How did you child present around a year of age?

My son is 11 months and for a long time I feel like something is off. As my twins grow the differences are black and white and I know 2 different kids. I have nothing else as a comparison. If your child was diagnosed with ASD, how did they present around a year of age, what were things you noticed, red flags, warning signs? My son definitely has engaged in hand stim behavior since about 7 months old, I’m now noticing language delays as well...
He was in ei, then discharged, he was also seen by a developmental Ped who said it was normal and wasn’t a red flag. I am in the process of making various appointments and going back to ei...

Message edited 12/4/2017 7:58:38 AM.

Re: How did you child present around a year of age?

My son had some words and then they disappeared. He had a vocal stim that was almost constant "eeeeeeeee" (my mom insisted that he was saying "key" or "tree" but he did the sound all the time). He did not respond to his name. He was not able to generalize (ask him to get the yellow ball as it was a familiar object but he couldn't get a regular old ball). He did not imitate sounds or movements. He did not point. He was very active and could not attend to any task for more than a few seconds. My pediatrician said he was too young to get evaluated. At 15 months I had him evaluated for speech and he qualified (he had no words) after 4 months of no progress we had him evaluated again and they diagnosed as PDD-NOS. It is important to note that he is 8 years old now and is no longer diagnosed on the spectrum; instead he has a ADD combined type diagnosis which can exhibit similarly to ASD at a young age. Go with your gut. If you think he is not developing typically, call for another eval. Moms know. My son would have been over 2 years old before he received any intervention if I had listened to my pediatrician.

Re: How did you child present around a year of age?

Hi. I have a 5 year old son who is considered severe ASD. He was always a very affectionate, smiling, and happy baby. Things we noticed were: no language, not answering to his name, no following one step directions, fascination with opening and closing doors/cabinets, spinning wheels of a toy car. I had him evaluated at EI at 18 months because I was told it was hard for babies to qualify at a year old. At first they qualified him for speech only, but I pushed for the psychological testing.

I also have a typical DD who is almost 2.5 years old. The difference between her and him were night and day. She started talking before she was 1 and receptive language was very good.

How did you child present around a year of age?

Thank you. These are some of the things I am seeing with my son. Loss of language, loss of social interaction (waving, eye contact). He engages in a lot of self stim with the hands. We are having more hearing tests done- we initially thought he was deaf but turns out he isn’t so we are repeating testing and going for further testing. The developmental ped called me today and we spoke at length about my concerns after I spoke with the receptionist to move up our follow up appointment, in the mean time we are doing all the hearing testing and going for another speech evaluation. I feel so lost right now. Sometimes he’s so on, most times he’s in his own world, I guess the shift has been slight initially but now I notice a dramatic change in him.

Message edited 12/5/2017 6:10:42 AM.

Re: How did you child present around a year of age?

Trust your instincts- it can't hurt to call EI again and ask for a re-evaluation.

Re: How did you child present around a year of age?

I know you are in the field as well........take a step outside the box and look at your DS as you would a child you are treating what would you think? As a professional in the field i really cannot stand these peds who tell moms to wait, every month is crucial in early intervention....hang in there and good luck!!

Re: How did you child present around a year of age?

Posted by babyfever24

I know you are in the field as well........take a step outside the box and look at your DS as you would a child you are treating what would you think? As a professional in the field i really cannot stand these peds who tell moms to wait, every month is crucial in early intervention....hang in there and good luck!!

Re: How did you child present around a year of age?

At 12 months, I had no reason to believe my DD was going to be diagnosed on the spectrum. She made eye contact, had amazing joint attention, enjoyed being around others, responded to her name, and even had a couple of words. She engaged in some motor stereotypy, and didn't love crowded loud places like the grocery store or restaurant, but I was told that was pretty typical. I noticed some sensory processing challenges and assumed she would end up with an SPD diagnosis. I never noticed a regression in skills. She has always been very bright and verbal. By 18 months she knew most of her letters and could identify a few numbers. Looking back, that should have been a flag. She reached most developmental milestones within normal limits. She never crawled, but walked just after turning 13 months.

Around 2 1/2 her teacher stated that she appeared withdrawn. She preferred to play by herself and her play was pretty non-functional. She also appeared to have some fine motor delays.
DD is now 4. She is in an integrated preschool program and has a pretty elaborate treatment plan in place consisting of ABA, play therapy, and sensory enrichment. I am thankful her therapists love her and I am so proud of my DD for the effort she puts in. She was never a child who didn't want to socialize. She just didn't know how. She was ok 1:1, but when it came to groups, she would watch people interact, and interact along side of them but never got involved. For her the want was there which made treatment easier for her as it served as reinforcement.
For the most part now when in groups you would never notice any social difference between her and another shy child. Her motor stereotypy is under stimulus control and as she gets older she is finding new replacements on her own. I am also in the field so I understand the importance of early diagnosis and early treatment for better outcomes. For the most part, I do not worry about DD's future as it relates to her ASD. I plan to follow her cues and use her abilities and strengths to help her shape who she will become. At this time we think private school might be better for her being that it will be a small group setting, but she still has a year and a half before she goes off to kindergarten. (We live in MA where the cutoff for kindergarten is earlier than NY)

Because of DD1s diagnosis, DD2 will begin her screening this month (she is now 12 months). The developmental pediatrician we are working with does the initial eval at 12 months to establish a baseline. She will receive evaluations every 6 months for 2 years so if she meets the criteria, a diagnosis can be given earlier and early treatment can begin. Honestly, I see A LOT of similarities in DD2 as I did with DD1. Very social. Not great with eye contact up close, but can maintain it for a while at at distance. Interested in toys and playing with others. DD2 is a better eater, and I do not see the early sensory processing concerns I had with DD1. I am not doing this testing because I want her to end up with a diagnosis, in fact, when DD1 was diagnosed, I fell into a pretty deep dark place and I do not want to experience that again. The truth is however that my daughter is going to be who she is going to be. No evaluation is going to change that, but if she is going to have ASD, I would rather know early so she can get whatever she needs.
I know that was long winded, but hopefully helpful.

Re: How did you child present around a year of age?

Posted by TwinMommyToBoys

Posted by babyfever24

I know you are in the field as well........take a step outside the box and look at your DS as you would a child you are treating what would you think? As a professional in the field i really cannot stand these peds who tell moms to wait, every month is crucial in early intervention....hang in there and good luck!!

Agreed! My other son is in EI and it takes FOREVER... 45 days is just too long! I have all the hearing tests set up and the screening for speech through my insurance while I wait for EI, I had to do the same with my son for PT, I don’t have the time to waste!
I think if I were an outside person I would notice some of these things that I notice, especially the hand flapping...

Re: How did you child present around a year of age?

Posted by babyfever24

Posted by TwinMommyToBoys

Posted by babyfever24

I know you are in the field as well........take a step outside the box and look at your DS as you would a child you are treating what would you think? As a professional in the field i really cannot stand these peds who tell moms to wait, every month is crucial in early intervention....hang in there and good luck!!

Agreed! My other son is in EI and it takes FOREVER... 45 days is just too long! I have all the hearing tests set up and the screening for speech through my insurance while I wait for EI, I had to do the same with my son for PT, I don’t have the time to waste!
I think if I were an outside person I would notice some of these things that I notice, especially the hand flapping...

Theres your answer.....sorry i forgot is he getting SI now or just PT? Always safe to start with SI and they can recc a psych eval from there.