Symptoms before the age of 2-3?

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Is that just part of an artificial diagnostic construct? Are things really that set in stone?

Symptoms are what you experience. Signs are what others can observe. I suspect you're talking about signs here, since it would be very hard to know what the toddler is actually experiencing.


Anyway, here's a test intended to be taken by parents on behalf of of toddlers aged 16 months to 30 months:
https://autismcanada.org/about-autism/d ... s/toddler/

I think it would be pretty hard to know anything before the age of 16 months.

I think that things should really be taken on a case by case basis, but I think I showed symptoms/signs at a young age. Some things I experienced include motor delays, perseveration (at 11 months), stimming, an inability to be comforted by comfort objects or caregivers, and rigid routines/rituals.

I didn't think that the early developmental period was necessarily before the age of 2-3, either, or that it was required for diagnosis. Where did you hear that from?

BTW, don't trust what I said about signs having to have been present by age 5. I'm not sure whether I actually heard this (and if I did it probably wasn't from a reliable source) or whether I deduced it from my assessment, which states that the signs were "noted before the age of 5".

Whoops, sorry about that! I accidentally posted this twice.

Many people with classic autism exhibit overt symptoms during the toddler years (from 1-3 years old age). I certainly did. Sometimes, symptoms show up before 1 year of age.

Aspergers was not usually diagnosed before 5 years of age, until recently. Symptoms usually must be present in the preschool years. It seems like it's becoming more common to diagnose Aspergers during the preschool years

They knew something was up by the time I was a year old. I was officially diagnosed before I turned 3.

From my pov I knew I had issues pretty early on. Mostly from overhearing what was being said about me and comparing myself to my cousin who's the same age as me.

I can remember back to about age 2, and I definitely experienced symptoms of my autism. I hated being touched and fed - I couldn't stand having something stuck in my mouth - it felt overwhelming and like I was going to choke. I would spit the food and cry and seriously want to bite! I was a biter! My older sister would lightly touch the backs of my arms and my forehead and use a cool moist facecloth on my face and I could tolerate that, otherwise the only thing that felt OK was the warmth of our kitty who would curl up next to me. Sharp sounds were almost painful to me, although people's voices were OK - mostly I heard the feelings of the person speaking. I would have meltdowns/tantrums where I just wanted everything to go away including my own body and I'd end up hitting myself some, although not like intentional self-injury - those were pretty awful. By the time I was 3 I was in a program for kids with developmental problems for a year and I learned to understand what was being said, although I couldn't yet speak. I don't think I've ever felt any feeling as intensely as the rawness and rage I had between ages 2 and 3. And there was amazing beauty when I was about 2 years old - I just loved the sounds of birds outside - the bird-song was like a beautiful part of me calling from my core.

I had no obvious signs until age 10.

My symptoms are too subtile before of that age, and I do have symptoms before age 5. Signs that are supposedly visible are dismissed or passed as something typical for a child, or regarded something a bit odd yet acceptable if not overlooked.
But, I didn't had much problems then. I got diagnosed when I seriously did start having problems, and so are those around me...

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