Is it autism

[Sg121234567]

I really need some opinions! So my daughter is 20 months. Just before Christmas we noticed some delayed development and after looking online it sounded like autisim. Some examples of her behaviour...

Doesn't point with one finger
Limited speech
Doesn't speak to engage with people, her words are just labels e.g. car or cat
Walked flat footed until 18 months then began tip toe walking
Doesn't point to show interest
Doesn't initiate pretend play
Prefers playing alone
Has some sensory issues with touch

Basically on paper she sounds autistic, when I spoke to the GP and speech and language therapist on the phone they both said its textbook...however....so far 3 professionals have seen her in person, a health visitor, a pediatrician and a speech and language therapist (different therapist to the one mentioned above) everyone that meets her in person says she doesn't come across as an autistic child because she doesn't fixate on one toy and she engages with me e.g. she held a flower to my nose to smell. They all said she has strengths and weaknesses but couldn't say one way or another if she has autisim. Bare in mind the pediatrician and S&L therapist that saw her in person were booked privately as an autisim assessment so I was hoping to get an answer from them. Everyone is being very careful with their words and have basically said its 50/50. Its driving me crazy, I just want to know what I'm dealing with so I know how best to help her.

I guess what I'm asking, in other people's experiences, is it is possible for her to have these signs and its not autisim? Has this ever happened to anyone? I would have said I was 100% confident its autisim but everyone that meets my child is not convinced. I understand they need to be carful and not put a lifelong diagnosis on her without being sure. Due to these professionals uncertainty i began to belive it wasnt autisim and she's just delayed. But when I spoke to the S&L therapist over the phone (the one that hadn't met her in person) she said that children don't behave like this for no reason e.g. develop tip toe walking and that she would say it is autisim. This has just thrown me and now I don't know what to think! Feeling very stressed by this all, it's not the fact that she may have autisim that's bothering me, if she is autisic that's fine. But it's the not knowing and the backwards and forwards that's stressing me out!

Hello,

I don't know if I'm an authority (well I know I'm not!) but my son was diagnosed at 2, is 3 now so I've been through this very recently.

She is really young. Most authorities I know of, it's lucky to get a diagnosis before 3. I know it can be frustrating because you want to just "know" but at this point very little will change. If she needs support with speech and language they will do that regardless of a diagnosis. We've been having "support" for over a year now and it's mostly all what we were doing already.

Have you contacted portage? That's a play therapist who you might find helpful. Mostly at this age it will be working on joint attention, people games and encouraging her to request.

Not sure if that helps 💐

Hiya! So, my kids are both autistic. Completely different. Younger one - textbook autism. Elder girl - most people who meet her are very surprised when I say she is autistic. She’s had no developmental delays, plays and engages well but she is autistic. She struggles with social and unfamiliar situations, changes and routines and demand avoidance. Your daughter is still very young. If I were you I would see how she is at her 2 year check and if you still are concerned I would push for a referral.

Hey can I ask, did you notice any signs in your kids before they turned 1? I'm just on the lookout at the moment but have some concerns and would appreciate the info. Thank you. X

I think if they are 50/50 then you have to kind of monitor / watch and wait. It’s frustrating but ultimately they’re not going to diagnose if they’re not certain.

The best thing I think is to parent to meet her unique needs regardless of what the diagnosis is or isn’t. Then as she gets older hopefully it’ll be clearer one way or the other.