How do i know if my 2 year old has autism?

Question

I am curious because since he turned 2 his speech development has slowed down tremendously, he pretty much knows mommy, dada, ball, and bye, and will continually repeat them. I have been doing some of my own research but it is hard for me to really know because of the fact that i am his mother. He has a younger brother who turned 1 in August and at first his doctor said that it was because of his brother that he wasnt talking, but the 1 year old says more than my 2 year old, i just dont understand. If anybody can help me it would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

School districts do not assess children under the age of 3 years old so that is not an option yet. I also would not rely to heavily on a peditrician as very few are aware of the early signs and symptoms of autism and will say things like it will come with time or he is just a boy so he is a late talker etc. Besides language what are your other concerns. Does he use the limited language he has functionally? when he syas ball is it becaue he sees a ball or wants a ball? A child can have a simple language delay that is easy to fix and is usually totally fixable. Signs of autism include not playing with toys appropriately, not using gestures, facial expressions to communicate, not showing shared enjoyement or joint attention. When your child is playing with his favorite toy does he look at you to see if you are watching? If something funny, silly or scary happens does he look at your face to see your reaction? IF you play peek a boo or some similar game does he try to get you to do it again or do more of something fun. Also you can look for stereotypic behavior, hand flapping rocking, spinning objects over and over again, watching just the wheels on the car or truck instead of the whole toy?
These kind of social pragmatic indicators are more important for discerning autism compared to perhaps a simple speech delay. IT is not too early to investigate speech services. A speech person who specializes in working with young children does speech all with toys on the floor and play based so the kids don't know they are in therapy and they give you wonderful ideas about how to bring out language in your child in daily activities and routines in order to further develop speech. Seek out other professionals. A developmental pediatrician or psychologist might be able to do a formal assessment. NOw adays many area have autism clinics at the children's hospital or through MR/DD service providers taht serve children with disabilties birth through death. Where I live it is called the regional center but there are similar providers with different names depending where you live. Good luck.

Answer 2

This is the best website I know on this disorder. I saw a news feature about it on TV recently, and if this is the same site, they actually have some video clips that you can either view online or download and watch to compare with your child's behavior. Your doctor could be right as some children do regress when a new baby is born into the family. But you as the parent know your child better than anyone else; if you have some "red flags" of concern, don't let anyone dismiss them--keep looking until you have definitive answers!

http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/learnsigns.php

This site may also have links to resources, but you should investigate to find the nearest developmental testing center to you (it will most likely be attached to a university teaching hospital or major pediatric hospital) and try to get a referral for an assessment. Sometimes they will take a patient referral, but sometimes (for insurance) a physician's referral is required. Most states also have early childhood intervention agencies (Texas' is called ECI or Cornerstone) that you can contact to get assessment, and also therapy and services if a diagnosis is made. If you can't get info on this from your doctor, contact your local school district--they should be able to help you access this service.


A very dear friend of mine has two sons with autism. Her oldest and my oldest son were born 2 weeks apart, and I went through the heartbreak with her each time my son passed a developmental milestone that hers didn't. It took them about 18 mos to get a diagnosis, but he was pretty severe. They diagnosed the youngest son earlier even though his case is milder because they knew more about what to look for. I don't think 18 mos is too young at all to pursue this because the earlier you start intervention and therapy if there is autism, the better outcome you are likely to have.

I hope you are wrong, and wish you the best either way!

Answer 3

There are a lot of other characteristics of a child with a autism although the spectrum of the different types is huge. Does he have any other characteristics such as: flapping him arms, a pleasure over rocking, no direct eye contact, ? there is so much he could have one characteristic or many...it all depends on the child. He may not even have autism, you can ask your doctor and tell them that you want him to have a speech evaluation. I did this with my son. You will then go to a schoo where they specialize in teaching children speech techniques. They will do a few speech tests with him while he plays. If after all the evaluations they feel that he needs help with speech (depending on his age) they will either have a teacher come to your house to work with him or when he is around 3 he can even attend a speech preschool. They do preschool stuff and speech stuff all at the same time. It is wonderful. My son was two also and he didn't say much. He also had a problem with vocabulary. For example I could say "go put this on the counter" He would understand me completly. But, if I was to ask him what _____(counter) was??? He would draw a blank. He is now going to be five and he speaks just as good as any other 5 year old. Try not to jump to conclusions...but, speak to the doctor. Good luck with everything, he will be fine!

