# My son failed his M-CHAT...Autism?



## Spiffynoodles

I was just told yesterday that my 2 year old son failed his M-CHAT (the questionnaire they give you to determine whether they might be on the autism spectrum or not). Obviously I don't have a real diagnosis of anything, but I also won't see my pediatrician again for almost 3 months, so looking for some advice.

He's been in speech therapy since 18 months, since at that time he could only say mama and dada, but didn't know what they meant. He can say a lot more now (somewhere between 50-100 words), but still only nouns, really. When he wants something, he usually screeches and we have to guess what he wants. He doesn't point much, except to pictures in books. The biggest red flag for me is the fact that he never does imaginative play. He prefers repetitive tasks, like putting Cheerios in a bowl, dumping them out, and putting them back in, or stacking or lining things up. We got him some toy cars, and instead of driving them around like my DD will, he brings one to me and wants me to open the doors so he can close them, and we'll do that over and over again.

He smiles a lot, though, and will make eye contact with us, although sometimes he'll run towards me with his head turned, looking in a different direction, but I've always assumed it was just his way of being silly.

Any thoughts?


----------



## alibaba24

That sounds quite typical for a toddler. My daughter who is 1 and a half loves to put things in and out of things. Gather things etc. There's a thread in toddlers about how late some kids started pretend play. Obv I can't say he's not autistic but at only 2 years old I wouldn't be massively worried yet


----------



## Spiffynoodles

alibaba24 said:


> That sounds quite typical for a toddler. My daughter who is 1 and a half loves to put things in and out of things. Gather things etc. There's a thread in toddlers about how late some kids started pretend play. Obv I can't say he's not autistic but at only 2 years old I wouldn't be massively worried yet

Thank you! I really hope that's the case. :flower:


----------



## EarthMama

My son didn't start doing pretend play until he was closer to 3 and everything that you wrote sounds very typical for a toddler boy...my son had many of the same behaviors at 2 and he's 3.5 now and definitely not autistic, pretend plays all the time, talks nonstop, super friendly, etc.


----------



## Spiffynoodles

EarthMama said:



> My son didn't start doing pretend play until he was closer to 3 and everything that you wrote sounds very typical for a toddler boy...my son had many of the same behaviors at 2 and he's 3.5 now and definitely not autistic, pretend plays all the time, talks nonstop, super friendly, etc.

Thank you! They freaked me out, saying he was probably on the autism spectrum, so its good to hear that maybe all his behaviors are totally normal. :flower:


----------



## AP

The M-CHAT can be _really_ wrong from what I've learnt in the past few years!
I would say at this age all these behaviours can be typical. My second daughter was certainly the same at that age, and she is not on the spectrum - her sister is. 

Do _you_ think there is an issue?


----------



## Spiffynoodles

AtomicPink said:


> The M-CHAT can be _really_ wrong from what I've learnt in the past few years!
> I would say at this age all these behaviours can be typical. My second daughter was certainly the same at that age, and she is not on the spectrum - her sister is.
> 
> Do _you_ think there is an issue?

I honestly never thought there was an issue, I thought his play preferences were just part of his personality, and that he has a ordinary speech delay. The stupid M-CHAT made me doubt myself, though.


----------



## strange01

Hi Spiffynoodles

I hope you're well and all your LOs too.
I came across this post because my DD failed her mchat too. She's "only" 16 months though but fails the core items of the test (pointing, joint attention...). She only has 2 words (mama and dada), poor receptive language and she still doesn't walk. 
I'm really concerned about her and was wondering how things turned out for your little guy.

Hope you'll see this 

thanks


----------



## Spiffynoodles

Hey Strange01,

My DS is 3.5 years old now and we're still kind of in the same situation. He still shows some signs of autism, but his speech has come a long way and he enjoys playing with his little brother. I go back and forth all the time about taking him to get tested for autism because I'm still not positive he's on the spectrum. He's going to preschool at the local elementary school and is getting special education services because of his developmental delay, and I'm still hopeful that's all it is. 

I wish I had a better answer for you, but I will say this: at 16 months I wouldn't be too worried. She's still so young and so much changes so quickly at that age. However, I highly recommend Early Intervention. They'll come to your house for free, assess your daughter and tell you if she needs extra help or not. If she doesn't, you get the peace of mind, and if she does, you get her the help she needs sooner rather than later. :flower:


----------



## strange01

Thanks spiffy for your answer.
I'm happy to know your DS is doing well and making progress.
I have two more questions if you don't mind. You stated his developmental delays could you be more specific ? What kind of delays does he have ? And the autism traits that he still have, what are they ?

Unfortunately we live in Europe and there is no EI here. We're going private for evaluation and therapy. It's really expensive and tiresome but totally worth it.

As I said DD doesn't walk, talk or point but she doesn't have any sensory issue and her social skills seem on track. I'm really not sure about her having ASD but she obviously has something.

At first I was so caught up on the ASD Dx that I failed to realize that it could be something else. 
Actually , the majority of children who fail the mchat are either on the spectrum or have developmental delays.

I'm even more worried about about developmental delays since I know even less about what it would entail then ASD &#55357;&#56853;


----------



## Spiffynoodles

My son's developmental delays are all social and emotional (which is why the autism flag keeps coming up). He going from one emotional extreme to the next, usually either super happy and excited or super angry. He doesn't seem to care about playing with other kids (besides his brother) and wont do much imaginative play. For example, we have a play kitchen, but instead of pretending to cook and eat the food, he just wants to put the pieces of the toy hamburger together and then take it apart again. He's very smart, though. He knows all the letters, numbers, shapes, colors, and can identify patterns, so it's not an intellectual delay.

The good thing about a developmental delay, versus ASD, is that they can catch up to their peers eventually and not have a delay anymore, whereas ASD never really goes away. That's why I'm hoping my son only has a delay.

But my daughter didn't walk until 15 months, and she's fine, and like I said, my son didn't speak at all until 19 or 20 months, and his speech is so much better now. :)


----------

