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Could we be leaning toward a Diagnosis??

MomtoFourMI49221

MomtoFourMI49221

New Member
Hello, I am hoping someone can help me ease my anxiety while waiting for our upcoming appts. I have a 17 mo who has been referred to Early On (its in Michigan) it is for those who might have developmental delays, speech, Autism, etc. What sparked this is at the age of 17 mo he says one word "momma". Is very aware of things and understands almost everything for example "get momma the ball" and poof he has brought me the ball :)! However if you were to say "show me your belly"-nothing, sadly he looks confused. :( I almost feel like some words have been lost? (that might be just me over obsessing now too) This isn't my first rodeo, I have three older kids; 15, 12 and 9. Each one was speaking, pointing to objects, etc....I asked our ped about Autism bcause I am aware that delayed speech can be an indicator. She said "he makes good eye contact, we'll assess that at his 18 mo appt". But the more I read and research I think he might place somewhere on the spectrum. I am hoping that I can list some things that I've noticed and maybe I can get some insight from others out here...

-loves ice chips from the fridge; eats small amounts at least 3 times a day (is this Pica?)
-non verbal
-obsesses over his race cars; McQueen, etc. Will drive them on tables, inside window sills without sounds
-at 12mo was able to sit and watch Moana in its entirity
-has climbers, slides, water table, see saw in our yard and really doesn't self involve play, he will with coaxing but it lasts all of 10 min
-possible hand flapping...he really likes Post Malone's song Psycho and when it plays he flaps his hands; I thought he was maybe mimicking the rappers?? Now I question
-horrible sleeper, still wakes repeatedly throughout the night to nurse/snuggle
-I feel like he prefers to nurse more than eat table food.

Please if anyone has anything else to add or things to look for, or questions don't hesitate!
 
I wouldn't "rush" into him being Autistic, while you have listed a couple symptoms that could indicate Autism, they can also easily be included in "normal Toddler behavior". -- I would say you should probably wait into hes a little bit older to come to a conclusion. (I believe 3-4 would be some of the ages that it starts becoming clear).

-- For example:

Hand Flapping (A form of stimming) can be found in both NT Children, and Adults it's just a lot less common to see it extend past a certain amount or a certain age (People with Autism will commonly do a variety of stims, all their lives, very often).

- Non-Verbal, I wouldn't consider what you stated as "delayed language development" (I should note that not all Autistic people have delayed language development, some have typical, or early language development).

https://childdevelopment.com.au/res...-charts/stages-of-language-development-chart/

EDIT: (I would say that he eats ice chips is interesting though, that could indicate something "going on", not entirely sure what though, but it could very well be a stim of his).
 
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Thank you; with regards to his "language delay", we have an evaluation on the 15th for that. His ped recommended it so we are just following up and taking precautions.
 
We have two young Autistic children, and are from your area too, and although some things you say point that way as possible ASD, some things not necessarily show that.

The delay in talking at 17 months may or may not suggest anything, as many children may just be a few to several months delayed, then catch up later.

The fact your child has eye contact though should not suggest everything is fine either though, as both our ASD children had and have eye contact.

If your child loves playing with cars in traditional ways that can be normal, but both of our children loved playing with the parts (wheels and other parts) more so than pushing the cars in intended ways. And they loved lining cars and other objects in a row.

Both of our children had severe eating sensory issues starting since birth. Our oldest would not latch on. Our youngest kept spitting up milk. And since around a year mark even more feeding issues when attempted other food, with wanting to throw, spit out, and vomit on most foods. They need many small meals daily (up to 8 meals a day), and avoid foods that do not fit their sensory needed texture, taste, aesthetic appeal, etc.

Our oldest eight year old higher functioning son did not start talking much until age two. He echoed words before that, or talked the same word over and over. He is pretty good socially now. Our youngest, age six, still is mostly nonverbal. He can speak just about four words, and other incoherent sounds on rarer occasion, but a microphone we just got him fascinates him, and he is chattering alot in that now, as he seems to like the slight echo or louder sound. That is a good sign.

Both of our children were horrible sleepers, too. Our oldest outgrew that. Our youngest still has severe sleep issues because of adhd issues, in addition to his Autism.

The handflapping on rare occasion could be just excitement. Our youngest handflaps when happy, excited or sensory issue like wind is present . Our oldest has wrist slightly bent sometimes when running.

Neither our children were pointers.

Youngest child was/is very cuddly. Other child not until much older. He would back into us for hugs early on. Now he is fine with cuddling.

So, the questions I have would be:

Does your child line up objects?

Does your child inspect or play with objects in unusual ways, or like by focusing on parts, as opposed to playing in traditional ways?

Does your child echo any word?

Does your child seem to need certain unusual routines?

Other than the ice chips, any other preoccupation?

Any other delays besides talking and not understanding certain other words or action requests?

Any other fine or gross motor issues besides handflapping?

How is your child for new situations, like for new persons and new environments? Meltdown there?

More meltdowns than your other children, at that age?

