Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello all, I am Emma mummy to beautiful Charlotte who is 2.8yrs. Charlotte is non verbal with limited understanding and we are currently querying autism. No diagnosis as yet (on waiting list) and not being seen by many people, we are just at the begining of this journey and still finding our feet. Already shocked and dismayed at such little information out there for parents entering this world and hoping for a bit of parent power in this forum! x
Hi Emma, welcome to the community. There is certainly lots of parent power on here and also lots of first hand experience of ASD and the diagnostic processes. As Charlotte is so young yes it may take a while to get a proper diagnosis but the only bit of advice I would really push is that you keep a book and note down all the things that you think point to an ASD issue - developmental, feedback, sleep patterns.....anything. It will help you realise what you are seeing and will be invaluable to paediatricians, nursery etc etc. Also, google the NICE guidelines for autism diagnoses - this gives a detailed list of what to look for at relevant ages. It was going through that list when our son was 8 that made us realise he had ASD, we then started a log of all that we witnessed (including thinking back to his non-verbal first 2 years!!) and we found the diagnosis process very straightforward from that point. Another thing to say - our son was non-verbal for over two years from birth, but once he did start talking he never shut up - and still doesn't now he's nearly 12. You may want Charlotte to speak but be careful what you wish for!! She may catch up and soon be chatting away and questioning in a way you could never imagine. Stay with NAS and good luck.