S/O ASD, I also have some questions
oandmplus1
member
My DD is almost 7 months now, too early for diagnosis from what I have heard and read, but it has come up in conversation with our doctor so I am just trying to get a better understanding.
She was born with a cataract in one eye, which she has had removed. She now wears a contact lens to help her see. Her vision is doing fine, and we have regular check ups with her pediatric ophthalmologist. DD is hitting almost all of her milestones though, except for the social interaction and making eye contact.
She will make eye contact with me at times, but rarely smiles at me unless I make silly noises or tickle her. She used to smile at me in the morning from her crib, and smile at me when I was feeding her, but has stopped (probably a few months ago). She does giggle or smile at toys (that blink or make sounds usually, or touch her face) or at us if we tickle, kiss her face or make funny sounds.
She also used to babble a lot, and started to use different sounds, but now just has one sound which mostly sounds like a whine or growl. She doesn't really babble anymore She does not mimic any sounds at all yet.
The pediatric ophthalmologist has scheduled an MRI to make sure her brain and eyes are developing correctly, but the pediatric ophthalmologist said one possibility could be ASD, but again it is too early to diagnose. We know it is not related to the cataract or actual vision as that has been tested. I have an appointment with the pediatician to discuss her development since they wanted me to check and make sure it wasn't her eyes before discussing it.
My questions for you are, at what age was your ASD child diagnosed, and at what time did you notice something was different?
I am feeling a little lost right now, so any information or advice you can give me would be appreciated. I just wish we had answers.
Re: S/O ASD, I also have some questions
I knew at 6 months, diagnosed at almost 14 months. Had no eye contact and no social back and forth interactions. Also did not like to be held, touched or looked at too closely.
Check out the ESDM web site (early start denver model). They do work with very young children (one of the kids in their study was 6 months old with a Dx).
3
I was worried a bit around 10 months old, b/c he had been calling me mama and then stopped. Then at his 1st b-day party he just wasn't himself, he had never been around a big group of people before and it was like he was just there, it was too much for him and he went within himself. At that point I became concerned and brought it up to his pedi (who told me he was perfectly fine and wrote in his note that "Mom is concerned about ASD but her concerns are unfounded").
She has regressed in making eye contact and giving social smiles. She smiles at objects or noises, but not really at faces. She often avoids eye contact and it is difficult to get her to focus her eyes on you. Although I will say that sometimes (like when she is taking her bottle), and there isn't much else to look at, her eyes are locked in on mine, but still no smiles.
She has also stopped babbling, she used to be a little chatter box. She used to make lots of different sounds, but now mostly just whines (eh, eh, eh) which an occasional vowel sound.
My Pedi has now set us up with EI. She has also mentioned she is keeping an eye out for other signs of ASD or Retts (which scares me more than ASD did).