ASD | Imamother

amother

Sat, Oct 29 2022, 11:08 pm

Please be gentle here ash anxiety is getting the better of me and I am so scared

My adorable 2 year old hit every milestone until now aside from responding to her name consistently and language .
She didn’t say anything by 12 months.
At 2 she says
Hi, ok, mommy, bye , slide in context

She started babbling and among the babbling she definitely says words she heard

When we play games or sing songs peek a boo- open shut them, she repeats phrases from the song and is engaged In the song . Copies me lighting candles and says good shabbos after she copies and does the motions of covering - does it in out of context.

She doesn’t point or initiate communication aside from lifting her hands up when she wants us to take her out of the high chair, or give me a cup if she wants water

She is in her own world , plays by herself, is exceedingly self sufficient- if she wants anything from the counter she helps herself- brings chairs all around the house.

She loves playing with game cards and game tiles, puts them in and out of containers , collects the cards. Loves putting Pennys in Pushka and can spend lots of time doing it.

She is adorable with an adorable laugh and sense of humor

Googling speech delays , she seems to fall under the category of autism related speech delay and the thought is killing me!
Anyone have any insight ?

amother

Mustard

Sat, Oct 29 2022, 11:16 pm

Is she interested in toys?
Does she pretend play?
Does she answer to her name now?
Does she point to things to show you? Ie have shared experiences?

amother

Sat, Oct 29 2022, 11:25 pm

She reacts to her name , doesn’t point but would bring me a bubble wand to blow.
If I start singing 5 little monkeys - a song she finds very funny, she definitely would react

amother

Eggplant

Sat, Oct 29 2022, 11:29 pm

DEFINITELY check her hearing

amother

Foxglove

Sat, Oct 29 2022, 11:33 pm

You won’t know until she’s evaluated. It can be other things too. Hearing issue, processing issue, other speech issue… I would start looking into how evaluations work in your area. Regardless of what it is you can start therapy.

amother

Sat, Oct 29 2022, 11:38 pm

She just started speech, OT and DT
Started a month ago and there definitely is slow progress

amother

Mustard

Sun, Oct 30 2022, 4:20 am

I’m assuming you already got her hearing checked…..
When you say ‘react’ what do you mean?

When u say her name ONE time, what does she do?

amother

Camellia

Sun, Oct 30 2022, 4:46 am

Wow, it's hard to see your child fall behind, not knowing if it's just something they'll get over or the early signs of something else that they will continue struggle with...
My HF ASD child was not speech delayed and did respond to his name from an age typical to do so. He was also extremely self sufficient from really young, but had pretty good play skills, too. Just not social play skills- he played on his own a lot. But he also liked social games with me, such as peekaboo and other back and forth toddler games. But he could be busy for a long time with one thing- hyperfocused... Like if he was eating an apple, he'd sit and eat the apple until it was done down to the core, and other things like that. His ASD definitely did not present as the typical ASD like behavior when he was a toddler and he was not considered delayed. He didn't even qualify for EI and couldn't get approved for DOE services (even though there were delays by the time he started preschool) until after he was officially diagnosed. Every child is different...
But if you have any suspicions about a possible diagnosis, early detection is only going to work for your child's benefit. The earlier your child gets help, the less of a gap there will be...
That said, this isn't necessarily ASD. I would start by scheduling an appointment to an audiologist to check for hearing issues, and at the same time scheduling an appointment to a development pediatrician. It can be months before the appointment, and you can always cancel if it's deemed unnecessary. Also, if you're in the US, get an EI eval to see what services your child qualifies for in the meantime. Speech therapy can help significantly with the delays, and toddlers don't need an official diagnosis to qualify. You can request that they do all the evals- PT, OT, Speech and also see if she qualifies for SI through EI. That's "special instruction" and they basically work on play skills, communication and other social goals, etc. I don't know where you live, but in NYC they need to give you an EI evaluation within 30 days of your request.