How young was your child when you / other's suspected ASD?

73trix

I am extremely worried about my little boy. I have some experience of working with young kids and have worked with kids on the spectrum. I have been worried about my little boy's social and communication skills since he was about 10months old. He has always been hard to get to smile or laugh. Was never a "playful" baby. He does smile/ laugh...but you have to work VERY hard to get them. He has always been a serious/ reserved baby. Eye contact is a major issue. He is now 16months old and I have had a developmental check and yes he has developmental delay and will be referred to early intervention. He still doesn't respond to his name, eye contact is fleeting, he is much more interested in things than people. I am so depressed.:( He is our only child.

He was diagnosed with infantile spasms before Xmas and thankfully they are under control for over 2 months and he is not on any meds since then but I still think there is underlying ASD there as well. Double flipping whammy.

yellow hen

73trix I'm really sorry you're going through this. I'm only starting on the same path so can't offer any advice other than give a sympathetic ear. Difference for me is that my child as a baby was quite playful by the never pointed, gestured etc. he's now turning 3 with a severe speech delay and has been referred for assessment of need. How do the hse make that judgment at 16months? It seems so very young.

73trix

Hi Yellow Hen. I'm the one concerned about ASD. He is referred due to developmental delay. His cognitive screen is only 8-10months and he is behind in other areas mainly speech and communciation. I've being doing some digging and it seems that traits can emerge young enough. He has very little interest in people. No mimicing. Limited gesture. All he really does is lifts his hands to be picked up. No waves, no pointing, barely claps and that's brand new. Very hard to get him to laugh. Some days I'm jumping around the place singing, messing, general silliness and he couldn't care less. But he's clever in his own way. Knows exactly what buttons to press for things. Notices everything. You can't hide anything or he's onto it. But on the other side, he is fascinated by the most minute detail - a speck on the carpet, a wisp of hair, turns the toys upside down and inspects the "non toy " parts. I know these can be traits. It's heart breaking. His play is delayed too. He never ever made strange. I thought I was blessed. I know diferent now.

Steven81

Our little girl is 3.5 now, from about a year we had ideas, fascinated by lights, spinning etc. At the 1 year assessment they were concerned, no words at all and little eye contact. We have received official confirmation for about 18 months now and by the time they do all the processes it took a good while.

As no one wants a child with ASD the earlier you can get him diagnosed the sooner you can get the ball rollling with help to assist them, go ahead with your instinct.

eviltwin

Both my children have high functional autism. My daughter was similar to your son. She met all her milestones but was always a serious child. There was never much fun with her. She was never childlike. She wasn't actually diagnosed until she was a teenager. Problems with my son were noticed when he started his ECCE. He's quite sociable in that he will say hello etc but eye contact is a problem and he struggles to form normal relationships. He's happier on his own and prefers solo play. He has issues with motor development but we are working on those and seeing improvements.

An assessment of needs is the first step, your local health centre will be able to send you out the paperwork. It's not a formal diagnosis but if you are on the public system it will get you on the list.

I know at this stage you must feel awful - I have really struggled with my kids limitations too - but there are wonderful aspects of ASD too. Being proactive has really helped and there is great support out there for families. Keep posting and make sure you have people around who can support you

yellow hen

I honestly cannot recall what my son was like as a baby/small toddler. I don't remember noticing anything odd but then again I wasn't looking for it. My son now has poor gross motor skills, severely delayed speech for which we are commencing private therapy and is definitely a sensory seeker. He is on the hse Aon list and will meet with the area medical officer next week in what I think will be a prescreening meeting. This probably sounds like a silly thing to say but I feel that putting a label of asd on him changes how I and others will see him whereas at the minute he simply has developmental delays that we're going to try deal with one by one. He'll stay on the AON list and will be seen in early summer but for now I feel like we need to address his obvious deficits.

Evil twin, do you mind me asking, if your children are high functioning and getting extra hours tuition per week, what are the difficulties you/they experience now?

eviltwin

It's social skills really Yellowhen. My son is six and has no friends. He's very sociable and popular in school but he has no interest in making lasting friendships with anyone. He would happily spend the entire day at home playing Minecraft. He has sensory issues, loud noises, crowds, bright colours terrify him. Any change to his routine upsets him. He eats the same food, wears the same clothes, goes into a meltdown if anything in his life is out of the ordinary. Emotionally he's very immature for his age. My daughter has friends but has the same problemss with sensory issues, obsessive behaviour. Sometimes I think the biggest problem is other people thinking they are rude or odd and making comments.

yellow hen

eviltwin wrote: »

It's social skills really Yellowhen. My son is six and has no friends. He's very sociable and popular in school but he has no interest in making lasting friendships with anyone. He would happily spend the entire day at home playing Minecraft. He has sensory issues, loud noises, crowds, bright colours terrify him. Any change to his routine upsets him. He eats the same food, wears the same clothes, goes into a meltdown if anything in his life is out of the ordinary. Emotionally he's very immature for his age. My daughter has friends but has the same problemss with sensory issues, obsessive behaviour. Sometimes I think the biggest problem is other people thinking they are rude or odd and making comments.

