Toddler with autism symptons

Hi I have a 23 mth old boy.  Around 12 mths old my son started saying mama, dada and Anth for his older brother, always clapping his hands . Somewhere between that time and 15 mths he stopped saying his few words, clapping and started crying more.  We had him evaluated - he now has speech, and physical therapy and a special ed teacher that all come to the house..  He will undergo an  ot evaluation soon. He also has a lot sensory issues- does not like to be touched, held, hates loud noises, cries at times for no reason.  At 23 mths old he still does not point, wave, does not follow objects when u point to them, does not understand where his body parts are, he cries and screams  a lot. He does not flap his arms or anything like that but will run around and around the house, and loves to look at cars.   My pediatrican and a few of his therapists thinks he might be on the spectrum so in 2 mths we have a ped neurologist appointment as from what i wrote should i be concerned that he might be on the spectrum and if so what else should i be doing or what should i look for. Thanks in advance
mar

[Richard B. Graff, PhD, BCBA-D]

Thank you for taking the time to write to us.  First, I want to applaud you for what you have already done.  Whenever someone has questions about whether a child may or may not be on the autism spectrum, the first thing to do is to raise concerns to your pediatrician, which you have done.  You've secured some services already, and have a consult with a pediatric neurologist, which is great.  No one can read a brief description and give any meaningful input as to whether a child may or may not be on the spectrum, but if the consensus is that he is, I would immediately try to determine if there are any Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) in your area who specialize in the assessment and treatment of very young children with autism spectrum disorders.  You can find this out by going to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board website (www.bacb.com), and look to see if there are any such individuals in your area.  I would also check to see if any of these services can be funded through early intervention, and in some states your health insurance may pay for this.  Although there are many different treatments purported to be effective for treating children with autism, the only intervention that has a great deal of empirical support is applied behavior analysis.  The research also tells us that the early intervention begins, the better the outcomes.  The research also tells us that the number of hours of service provided also affects outcomes.  If less than 20 hours per week of early intensive behavior intervention are provided, the outcomes may not be as good as if 30 or even 40 hours per week are provided.

I hope some of this information is helpful.  Best of luck to you and your family.