I fell as though my daughter may have autism. What do you think?

[Synique_Jailen]

Okay to make a long story short, My daughter was a preemie, born at 34 weeks 2pounds 15 ounces..... I notice as she grew older she was not not like thee other kids. She is now 3, and will soon be 4 in a couple of months. But yet she speaks like a one yr old. She can not hold a full conversation. Or speak well, She is not as fully potty trained. She is still having trouble doing # 2 in the potty.. Still on Training pants, She stays around me when were in of houses. But when were outside or in public, She seems to wander off. She plays with the same toy over and over, Her behavior is horrible, She does not obey" And she Copys every move, of her just recent baby brother.... She screams alot.... She crys alot, she is frustrated alot. And it annoys the Hell out of me.  She also humms alot, and sometimes mock what people are saying, although I havent heard her mock people in a while. But she loves to inmitate what she sees. I feel as though she is surely some type of autistic. Is She? and if so what kind do you think it is?

[ashebs]

my 3 yr old is the same all aspects and im going to get her tested for autism especially aspergers syndrome. she even dose the following me around all day and copy's her 1 yr old sister she is also very passive if someone takes something from her she just stands there and cries but refuses to ask for it or to take it back she would rather not have to interact and go without.
i would suggest you go to your local doctor and ask them to refer you to a doctor who is knowledgeable in the autism spectrum distorter.

[888mom]

Um, forgot to ask... did the school system assess her as speaking at a 1 year level?  If not, who are you comparing the speech to?  If the school did an assessment awhile ago, like over a year ago, can you have them do another assessment and talk to them about her progression and if it is on track?  

[888mom]

Has she had any therapy?  At age 3, going on age 4, that would be through the school system.  I am guessing that if you had a preemie, you probably went through the Birth to 3 program to help with her developmental delays.  If not, please contact your school system and have her assessed to get into speech, occupational, and possibly physical therapy ASAP (some districts offer developmental preschool), and they can possibly tell you if there is a specialist doctor who can do an assessment for autism.  Some schools make their own diagnosis.  You don't need a diagnosis to get the therapy, though.  Having a diagnosis would help the therapists somewhat at least know what types of things might work better with her, though.  Not sure why they wouldn't come up with that anyways on their own given her own individual needs, not some label.  

Doing #2 in the potty is an issue for many children.  Though with a significant delay in language, that is not something you can have a two-way conversation with her about.  She can't talk to you about what she is afraid of.  Or maybe breaking the task down in to multiple steps is too hard for her and is giving her anxiety.  Or there may be a sensory issue related to the toilet.  The sound of #2 or #1 hitting the water.  Or wiping herself.  Or maybe the toilet training is just such a new thing that she does not want to break her usual habit of the pull up.