Hand leading = ASD?

[WasUnderThirthy]

My 2.5 dd has speech delays, amongst other things like GDD, and has recently started to drag me around so she can show me things. I was happy for this new form of communication until I heard it might be a symptom of ASD...Could anyone tell me if it`s a symptom, or if it could be related to her speech delay?

tricky. It is both really.
It would seem some children with speech delay (but not asd) do the drag by the hand thing, but yes asd kids do it too.

Have seen a few NT children do this too, so not necessarily an ASD symptom if in isolation. Combined with other things, mainly speech delay, it's definitely worth noting and mentioning next time you have a paed appointment.

Clutching at straws here as i'm unsure. But as your dd is still fairly young it could be still more considered as speech delay related.

I'm only suggesting this in comparison to my ds who has speech delay and mild asd too.
When he was aged 2 and later he did do the hand drag, we had to teach him to point for things he wanted as his pointing was not spontaneous, but the hand drag is still with him now (although much much less than before), he can point and ask for many things verbally but still does it he is 4 y old.

both my girls did/do this. DD1 never ever pointed and would drag you everywhere, and even now she struggles to follow a point at the age 7!
DD2 does this and is the same age as OP, but has no speech delay at all. We are questioning ASD but have no clue atm. I always say, if it worries you, keep a behavioural diary for a week or 2 and then go to HV or GP.
HTH

Thank you, it seems I have spent 2.5 years fearing MR, now I find it hard to add ASD to the list of worries...

She is actually going to have an evaluation with a child psychologist this month, so I`ll bring it up.

please dont take my word for it 100%. Most children find a way of communicating some way and without language or use of PECS what other way is there but to drag you there.
What other traits does she display?

Late pointer,
Late talker,
Walked at 17 months,
Eye contact ok, but...
Prone to tantrum
Sensory issues
Fine motor skills
Eye problem

She had oxygen deprivation and brain bleed at birth, so you see where I come from...

girls are that much harder to dx as they dont tend to present the same. Have you had a look at the CHAT test?
I would get referrals moving now if your worried, they take quite a while and appointments can take upto 6 months!

Dd2 started doing the hand leading thing at around 2.5 years (she was non verbal) she was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 3. I'm not sure if its really a ASD trait or just something that children with speech and language problems do. Dd2 is now 3.10 and no longer does it (she now uses some speech or PECS).

Oddly, DD has just started doing this at 5 and I saw it as quite a positive thing. She's one of those kids who is very verbal but uncommunicative, and if she is sufficiently interested in communicating something that she will come into a different room and take me by the hand so that she can show it to me, I am rather pleased.
She is not ASD, but PDD-NOS, with significant language difficulty.

Oh, yes, and she does point, but not really triadic point (doesn't really look back at you for confirmation). Her little bro will just call me from another room but she hasn't quite learnt that yet!

My DS started doing this just before Christmas, we were also very pleased as he is waiting to be assessed for ASD.

I Googled hand leading autism and the fifth or sixth result is from Google books, The World of the Autistic Child" by Bryna Siegel.

I found it quite interesting, actually the whole text is. Lots of stuff there that DS does or doesn't do.

My dd used to do this when she was 2 but doesn't do it anymore I think it was just because she was a late talker.