Hi Everyone, my partner and I have a 3 children, a girl aged 9 and two boys aged 3 and (almost) 2. The 2 year old has started displaying signs of being autistic so I'm reaching out her in the hope that somebody has shared our experience and can provide some insight, advice and, dare I say, hope that things will get easier.
The background is, he was born on time and naturally, although he was delivered using forceps. Everything seemed well and he appeared to be developing as he should. There was a slight challenge trying to wean him from milk onto baby food. He refused to eat any of the typical jars of food and we had a really hard time getting him to eat any pureed food. He did eat sometimes though, and once we introduced solid food he ate reasonably well so we didn't think much of it.
Around 5 or 6 months ago however we started to suspect something wasn't quite right. He wasn't responding to his name, or any noise, at all. We could walk up behind him and clap our hands or shout his name and he wouldn't react. We found he wasn't really looking at us when we were changing him or playing with him, he also wasn't engaging with us or our other children in a way that we would expect of a child his age. He was also walking on his tiptoes a lot (which apparently can be normal until aged 3) waving his arms and squealing when excited and chewing everything.....and I mean everything; carpets, his cot, his clothes, toys, blankets, everything. Though at this stage he was still getting teeth through so we figured it was likely teething.
Moving forward to today:
- he still doesn't respond to his name or loud noises.
- While he doesn't avoid eye contact entirely it is very difficult to achieve it and it doesn't last long.
- He still waves his arms and squeals when excited and walks on tiptoes regularly.
- Although he chews less, he still puts lots of things in his mouth which he shouldn't, he particularly likes wooden toys and books.
- He is eating well but throws an awful lot of food on the floor, he will pick up a piece of toast for example, take a bite then throw it on the floor before picking up another bit and repeating.
- He climbs on everything and has zero sense of danger.
- He won't engage in any play with us, preferring to play with toys on his own
As most parents would do, I have read a lot of information lately and fear that the lack of communication especially means he may be diagnosed as "severe". From what I've read though, most severe children have much more challenging behaviours and developmental issues than what our little boy is displaying.
While his behaviour is certainly challenging and is extremely upsetting for his mum, i feel it is "mild" enough to provide hope that he may develop some communication in the future.
Does anybody share our experience and recognise the behaviours and could provide an insight into their journey?
Apologies if any of the terminology or phrasing I have used is upsetting to anyone, this community is new to me and I am still trying to learn.
Thanks for reading