when did you know your child was autistic?

Question

How old was your child when you figured out he/she was autistic and what made you think he/she was autistic?

Answer 1

our first son was typical till about 21 months. then teh language he picked up started to drop off. but that is our opinion looking back. we didn't get concerend untill about 27 months, when he had no verbalizations, words, etc.
we started looking for help with speech development. when we finally got into see someone (about 31~32 months) the introductory evaluation was the first time we heard 'autism'.
So then back to the general care physician for a refferal. He was like 'no, he's not autistic) and we had to fight for a referal. finally got it and the neurologist confirmed autism just before he was 3.

At that time our second son was 6 months old. we watched closely and learned so much that year. there were little behaviors that were autistic like (loud nonsense vocals, all out sprinting, climbing, no fears at all) but we thought he was going to be ok. then right about 18 months, his behaviors got worse (hand flapping, spinning, self biting) and he still had no words, and we knew without a doubt. teh neuro confirmation came about 21 months.

Answer 2

My dad knew something was wrong with my brother when he was two months old. He did not act quite normal. He did not want to be held and would not look you in the eye. He would scream for hours if his routine changed. I'm not sure when they knew the problem was autism. He was born in '68 and it was considered very rare then. By the time he was two or three years old they knew, but our family doctor knew nothing about autism.