# Sound like autistic 2 year old?



## hannahhlove

I have to point out, this is not my child that I am asking about. I don't know if I'm allowed to ask about things not concerning myself, so if not, I'm sorry. -I am part of the board though, in the expecting section :)

Anyways, this is about a child in my moms home daycare that we have been concerned about for the past 4 months ever since he started coming here. He turned two in April, making him two and a half right now. 

He can talk, but you can't understand anything he says. He doesn't move his mouth/lips when he talks.

He's smart in the sence that he knows songs, such as Twinkle, Twinkle , Old McDonald, ABC's. He can found to 10 as well...but once again doesn't move his mouth so you can just tell the tunes of it all.

He doesn't know how to play with toys, he'll line them or or organzie them, or just plays with cars (only turning them upside down and spinning the wheels). He does like the baby toys that make music or noise , but that's about it.

He doesn't know how to say yes or no to questions, or even know how to shake/nod his head.

His biggest enjoyment is found in running in circles. Whether it's on the spot, or running in circles around the table, bench at the park, etc. He could do it ALL day if we let him, but we physically have to take his hand to get him to stop.

Doesn't use his hands for anything. When given a cloth or towel to wash his hands he just makes a claw and spins it on the towel to clean them (not doing a thing!)

His eating skills, are those of a 9 month old. No matter what he eats, he has it on and through EVERYTHING - face, hair, high chair, etc.

He makes noises constantly, mainly humming and laughs randomly. He is ALL about repeating. You ask him to do something, he'll just repeat the question and doesn't know what you're saying.

It's like he's off in his own world. He's not able to take his shoes on or off (that all he has to do is slide them in/out) instead he stands there with the shoe backwards and grunts.

He doesn't respond to his name unless you say it 20+ times getting louder as you say it.

He runs on his tip toes and leans forward when he walks , either with his hands right down at his sides with his hands flapping, or with his arms in the air and flaps his arms/hands.

Sorry this was so long, but we're really questioning it now. After looking things up and watching online videos we're pretty convinced he has some sort of autism, however I thought it might be nice to get opinions from someone who has some personal experience and knowledge in this.

His mom is a daycare teacher (at a daycare centre) so it's not like she doesn't know what to look for, but has never once mentioned she's at all concerned about his development. She even makes comments that 'he's getting so big' because he now walks up the front stairs to my house by himself....

Any opinions? If you think it sounds like it could be, do you think we should bring it up to his parents or not? If so, how should we go about it? I'm just wondering as to take her feelings and stuff into consideration, saying as this is her baby!


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## MikaylasMummy

The flapping and tippy toes are red flags to me.the others could be either or.my son is 22 months and I cannot see that he will be neat with food at 2 1/2.but he may surprise me.he also can't say many words.although can say some clearly.i definatley think there might be something going on but how do you know the mum doesn't know,she may just not have mentioned it to your mum.also I thought they usually didn't assess autism til 3.so I'm not sure if your mum should bring it up or not.possibly she could research and find the best ways to deal with the different behaviors and what to stop and what to encourage.does he have sensory issues with sounds or tastes?does he socialize with other kids or have decent eye contact when your talking to him?
I'm no expert but from what iv heard/read that's what I know


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## hannahhlove

Thanks for your input !:) It's just frustrating to us, to see him like this.. and his mom not even acknowledging or doing anything about it (there's a centre here for children with autism, or that are delayed in anyway,etc. that works with them to help them learn and cope.)

We don't know if his mom realizes there's something up with his behaviour or not, but she doesn't talk to us conversation wise so it's hard to feel her out.

He doesn't make eye contact, and doesn't know how to play with the other kids. He's honestly in his own world. Even the other 2/3 yr olds tell him to stop making noises and running in circles lol. We've never dealt with a special needs (possibily) child, and know nothing about dealing with them, so we're looking things up ... but I think the parents need to do something to help him as well.. sorry kind of a rant lol


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## MikaylasMummy

Oh well then it definatley sounds like something is going on with him.unfortubatley I have no idea how you could gently bring up the subject to his mum sorry!


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## Tommee

Hi,

I suspect that Mum will already know that her little one is a little different to his peers. I have a child with suspected autism but I haven't discussed it with any family or friends which is my choice I don't want him to be looked at or treated differently. I don't want or need anyones pity, I will if & when ready maybe talk about it. I would be quite upset if anyone asked me outright, although I'm sure some people will know something is 'different' about him.

He got flagged at his 2 year assessment by our Health Visitor & now getting all the professionals involved & getting the intervention needed.

This is just me though, others may say yeah have a quiet word..but just thought I'd add my situation.


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## lozzy21

In the UK child care providers are required to keep a record of your childs progress, so you do anything like that in the US? It could be a way to say we have noticed that ...............


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## mummy2o

Maybe the mum is not noticing the signs for autism as she doesn't want her child to have it and doesn't see him reaching his milestones on time and just putting down to being a slow learner. When I was working in a nursery and suspected something was up we would tell the parents just to make sure they were aware etc. This is suppose to be the common practice in the UK.

When my son went to nursery they had lots of visual routines to tell him what was going on. They encourage friend making with another child and did turn take activities with this child. They did a lot of messy activities as he liked them the most.


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## jkbmah

Interestingly, I am in a similar situation. The mum concerned is a very good friend of mine but I dont see her or her son very often since they moved further away.

I saw them for the first time last week and I am convinced that her little boy may be on some level autistic, but the spectrum is so wide and I knwo very little about it.

The things I noticed were:

little speech development (just over 2) perhaps not normally a concern but coupled with other things:

Does not respond to his name
Does seem to know how to communicate his needs/frustrations. He does a lot of what appears to be random high pitched screaming, this comes out of nowhere and is not the usual tantrums but just standing in the middle of ther room and start to scream.
Has a history of holding in poo (?)
I noticed a particular occasion where he was screaming and wiggling his fingers in his ears and humming at the same time
Has been to a nursery 1 day a week for a few months but never settled in, just did a lot of screaming apparently.

I realise that 2 is very young to be diagnosing anything but I too was wondering if I should mention anything. any replies welcome


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