The First Signs of Autism I Noticed
What signs did you notice first and when?
At about 7 or 8 months, she would not let us feed her with a spoon. She would put her hands in her food and suck it off them.
As time went on, was there a progression of symptoms that became more obvious?
She would not nap in the day time and slowly would no longer sleep at night. She would sleep for about 4hrs a night. Broken sleep. She would sleep for about 30min to an hour at a time.
She was always alert watching everything. If something was put in a different spot she would put it back or get upset if the couch was moved to a different spot.
She liked to put her toys in rows on her bed. Always in the same order.
She walked on her tip toes and her speech was not very good
She would rock back and forth as a baby, hitting her head off the floor (not hard, just enough to make a noise) or slap her head.
She would always run if she was upset. She would have meltdowns over the smallest thing.
She did not eat a lot of foods (as a baby she would eat what was given to her) as she got more independent. she would not eat foods of certain textures, then she would eat the same bland food everyday. She would not even look at anything different as an option
She also speaks in a matter of fact way. Always by the rules.
She can take you to a place that she has only been to once and gets upset if you go a different way. She is like a GPS lol
How did your pediatrician and health team come to a diagnosis?
We went from doctor to doctor. Both saying it's normal for this age. So I put her in day care, that way someone else was able to see what I saw. Still the doctors said ADHD, ODD, OCD. Now she is 5 and finally they see what I knew all along.
What advice would you give parents trying to recognize the signs?
You are with your child the most. You will know if something is not right. Always ask for a second opinion from the doctors. Ask questions and lots of them. Talk to other parents, you will be surprised on how much you will learn
