Calling parents of autistic children!

[DanielleM]

Please help me. I have 2 children my eldest as some of you may know has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. However I am writing this post in reference to my youngest son who is 27 months. He is still not talking, he says 'da' in reference to his dad and that is it. He also walks on his tip toes sometimes. He has eye contact, points to his interests and shows me what he wants, he waves bye, shakes his head for no. Obviously at this point I am concerned about autism and I am wanting to get all of your personal experiences with the early signs of autism as I know it is a massive spectrum and no 2 kids are the same. Thanks for all of tour help and advice in advance! A totally exasperated mum here! Xx

 

[sun]

It sounds like he's communicating with you even though he isn't speaking yet. You say "obviously" you are worried about autism - is there anything other than speech that is worrying you? Everything else you wrote sounds like totally normal behaviour for a 2yo. Have you mentioned the speech to the doc and what did they say? Lots of boys are later to talk - does he babble and make up sounds? He is using gestures to communicate which is great, so you might want to try signing with him. At 2 he might catch on quite quickly! Does he understand simple directions and questions? Lots of hugs!

 

[DanielleM]

He is under speech & lang I got him referred about 6 months ago maybe longer. He does babble yes. I think with my eldest being disabled I am very aware of disabilities. He does understand instructions such as get your shoes, close the door etc. I am going to look at a nursery on Monday to see if that will bring him on as he is with me constantly and could do with some interaction of children his own age.

What were the early warning signs for you? X

 

[DanielleM]

Does anybody else have any other advice or experiences? X

 

[smileyfaces]

My little boy is currently being investigated for autism. There are several things that flagged up for me, here is a list;
.rocking back and forth
.spinning in circles
.walking on toes
.finger flicking
.hand flapping
.covers his ears a lot
.bangs his head
.has no speech at all
.can not point or follow a point
.little eye contact (although this has recently improved a hell of a lot)
.socially 'awkward'...will not interact with other children or strangers
.runs a lot when excited
.stacks things and lines things up
.has small 'ritualistic' type behaviours, such as building a tower and always licking the same block everytime (just an example)

These were the main points that were red flags for me. He has been seen by various health professionals and is receiving therapy from speech and lang at the moment as well as meeting with the paed and being put forward for keyworker support and a 2 year funded nursery place.

If you are concerned, speak to your doctor or Health Visitor. Hope this helps. Xx

 

[Yazc]

My younger cousin showed similar behaviour when he was around the same age. He wouldn't talk but if you asked him where something was he would point to it. He was referred to speech and language. Eventually they diagnosed him as having a minor learning disability but not autism.

He is now 14 and talks perfectly fine and is around the levels he should be at school. All it meant for him is that he sometimes gets extra support in lessons and he got to choose what secondary school he wanted to attend, no matter the catchment area.

Hopes this helps slightly.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Hi hun.
MAth hit all milestones early or ontime until 14mths. Red alert signs for me were:
Lack of words
Head banging
Wiping his head along floor
Lining up toys.

Some behaviours changed etc but those were the obvious, oh and he did used to flap but only does that during a meltdown now. When he was 3 he developed vocal ticks and these are getting worse

Feel free to ask anything. Il always answer with honesty xx

 

[nickyb]

It sounds to me like his receptive understanding is good and pointing is a really good sign lots of kids talk later and walk on tiptoes but don't have autism eye contact is also important, I have two gorgeous kids with autism and do ABA with them.