One of our forum members says that autistic behavior is like "normal kid behavior on steroids". I'm sure all kids have at one time or another lined toys up, many have had stranger anxiety, and they've certainly all had tantrums/ meltdowns. But it sounds like the degree to which your daughter does these things, combined with what she doesn't do (eg not talking in sentences), makes it wise to do an evaluation, if nothing else for your peace of mind.
Going through Early Intervention (EI) is a great idea -- both the evaluations and services are free. After age 3, it's usually the school districts who handle this. A private evaluation is also a possibility, particularly if you're not satisfied with the EI evaluation. It might be a good idea to check with your insurance company to find out what kind of expert would be covered (developmental pediatrician, neurologist, etc) and/or how to get a referral.
To get a good and accurate evaluation, it helps to make some relevant observations beforehand. This diagnostic screening checklist will help you know what to look for, and help you express your concerns in a way that gets heard:
http://www.childbrain.com/pddq6.shtml
Good luck with everything!
Welcome ,If you can get a video of her behaviors ,the lining up and the meltdowns ect,My sons pediatrician dx'd my son after seeing a video of his stimming /repetitive behaviour at home.
One big red flag my son had to was an Overwhelming fear of strangers,and he also began to avoid certain people ,his Grandfather,uncle,a neighbour lady ect.. he couldn't look at these people or talk to them.
He was at his worse at 3 ,he has gotten alot better as he has gotten older,keep us posted ,Good luck.
Linda
My story is below:
but I need to know where to go from here! I have been told to get a eval.. i want to know what that would consist of and who I should see to get this done? And any other info on what I should do or who I should talk to?
I have a two year old daughter (she will be 3 in March) whos behavior has raised some attention. She talks some- not alot- no sentences. She will not potty train. She doesn't seem to understand what to do even though i worked with her on it for 5 months. She has to line up everything- from toys to books to her food. If you move them she melts down completely as if she was hurt. Just last week she started something new- if she see someone new she starts to shake all over and then she looks scared to death then she will scream and run the other way! She acts so odd- for a lack of better word- I joked last year that she was OCD but maybe she is or something more?
What do you think? Is she 2 or is something not right?
Here is the link to the Early Intervention web site for North Carolina. I hope this helps.
http://www.ncei.org/ei/index.html