If your brother got angry at you for bringing this up, I suggest you give him just a little time to think about it. Maybe there is a way to mention it to your sister-in-law tactfully. Mothers have a harder time trying to live in denial.
I KNEW there was something not quite right with my daughter, but didn't quite know what it was. My mother-in-law said to me, "she tip toes and spins around like a child that is autistic." I was FURIOUS. Who the (beep) did she think she was just just blurting that out?
But she put it in my head. I couldn't shake the thought. Eventually, I had to check it out.
It could be autism. Who knows? Study what you can from these boards and the newbie links to investigate further. But, don't worry about your brother. He'll come around. It sounds like he already feels that there is something amiss or he wouldn't have brought it up to her doctor.
They took her to her Ped or a specialist? If the expense is the concer, she is still young enough to be evauated by Early Intervention cause she is under 36 mos. They will evauate everything, and may even recommend that your niece get seen by a specialist w/ regards to Autism. There is also the possibility that she has just a speech delay as well as sensory integration dysfunction. It is so hard to tell at this age.
If you click on the first post at the top of the main page, it contains links to various sites re: Autism and related issues. Maybe you can provide some information about Autism and the characteristics associated with it. That was how I realized that my daughter might be autistic...when I read the characteristics and said.."Hey, my daughter does most of them." I definately took more initiative in getting her evauated and treated.
Hi. First wanted to say welcome to the board! I think you will find more info than you thought possible by clicking on our Newbie post showing at the top. :-)
Yes it is possible she may have asd by what you've described. It is also possible she doesn't. There are many factors to it and it can be so complicated I've learned. There are also language disorders that can be confused w/ asd. It is often hard for most peditricians to diagnose it from what I've found and been told on here. Mine just said that if I feel there could be some concerns they will give me referals and help any way they can, but he said he wouldn't know himself how to go about a proper evaluation. He basically just said I would know best as the mother.
So even if their dr says the child is fine, which she might very well be, I would still advise them that at the very least, they should think about speech therapy. This way you aren't pushing a disorder possibility on them, just saying that maybe they should call Birth to Three early intervention in their area and have an assessment done for speech. Hopefully they will be able to them refer them further if they feel there is a need.
My birth to three actually told me that they didn't think ds had asd, but they did make a point of saying they weren't sure because he was still sort of young to know for sure and that them spending just one hour w/ him wasn't enough to say for positive. They set me up w/ a speech therapist and gave me info on sensory integration disorder, and told me if I felt there was further concerns to call them. I ended up just finding a local center that specializes in dx'ing autism and other disorders instead.
So birth to three is a start. Even if they don't see a disorder, she will at least probably get the speech help she needs. As she ages, if she does have asd, it will probably become more apparent. I hope my rambling helps :-)
Hello everyone- I am new here-
My neice is 2 years old & says only 2 words. She has never sleeps well, (almost like night terrors) she is always rocking her head back & forth when she eats or is just sitting. She is so very moody, does not want to be touched or hugged at all, except when she wants to, she also just stares into space.
I mentioned it once to my brother he said they had taken her to the doctor, & its not my place to insist they go again. But everything I read about it make me think something is wrong. Does anyone have any suggestions. Do you think it could be autism? Thanks so much.
Amy