# Speech Delay?/Maybe Autism?



## aysmith

Hi everyone.

I am contacting a Health Visitor on Monday as I can't go on like this. It's really bringing me down. I'm not sure if I'm over reacting or not but I am at a loss at the moment.

I have a 21 month old. She says hardly anything. Infact she won't say words for weeks and weeks on end. She dies babble a lot thats only really started past three months. She will wave and say bye, bye, she says mumma but I'm not wven sure if thats just babble, she says no and nyum, nyum (if she is eating a food she likes for yum, yum. She has said hiya an odd occassion and once said Peppa ig for Peppa Pig then never said it again for about 5 months. She said it once more recently and again hasnt said it since.

Her moods are irratic. Sometimes shes happy and smily and wants cuddles and gives kisses. Then she is screaming for absoloutly no reason, nothing has to set her off. She can be fine and then all of a sudden she will scream and scream and fling herself to the floor, when she is like this if you pick her up fr cuddles she will hit and try to fling herself to the floor, if I put her back down she will screem even harder. 

Just now I was blowing bubbles trying to enforce words like bubble, pop, and more when I stopped and tried to get her to say more she just hit me in the face then screemed (this is just an example if the sort of things she does when I'm trying to sit with her and help her) 

She doesn't point to anything and doesnt understand simple instructions like "wheres your head or can you get me your dolly, wheres your dolly etc" but she does understand when I say It's dinner time she will go to the table, bath time she will go to the bath and bed time she will go get in bed.

My older child was speaking in sentances at her age and I know every child is different so I just cant mske my mind up if she us speech delayed or not? Then I started googling and I'm worried coukd she maybe be autistic, theres some red flags? Oh I should also mention she likes hitting me in the face, scratching my face and trying to bite me and if I say no and try to show her gentle she just laughs and carries on like she loves my reaction? I'm struggling to work out if this us just normal toddler behaviour as my eldest was very different as a baby/toddler and was always very advanced so finding it hard to know if this us all just obe of thise things.

I feel so guilty as she hasnt gad much one on one time eith me as I'm dashing about on school runs, here there and everywhere and trying to fit in my jobs I'm wondering is she delayed because I havent spent enough time showing her things? But when I do we both seem to get frustrated and I end up eith her hitting ir screaming at me so sometimes as awful as it sounds its easier to just let her happily play by herself than upset her and have her flinging herself around and screaming. 

Sorry this has turned into a ramble. I just dont know what to do fir the best. I was going to try and sit with her more and help her as I'm worried its my fault for not sitting with her enough? And if her speech didnt improve in a few months contact the health visitor? Or am I best contacting straight away?

I just feel like an awful mummy right now who should have been trying to do more :cry:


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## aysmith

Sorry. Lots of typo's. I did do spell check but it didn't flag any errors xx


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## smurff

Firstly nothing is your fault, don't blame yourself for anything, how you are worried about your daughter just shows yours good mum.
I have a 4yr old daughter who is globally delayed with learning difficulties and sensory issues and possibly autistic (just starting the testing process now). It's hard because some of the things you have explained about your daughter does sound like my daughter but my son who is 2 also can do them aswell. 
My daughter was late reaching most of her mile stones, she said mummy when she was about 7mths but didn't say it again for probably about 6 mths. 
When she was younger she could be quite violent, if she couldn't communicate to us what she wanted she'd head butt the floor or walls, she head butt me and hit me aswell. Even now she will hit out and laugh even when I tell her to stop and the more I tell her the more she laughs, she doesn't understand that it hurts as she thinks it's a game. My daughter also loves playing on her own and is sometimes more happy that way, if I go near her she sometimes grunt's at me so I recognise that she needs space and time on her own .
My son who has no probs at all is 31mths, I'd say when he was around your daughter's age he seemed to me far behind other children, he prob had about 10 words. 
We got him into nursary early to see if that helped and he now talks in sentances and has about 100 words, he has literally gone from hardly speaking to me not being able to shut him up. Yes if I was you I'd voice my concerns to your health visitor as it can do no harm , if there is a prob it's best to get it sorted now and if there isn't then at least it will ease your worries. Hope all goes well for you :flower:


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