Is this suggestive of autism or could this be a delay?

[ToddlerMumma21]

Hi, we had a recent speech assessment on our 2 year 9 month daughter.

The summary at the end said she’s presenting with differences in the areas of social
communication, reciprocal social interaction, and language development.

She engaged in activities with the therapist for nearly 90 minutes. Who noted reduced use of eye contact (she did look 👀 when ready steady go was said etc) and spent little time on activites not of her choosing (she was more interested in ALL of the toys she had I think before settling on a game 😂). She commented on her good anticipation and she shared her joy with us too throughout.

a History of sleep apnea and glue ear. Do you think she’s hinting at autism or a social communication disorder or could these skills be delayed? She did say sometimes they focus on areas and others come later. She’s not got any delays with other things.

thank you ☺️

Sounds very similar to DD. Our speech therapist saw it in DD long before we did. You could ask her?

@Zinzinner thank you, I have wondered for a long time but hard reading it by a professional, especially when I thought she’s come so far! How is your DD doing. Thanks for the reply.

If you want to know more &/or are unsure what the SALT means, speak to her. The difficulties you describe could be due to ASD, but they could also be because of the sleep apnea and glue ear. Or a combination of them all. So she could mean either.

The first time our therapist suggested it I honestly burst into tears after the session. I think I fought against it for a long time but she saw a stim a full 18 months before I did!
she’s almost 4 and she’s come on leaps and bounds. Like your DD she will happily engage… if it interests her lol. But she’s coming along well! It’s a cliche but they do change so much so it’s hard to predict how their behaviour and challenges change but you do adapt.

Thanks @BrumToTheRescue - We see her again soon so I plan to ask what she thinks may be contributing. She did make comments such as some develop skills in other areas first etc, so felt a little reassured! That sentence hit me though! She’s come on so much so I shouldn’t focus too much on that I guess! I have requested a paed referral and that’s soon too! So I’ll know either way then anyway I guess! Thank you for replying though!

Thanks @Zinzinner . I know how you felt, it’s just the unknown worry isn’t it?! I’m a worrier anyway! She’s engaged etc and I was astounded how long she stayed focus with her, a new person etc. we have found a wonderful therapist! Lovely to hear your DD is doing well! Well hopefully know a bit more once grommets and adenoids are sorted too, but I don’t want to count on that!