Diagnosing autism...my Friend Thinks She can...help

Well if your doc is not worried then I would not overly woory either. I still would keep an eye on her some kids are slow to talk like my son was but he did say 20 words by age 2. Play groups are a good idea or just meeting some people with kids her age for smaller type play dates. My son is 3 and i also have a 2 year old daughter. She is also stubborn and more than gives me a run for my money but does talk very well for her age. i do work but am always open to play dates on weekends.

If YOU feel ok about your daughter, and trust your ped, then LET IT GO! period.
I know from experience that it's easier said than done, but you can worry yourself into seeing symptoms in your daughter.....two is two, exploration, open shut, staring sometimes, chasing lint in the sun rays...(I still stare aimlessly into sun rays through the arcadia doors!!), ignoring, and being stubborn, laughter, and little angel/devil attitude...two is two.

Hi,
I have a two year also and she has very limited speech and she
is seeing a speech therapist. She was premature and has had eating difficulties and speech problems. Just because a child is not speaking does not mean they are autistic. Children who are autisitic often have delayed speech or do not speak but this alone does not mean your child is autistic. I wouldnt worry about what your friend thinks. You can always speak with your pediatrician if your concerned at her two year old check up. Also, you can contact AZEIP and have her fully evaluated. This is how my daughter has gotten speech theapy. Private insurance will do an evaluation but wont pay for speech visits usually. So contact AZEIP asap, they are free and it will put your mind at ease or at the very least get her some free assistance. Good luck and dont stress.

Please get you daughter evaluated. My doctor kept telling me it was nothing. My daughter was not talking at two either. Her hearing and understanding were fine. I even taught her sign and she could do some of that. She was evaluated by Arizona Early Intervention Program, AZEIP. It's free, they come to your house and evaluated her in her surroundings and it must be done before she is three. There are a lot of things that could be going on besides Autism, which is a range and usually not the extreme end of it. My daughter has Apraxia, and that is a speech issue. She's been in speech therapy since she was two and now at four has hardly a trace of speech issues.

My son is 3 and has autism. High Functioning. He had speech, occupational and a development specialist come to the house. However, he did go thru AZEIP, but we also had a second opinion psychologist referred thru his pediatrician. So, when he turns 6 he will meet with psychologist again. But right now he gets 2 years free preschool at one of the local schools including speech, ot, and external speech, ot, respite and habilitation.

Nowadays it is not about if your kid walked early..I thought that too. But mine had no eye contact, still hasn't kissed me, speech delay, etc. It's an epidemic/conspiracy is what I say. But at least he's learning and reciting what he learned in preschool. I still think it has to do with the MMR Vaccine. But there's no real proof either.

M.,

I have a suggestion for how you can meet other SAHM (Stay at home moms) in your area. Why don't you check out the moms club in your area. It is a fantastic way for you and your daughter to meet people and find fun things to do during the day. It is a group of moms that get together at parks and other low cost places a few times a week. You can go to as many or as few events as you want. We joined one when we moved to AZ a year ago. You can go to www.momsclub.org and find the chapter in your area. Good luck!

S.

My son will be three in July and he just barely started to talk recently. He was screened by AZEIP and they decided on doing speech therapy. So he sees a developmental specialist, speech therapist and an occupational therapist.

They screened him for autism but I always knew he wasn't. As a mother, I believe you would know in your heart if your child was autistic. There are many, many, many tests and such that they have to do to diagnose autism, even a psychological therapist sometimes needs to do many screenings to rule out or diagnose autism, so for your "friend" (who has no formal training or education in the area of development - I assume) to try to convince you that your child has autism from a show she saw on PBS, that is very irresponsible on her part and not being a very good friend at all. If it makes you feel any better, my child's speech therapist said she doesn't get too concerned about speech until after 3 years old. Before then some kids just take longer than others.

Hope that helps!