nothing. Any advice would be appreciated😊

I think it could be worth exploring. DD is autistic and wasn't speech delayed at all, but did a lot of heel walking and jumping at that kind of age (still jumps a lot when she is excited or enjoying something aged 6 actually!) She's not a fussy eater but it's very common in autistic children as a sensory things (also common in neurotypical children of course!) For DD the things that were flagged were mainly social: she didn't ask much for things (e.g. a drink, snack, toy she couldn't reach) and was slower than other kids to move from playing alone to playing alongside and then playing with other children. She was interested in other children, but at that age might have run up to another child in the playground, but wouldn't know what to say to them or how to ask them to play or to play with them: and even today that kind of thing would tend to make her anxious.

Generally with girls I think it's good to explore early: as they get older they may start to mask quite effectively, and it can make it difficult to get a diagnosis and therefore to get the support they often need as they get older and social situations get more complex and challenging. DD was diagnosed aged about 4 and so far it's allowed her school and us to make simple/limited accommodations that have allowed her to do very well and I think she is generally pretty happy. She still struggles with transitions/change, being the centre of attention and loud noises, but she has friends, likes playing with her brother and with other kids, does well academically and enjoys school (missing it like crazy at the moment!) I'm very aware she may have challenges as she gets older and social stuff gets more complex, but I'm glad we have the diagnosis so that people can't just accuse her of being over-sensitive or just needing to "pull herself together" if things do start to get difficult later.

If your DD is at nursery I'd start by asking there, and see if they've noticed anything unusual? They can at least start to document things in case you need a record later (if you do go down a diagnosis route they'll want as many notes as possible on how your DD played and socialised at different ages). Was anything flagged at her 2.5 year check? For DD that was all within normal bounds except her physical progress (she was a very late walker), but nursery was very helpful in keeping an eye on concerns and supporting her social development.

Thank you so much for your reply. She's getting an assessment from a speech therapist soon so we'll see what comes back from that. Preschool have said she likes to jump a lot, but loves playing with other children, singing and role play. In some ways she is very sociable, but does not like being centre of attention. She's also just recently being very anxious of going to the toilet (I think it hurt once) so now she's scared. She's a very happy little girl, always playing and has a great imagination. She'll be back at school soon so we'll see how things go.

Her 2.5 check was normal.

Hopefully just a speech delay then, but doesn't hurt to have the professionals involved so that they can pick up anything that needs to be picked up. Good luck with it all - hope the speech therapist is helpful!

Hi, im in a similar position and i just wondered if you have an update please? Xx