Are these AS signs (please forgive my ignorance) or am i worrying about nothing?

[totalmisfit]

Ok dd is nearly 2 so i apologise if i'm taking what could be considered 'normal' development for her age and misconstruing things and getting myself into an unnecessary tiz.

Firstly she never really went through the 'clingy' stage everyone talks about, when she was a baby. She was happy with pretty much everyone who looked after her and never cried when i left her in someone else's care. Fast forward to today and I managed to leave her for her first full morning at playgroup without her taking any notice of me whatsoever. She didn't even look in my direction or respond in any way. Same when I returned. Sometimes i think we don't really have a bond, and then i feel awful for thinking that way.

Also she is very into hugging things (stuffed animals etc) and sometimes asks to hug pictures of things, and sometimes even non-huggable things like remote controls

People keep saying how good she is and how advanced her language is, but actually I have a sneaking suspcicion that the 'good' stuff that gets praised is actually her being indifferent iyswim? esp as regards her not caring when i leave her with other people. She refers to herself as 'Bubby' even though she's quite good at learning names in general. i suppose i just wonder why she refers to herself in such a general way, rather than learning her own name? (other babies/toddlers are 'bubby' too)

sorry if this seems like i'm worrying about nothing, or wasting people's time. My cousin has aspergers and i suppose growing up alongside him has perhaps made me over-cautious as his condition wasn't diagnosed until he was in his early 20's and i'd hate my dd or any other child to have to suffer the way he has.

I don't think these things would be enough to make me think of autism totalmisfit, and with aspergers there would normally be some oddities of speech, or some obsessive interests, or a lack of imaginative play , or a lack of social gestures and eye contact. Of course it is a spectrum but if I were you I would keep on hugging her and kissing her and she will learn to reciprocate through repetition. It must be hard though. My DS was definitely different at 2, there was no doubt about it at all, and when he was diagnosed autistic at 3 it all made sense. At 2, he gave me very little affection as he was so hyper and into everything. But now you could not get a more cuddly kissy child - they change, is I suppose what I'm trying to say. It is hard though, but for what it's worth, my autistic son wouldn't go to anyone else when little and neither would my autistic step daughter, so lack of clinginess is not necessarily a sign of anything. She does need you, just may not show it at this age in physical ways.

thanks for your replies. - i've just recieved an appointment for her 2 year development check, coincidentally, so will definitely make a list of things to mention.

A little advice about 2yr check up, don't let them brush your concerns to one side as they did that to me and 4 months later i was asking for referral, 4 months wasted in my eyes! Good luck.

If you are worried take a look at the CHAT - Checklist for Autism in Toddlers?. You can find it on the NAS website. Personally I found the most useful indicator was not pointing. My DS has never pointed.

NB the CHAT list is not a diagnostic tool - but a list of 'red flag' signs you can flag up to your GP/paediatrician.

Hope this helps x

Hi, my ds is 3 1/2 and has recently been referred to a behavioural specialist who is now refering him to a clinical psychologist. AS has been discussed but I am told that he is too young to diagnose. Autism can be diagnosed at this age but AS cannot until the age of 5. I am told that this may be due to emotional underdevelopement rather than an ASD. At 2 he was clingy and did not like to be left with anyone other than immediate family. He has always been anxious and at 2 preferred his own company or the company of one other friend. He is a different child now to the one he was then, the problems are more pronounced. Its easy for me to say that you need not worry just yet. Having said that I have always known that there is something different about my ds and that his behaviour is considered 'odd' by others. I tried to have him looked at twice at the age of 2 and on each occasion I was told that there is nothing to worry about. It wasn't until he started nursery school that his problems in a social setting became more apparent. If you really are very worried, stand your ground. I hope this helps in some way.