Thank you so much for your honesty. Childhood is so difficult because kids are all expected to confirm to the same small boxes and sizes. In adulthood, it's much more acceptable to be different and unique. My heart breaks when I look at my son and think what might lie ahead.... Although he's turning 3 in a fortnight, his symptoms are only really apparent of late. The not knowing what the future holds is very difficult. For now, we've decided to observe, treat what's obvious and deal with a diagnosis when it comes.

conndeal

Yellow Hen my son had similar symptoms. He did not have ASD. He had verbal dyspraxia. He had no problems with social skills or play but severe speech delay and some problems with motor skills - mainly fine motor skills.

Speedwell

I was 49 when my husband's youngest sister, a teacher, suspected I was high-functioning autistic. Seriously. For women, who usually manifest with higher social skills, it is often "masked". No, wait, I'm a liar. Four or five years ago when I was teaching an IT training class to a roomful of young engineers, one engineer came up to me after class and gushed, "Do you have Aspergers? Because I have Aspergers and I totally understand you. You're just like me. You have to have it".

A few months ago my husband's sister and I put two and two together when my mother-in-law started to mention "those odd flapping hand things and other strange behaviors" from when he was a youngster. I don't know how it could possibly have escaped any of us, except for the fact that it really wasn't a diagnosis when he and I were children. Fortunately the actual children in the family have been diagnosed "on time". Interestingly, my husband is the first son, and the first sons of two of his sisters and his brother are also boys with a diagnosis; the third sister has only a neurotypical daughter. His father was also, so far as we know, the firstborn and a son, and according to his mother and some other relatives, also showed characteristic behavior.

yellow hen

conndeal wrote: »

Yellow Hen my son had similar symptoms. He did not have ASD. He had verbal dyspraxia. He had no problems with social skills or play but severe speech delay and some problems with motor skills - mainly fine motor skills.

I have looked at that previously but he didn't fit the criteria that well. Having said that you can over-analyse and see flags that aren't really there or that are indicators of something else.eg. My son flaps a bit when he's excited which could be simply that of an excited toddler or it could also be a form of stimming. Likewise he lines up some toys but they might be trains which naturally should be lined up. I have driven myself around the bend analysing him and all that's happened is that I've forgotten to enjoy him for who he is now. What will be will be and as much as I agree with early intervention, I think we need it to be on our terms. If his speech improved and yet I could still see issues, I think there's no denying that there's something there. We'll see what OT and SLT say.

poconnor16

Hi OP, my son was diagnosed with ASD when he was 2 and a half (privately). In hindsight, we noticed some differences early on. When he was 9 months old he absolutely melted when left in a crÃ႒¨che or a big social situation. He crawled and walked a bit later than others. I really noticed it at 2 - his speech was delayed and he started having bad meltdowns, I also spotted him hand flapping.
What you are going through is very hard on you as a mum, I'm really sorry. Try to get a diagnosis soon, as
It may not be an ASD.

CaraMay

73trix wrote: »

I am extremely worried about my little boy. I have some experience of working with young kids and have worked with kids on the spectrum. I have been worried about my little boy's social and communication skills since he was about 10months old. He has always been hard to get to smile or laugh. Was never a "playful" baby. He does smile/ laugh...but you have to work VERY hard to get them. He has always been a serious/ reserved baby. Eye contact is a major issue. He is now 16months old and I have had a developmental check and yes he has developmental delay and will be referred to early intervention. He still doesn't respond to his name, eye contact is fleeting, he is much more interested in things than people. I am so depressed.:( He is our only child.

He was diagnosed with infantile spasms before Xmas and thankfully they are under control for over 2 months and he is not on any meds since then but I still think there is underlying ASD there as well. Double flipping whammy.

Op I'm so sorry you are going through this. You are lucky that he's getting seen to so young. Given your concerns, would you consider going for a private diagnosis. If so, I can send you on details.

There's no getting away from it - it is worrying and depressing. My only child as ASD so I know how you feel but, if its any help, the change in him, for the better, between 16 months and age 4 is astronomical.

Trust your gut and don't let the HSE / doctors etc slow you down getting help. I can send you on details of what we did if you wish.

The one thing that helped me cope is thinking that I have the best help I can get / afford in place for him. It's very hard but you have support here with people who have been there before you so use us

Keane2baMused

My son is 8 and has classic autism.

I started noticing things between 15 and 18 months. His speech was extremely delayed. He was obsessive about switches and buttons and lined toys up. From this age onward until he was diagnosed (aged 4) these signs got more and more obvious. He would flap his hands and bounce around on his tippy toes. His eye contact was really poor also and he spoke only in echolalia (repetitive learned speech).

What I will say is try not focus on the possibility that your child has ASD. It could be a myriad of things as there are so many disorders with similar signs. It could also purely be your child is taking longer to catch up.

For what it's worth my son up until a year hit all of his developmental milestones on time or early. He was also extremely affectionate, had excellent eye contact and no signs of any issues. Then within a few short months things seemed to change and come to a halt. Yet he was diagnosed with autism.

Try not stress yourself out about what ifs. As parents we can only do our very best and we are advocates for our children. If you feel your child needs assessment push and push and push and don't give up.

We knew my sons diagnosis was coming but it was still a shock to read on paper. At the end of it all he's still our amazing little boy though

ziggy23

As soon as my boy started walking which was 10 months he started twirling. Then I noticed he never pointed or waved. A quick Google and the word autism kept coming up however it took til just after his 6th birthday to get an and diagnosis. Love the little munchkin though wouldn't change hin for the world he's amazing