Could It Really Be Autism? May to July of 2012

What finally led me to believe Kevin could be right?  Well, I denied it for so long because Josie made eye contact, was affectionate at times, and had developed rapidly as an infant, meeting all of her milestones easily.  This did not fit with the image of Autism that I had formed.  After doing a lot of research, I realized that no two autistic people are ever the same.  She had a number of red flags and markers of Autism.



Signs She Had

• Regression
• Responded to communication unevenly 
• Didn't point and look
• Indifferent to the presence of people
• Self restricted diet
• Little to no imaginative play
• Preferred to play alone
• Did not play "with" anybody, only beside them
• Speech delay
• Communication delay
• Had repetitive movements
• Excessive tantrums and meltdowns
• Inconsolable during tantrums and meltdowns
• Not playing with toys properly
• Overwhelmed with changes in routine
• No longer enjoyed playgroup
• Stopped imitating
• Unusual finger movements
• Stared off into space regularly
• Unusual attachment to weird objects
• Lining up objects
• Toe walking

Right now, Josie no longer has some of these signs, and has developed some other traits.  (And there could be some I've forgotten!)

Seeing all of these red flags and markers, I made an appointment with our new doctor (our old doctor retired.)  I told her some of the issues, and she suggested we redo the 18 month milestone checklist.  Josie no longer passed, although she did at the time of her 18 month checkup.  She then suggested we do the M-CHAT, which is a screening test for Autism.  After completing it, she determined that Josie should indeed be evaluated.

We weren't crazy.  Our daughter was changing.  We needed help.  What I didn't realize then, was that help is not easy to get.