Can an autism diagnosis for a toddler actually be just a severe language delay. how often is it misdiagnosed?

Question

Daughter now just turned 3, diagnosed at age 2. Seems like her play skills have improved quite a bit in last year. She is starting to talk in 1 or 2 word bits. Don't see much stimming at all. Initially we had some hand flapping at times. Seems to be gone now. We have been following the DAN protocol, she has been undergoing DMSA chelation for the last 6 months. She now plays appropriately with toys. Still have communication issues, though. My wife seems to believe the autism diagnosis was valid and what we have been doing proactively has been working. However, I just wonder if she was severely delayed and not autistic to begin with. I guess I am just hoping maybe they got it wrong last year based on the improvements I have seen in her this year.

Answer 1

Autism is kind of hard to misdiagnos Here are a few links for you. We have an autsic 16 month but we have to wait until she is 2 to be diagnosed. For the first 8 months of her life we thought she was deaf and blind. Working hard with her has helped her progress a little. The first link you need to register it is free to do so. It is a great sight.

Answer 2

2 of my 3 children are autistic. The tell tale sign is an absolute failure to maintain any eye contact. You'll also notice problems in toilet training and in the areas of sense, such as touching. Most autistic children cringe at light touches as if in pain but a touch that we'd consider painful doesn't seem to faze them at all. Autistic children are like sponges, they absorb everything but have problems with releasing that information. Age 2 is quite young for this diagnosis, as the fine motor skills and even gross motor skills are only starting to develop. I'd recommend a specialist in this area, if you can find one. There are specific tests that can be done in order to verify the diagnosis. Most of all be patient. Patience will be a must in dealing with an autistic child. The eyes are another place to check for signs of autism. The look of an autistic child -as well as failing to maintain eye contact- is as though they are looking into space, that's the only way I can think of to describe it. Speech is also usually delayed. Complete, legible sentences are usually absent. God bless and good luck

Answer 3

Medicine is not an exact science, that's why doctors "practice". She could just be delayed, she could also be in the Autistic Spectrum. There's no one cut and dried Autism diagnosis, there's varying degrees, so she might be high-functioning (think Rainman) if it all. (It's rather rare for girls to be diagnosed Autistic, it's mostly boys.) IMO - see if you can take her to a developmental pediatrician - and bring along any assements you've had done over the past year. (I'm assuming someone is following her medically.) Your gut feeling might be close to on the money, but get some professional assistance.

Good luck! (My fingers are crossed that you're right on!!)

Answer 4

i'm curious as to why he became no longer in basic terms categorised Autistic. in view that this is a spectrum sickness and could variety from extreme to mild, it style of feels that it may desire to ultimate describe your brother. many times the IEP group concurs upon the label this is the main prominent reason for academic problems. inspite of the undeniable fact that, an IQ score under 70 is intellectually disabled. A score of sixty 9 may be mild. In my state the speech-language put off may be a suitable service, no longer a well-recognized service because of the fact there's a disability that has extra impact on his getting to understand. each and every student is entitled to existence like differentiation in the lecture room. inspite of the undeniable fact that, the curriculum would not be changed in view that each and every student is predicted to bypass state finding out consistent with NCLB (No newborn Left in the back of). So if a changed curriculum became the point, then i think for this reason the IEP group went with Mentally Handicapped quite than Autistic. Then they could use the state finding out more advantageous to fulfill NCLB for intellectually disabled pupils.

Answer 5

I have seen this several times before although this is out of my territory. The person I am speaking about had a bad speech defect and the mother continued to take him to doctors and neglected to ignores me. I kept telling her I've seen this before, there was just something about this that made me suspicious, it was in the hearing. I thought it was a hearing blockage, like in the tube, in the throat, she laughed, thought I was goofy. She couldn't See what I know with my knowledge and ignored me. She found out later. Making a long story short, she found out that the tubes to the throat were continually plugged with infection and hampered the speech process, causing the boy to stumble over speaking and loosing in speech. Finally a doctor brought it to her attention and she saw the light. He caught up before it was to late.

Answer 6

I dont know the statistics but my brother didnt speak until he was nearly three. Now he speaks fine, spells better than me. He was a little slow starting first, he just said stick a bunch for a few months.

Answer 7

Miracles happen every day. They might have been wrong.


Keep working with her; it seems that you two are doing a great job.

Answer 8

they very well may have gotten it wrong, it happens all the time and just remember no matter what Love will make the difference also heals and cures

Answer 9

THERE ARE ALWAYS MISDIAGNOSED CASES. IT WOULD BE NICE IF THAT WERE YOUR CASE. ALSO THE THINGS YOUR DOING TO HELP YOUR DAUGHTER COULD BE HELPING. KEEP IT UP. GLAD YOUR DAUGHTER IS DOING SO WELL.