Any fears/stress or strong desires shown yet to certain sounds, textures, smells, touch, light/darkness etc?

Many of our child's atypical signs and symptoms and behaviors started showing up between 16 and 18 months, though as mentioned a few were even much before, soon after birth, regarding sleeping and eating.
 
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MomtoFourMI49221 said:
"show me your belly"
Click to expand...

Maybe it is the pronouns confusing him....since "me" and "you" can refer to anyone at all.

Have you tried "show momma [insert his name]'s belly"?

MomtoFourMI49221 said:
-loves ice chips from the fridge; eats small amounts at least 3 times a day (is this Pica?)
Click to expand...

No, Pica refers to eating non-food, not-supposed-to-be-consumed items (like writing paper, crayons, fabric, pebbles, paint chips, plastic things, etc.). Ice is perfectly edible.

Does he like other hard or crunchy things? Or gravitate towards really cold food, or melty things? If so, it could be a sensory seeking behavior -- i.e. he likes the crunch (either the sound or the proprioceptive input to his jaws), or the cold, or how they melt.
 
To answer some of your ques:

Does your child line up objects? Nothing other than his cars...but he really doesn't show interest in any other toys.

Does your child inspect or play with objects in unusual ways, or like by focusing on parts, as opposed to playing in traditional ways? Sometimes; he'll tip his slide over and play with the underside, he likes the minibind adjuster, wheels of vehicles

Does your child echo any word? No; he only says Momma and will "woof" when he hears or sees a dog.

Does your child seem to need certain unusual routines? Not so much

Other than the ice chips, any other preoccupation? Not that I can think of....

Any other delays besides talking and not understanding certain other words or action requests? He waved later and can still be inconsistant when someone leaves; sometimes he'll wave, sometimes he won't. When you point to an airplane in the air, he points or puts his arms up but doesnt always look up the sky to see the plane...

Any other fine or gross motor issues besides handflapping? Hes a twiddler....he twiddles while he nurses and then also will twiddle his pointer and thumb. Sometimes he'll randomly cover his ears.

How is your child for new situations, like for new persons and new environments? Meltdown there? We don't have a vehicle...so we stay home a lot. :/ :/

More meltdowns than your other children, at that age? Nothing that I consider not normal.

Any fears/stress or strong desires shown yet to certain sounds, textures, smells, touch, light/darkness etc? He dislikes the mower and vacum, but doesnt mind music, likes the Ninja blender
 
Yes; I guess I should have worded it differently; I'll say "Abie, can you show mommy where Abie's nose is"-belly, toes, eyes, etc.


He tends to lean towards chex mix, veggie straws, rice cakes, etc. So maybe it is the crunch?
 
Here is an example of my questioning the hand flapping; he usually will do it with both hands, during the beginning of the music or if he see the familiar video cover on Youtube. It isnt only just this song, it varies. AND I apologize for the song-I have a 15 year old :):):)
 

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MomtoFourMI49221 said:
To answer some of your ques:

Does your child line up objects? Nothing other than his cars...but he really doesn't show interest in any other toys.

Does your child inspect or play with objects in unusual ways, or like by focusing on parts, as opposed to playing in traditional ways? Sometimes; he'll tip his slide over and play with the underside, he likes the minibind adjuster, wheels of vehicles

Does your child echo any word? No; he only says Momma and will "woof" when he hears or sees a dog.

Does your child seem to need certain unusual routines? Not so much

Other than the ice chips, any other preoccupation? Not that I can think of....

Any other delays besides talking and not understanding certain other words or action requests? He waved later and can still be inconsistant when someone leaves; sometimes he'll wave, sometimes he won't. When you point to an airplane in the air, he points or puts his arms up but doesnt always look up the sky to see the plane...

Any other fine or gross motor issues besides handflapping? Hes a twiddler....he twiddles while he nurses and then also will twiddle his pointer and thumb. Sometimes he'll randomly cover his ears.

How is your child for new situations, like for new persons and new environments? Meltdown there? We don't have a vehicle...so we stay home a lot. :/ :/

More meltdowns than your other children, at that age? Nothing that I consider not normal.

Any fears/stress or strong desires shown yet to certain sounds, textures, smells, touch, light/darkness etc? He dislikes the mower and vacum, but doesnt mind music, likes the Ninja blender
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Right now based on your answers I do not think any doctor yet would be able to state ASD, as although a couple of core signs and symptoms could be there, several others are not. That is why most medical professionals will not attempt to diagnose or screen prior to eighteen months, as some lesser delays can be normal, and as some
such signs and symptoms of children that young can be normal or not very atypical.

But, you seem like you are vigilant for things, and so keep an eye in the near future too if the delays, signs and symptoms or any atypical things remain or get worse, or if new other signs and symptoms like I mentioned appear. In your case, the next three to six months could shed further light on things. But, try not to let the medical community wait much longer than that, to give you more answers, or at least to directly screen for things through testing, and especially if delays persist, or new signs and symptoms or behaviors appear.
 
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