Answer 4

Take a look at http//:www.firstsigns.org . There is a list of developmental milestones by age, through 36 months. This will give you a good idea where he is physically, socially, etc.
If you are in the US, many states offer early intervention plans for children 0-3. Check with your state, probably the DES, to see what they offer. They should be able to do evals. to determine if he is at risk. The truth is that peds. are sadly uneducated about autism, so don't expect much from him/her, but talk to them about it anyway. You have to cover all the bases. Another option is the school district. In the US they should do speech evals starting at age 3, but if this is the route you choose, don't wait until after he turns 3 to call. I got my son evaluated at 2 yrs. 10 months.

He may just have a speech delay that can be taken care of with some early therapy, but it is always best to be cautious.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Tell your Pediatrician your concerns.

I had this same problem with my son (he's 2) and he says like 30 words. The range is like 50-300...can you believe it?

At any rate....what they told me is this....

If they aren't stringing together 2 words (get down, love you), if they don't gesture or rely only on nonsense sounds as speech, if they show 'strange' behavior like lining up cars by colors for two hours straight...or spinning wheels consistantly...if they don't "engage" you or another sibling...if they don't "play" normally, if they don't express emotion except for frustration....you might have something to be concerned about. Or if your child is ALSO showing other developmental delays with the speech...

Like my son...he's the youngest and doesn't *need* to talk because his older siblings and I can understand him perfectly...he gestures, smiles, plays, he walked on time, uses a sippy cup....he hugs, kisses and actually screams when my daughter picks on him. He's fine. Still makes me wonder....

You can go to the Autism site they have videos that you can watch to see if your child fits the profile.

And remember....some kids can speak in whole sentences etc at this age....other's don't...don't worry too much unless your son has something else going on.

And having another child so close in age can give him a little delay simply because he doesn't get your undivided attention. It's common in Twins.

Answer 6

I also have a 2, 5, & 4 year old. My 2 year old is almost the same way and when he does talk it does not sound very clear. My other two children were very advanced at this age and even knew there colors at 2 1./2. My 2 year old know is body parts, but it is not clear at all. I my self am worried. The doctor said it was up to me to put him in speech, but he feel he is very young. He said he will talk when he is ready, may be we don't let him, because he knows he is the baby. Talk to your doctor, right away,.

Answer 7

It's different for every child, but there are certain signs and lack of growth in speech is one of them. If he is still talking, then he most likely does not have autism. When my bro was diagnosed, it was because he COMPLETELY stopped talking. he didn't even say mama and dada like he used to. He also did not focus on the eyes of a person talking, but rather their mouth. He stopped walking and started crawling again. He started talking again at 5 years old.

If your son is developing normally, can focus on eyes of a person talking to him and still walks, he may not have autism. He may have some other learning or speech disorder. You should have him evaluated by a doctor.

Answer 8

The best way to find out is just to make an appointment with his Doctor, get his/her opinion and ask for a screening! That way, you don't have anyone giving you uneducated advice, and you know for sure! For some good video information I was just checking out the other day, go to www.autismspeaks.com and look at the video gallery. I have an 8 yr old that is pending ASD testing, and it was some good information. Best of luck!

Answer 9

Go to autismspeaks.org, they have assessment tests that you answer and will give you results that let you know if you should have your child screened or not.

Go back to the pediatrician and insist on some sort of evaluation of his speech and development.

Every child does develop at different rates but if you have a concern than it is up to you to insist on finding out if there is a problem or if you are just the mom of two kids who are very different.

Good luck!

Answer 10

While your son could possibly have autism, keep in mind that autism involves significant delays in cognitive, language, and social/emotional skills, not just language. While school districts don't evaluate children under three, early intervention programs do. Early intervention, basically, provides evaluations and services to children under three that have disabilities and/or delays in one or more developmental areas, including language. If you're in the US, you should be able to have a free evaluation done by the early intervention program serving your area.