2 years 2 months daughter

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It's important to note that self harm and not sleeping are not diagnostic criteria for Autism, although they sometimes accompany it, and so it can not be excluded as a possibility simply because these behaviours are not present. I think many times a diagnosis is delayed because people consider the absense of certain common behaviours to indicate the absense of Autism.

How delayed is her speech?

It sounds unlikely that she has severe autism. While there aren't any glaring red flags it may be too soon to know about mild autism. My son had a minor speech delay (3-6 months behind) and the only symptom he showed at 30 months was that a very experienced preschool teacher noticed he wasn't much interested in other children. He was even tested with the ADOS by our early intervention center and declared to simply be "strong willed". At age 4.5 other symptoms became more apparent, when he couldn't handle the increased expectations at a new preschool. He was eventually diagnosed with Aspergers (the speech delay wasn't bad enough to disqualify him for that dx). Our next door neighbor's daughter had a speech delay more severe than my son's (even qualifying for speech through early intervention) but as far as I know she did not end up on the autism spectrum.

I have heard that kids with speech delays are more prone to ADHD and learning disabilities, as well as autism. My advice would be to treat the speech delay, seek an evaluation with the ADOS if you are very concerned, and keep a watchful eye on her social development and motor development over the next two years.

Hello guys,

We went to therapy once a week to check her development... But they haven't give us any confirmation on ASD yet. As they said, it's ufair until we wait for the other therapist (speech). But as mentioned last week, my daughter might have a mild autism... as for the moment they can see 60% borderline autism...

Well at the end of the day, the judgement will be ours as a parent yea. I'm planning to send her to ABA therapy which I assume the best so far in my country. But her skill has developed a bit since few months ago. She know how to use shoes every time she wants to go out, she play with her iPad well... she knows which one to pick and all...

But her skill of pointing things.. and speech ... still not there yet... I'm so worried actually...

But, I'm wondering sometimes.. is it normal that she did all those eye staring, clapping hands, smile. laughing ..only with us (parents).. She did that wonderfully with us.. but not with others..

If she's autistic, it's quite mild.

My 5-year-old had many of the same symptoms at her age. With no intervention at all other than what I've provided, he's doing reasonably well for a five year old.

Note I did not say, "An autistic five-year-old." I'm treating him as just another kid, albeit one with a lot of irritating verbal tics and hand stims that need to be substituted with something less offensive, one that needs to be taught how to speak (not to mention how to STOP speaking), one that needs more help controlling the expression of emotions. I KNOW he's very mildly autistic. Because of the stigmas and misconceptions, I haven't sought a diagnosis and won't unless the school system leaves me no choice.

What's her future look like??? Same as any 2-year-old-- mostly unwritten but in all probability quite bright.

Just remember to be a little cautious of those experts-- and of well-intentioned relatives and strangers, too. Love and encourage the child in front of you-- figure out what works for her by trial and error. Every parent is raising an individual-- your individual might be just a little more individual than others.

What country are you in, anyway??

You're no going to get a diagnosis from taking her to weekly therapy. A speech or occupational therapist can give an opinion as to whether they see things that are similar to other patients they've treated, but they don't have the training to make a determination. You need a psychologist or developmental medical specialist, preferably one trained on the ADOS, to do a full evaluation.

This is the first thing that you have said that has made me say "hmmmm." Most of the rest does not "read" like autism to me, although it is hard to tell by descriptions on the internet. But using your fingers to point at what she wants can be a flag for autism.

Regarding responses to early intervention, my daughter had an excellent response. Most people don't even realize she has autism at this point, unless they see her when she is having a hard time.

Whether it is autism or not, I think the most important thing is that you are aware of her issues and actively seeking ways to help her. She does show a lot of strengths and those strengths will be helpful to her, even if she does get a diagnosis of autism.

I also want to agree with this strongly. And to add that sometimes the presence of certain non-indicators also can delay a diagnosis. I ignored my daughter's fairly obvious red flags (headbanging, nonverbal, no pointing, minimal eye contact, not responding to her name or responding to commands, no referencing, etc) because she did a handful of things that I thought were "good" (played with her brother, smiled and giggled)

Yea, sometimes we (parent) get too emotional talking to theraphist because i assume they love to jump to conclusion which is totally not fair. I think few weeks ago after end of the observation, my daughter wants to reach for something..well as usual, she seek for help..i ignore it, and went to her mother..she ignore it..eventually went to the dr..and the dr said "wow..she is very smart..let see if everyone ignore her"...

Well as usual..she will cry...and hit us....and i scold her...said no no no.......she cried sadly...the dr aaid..well thats good...a very good emotion....

So much cloudiness, gray areas, so many misconceptions...

It is enough to make anyone want to scream inarticulately and bang their head against a wall (ha-ha-ha, because it's my favorite unacceptable self-soothing behavior).

Sympathy for your frustration. Irrespective of any diagnosis, keep trying to find what works for the child in front of you (and do not take me saying "love and encourage her" to mean "don't discipline her" or "lower the expectations"). Autism spectrum is such an individual thing, and even here in America so many professionals-- let alone laypeople-- don't realize that. It's going to be a process of trial and error no matter what diagnosis she does or does not have. Use your obvious intelligence-- and her obvious intelligence-- until you find something that works. Never give up. You'll all be OK. Really.

Absolutely, we have received mixed signals.. for sure I can't wait till 3,4,5 6 years later... Even I've met one autistic child who cannot speak until 13 years old... maybe because of late intervention..

So much mixed signal... so much ...

but all and all.. whatever it is... I'll send my daughter to Montessori school maybe next year when she is 3 years old... then we'll see what happen next ...