Symptoms before the age of 2-3?

Post Reply New Topic

My mom knew early on right after we left New Mexico for Cali. She was alone with me while my,dad was out to sea. She was miserable with her screaming, biting toddler. I had sessions with Santa Barbara county mental health as a 4 year old. Mostly afterwards my folks just tried to ignore my problems. Autism was never mentioned to me. I just knew I had problems and my parents kept telling me to make them go away. Learning to read was a nightmare. Once I got it, I soared above my classmates and annoyed them even more.

That's a good question. Especially if you are seeking answers in late middle age by which time parental recollections of your childhood behaviour may be decidedly patchy.

When asked all my father,who's 87 could say about me was that (a) I rushed to tell them about the Kennedy election when I wasn't quite 4 (b) I was poorly coordinated which he attributed to my being left handed (c) Had to have one of them stay with me until I fell asleep and would not go to bed early. Was prone to nightmares (d)Stuttered.

One of the reasons for diagnosticians to find early developmental behaviors and characteristics which support a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is that several differential diagnoses such as Avoidant Personality Disorder (APD) can mimic autism ... except that APD doesn't usually manifest in a child's early developmental years where as ASD usually does so. So, the interest in ASD's possible differential diagnoses is meant to rule out other "almost-ASD" diagnoses. The question about how early is too early is still debated.

My neologisia (creating words) was confirmed at ages two to five years when my mother noted it innocently in my baby book. Almost all of my other behaviors and characteristics showed up around ages five years and beyond.