Is my daughter on the autistic spectrum

[bmcd1]

My daughter is 13 and spends all her free time playing with dolls. She constantly repeats the same movements with the dolls twirling and stroking their hair. I have asked her what she is doing and she tells ne that she is playing her game and that the dolls are characters in the game which is about girls usually on sports teams. She herself plays a lot of sport and is very good at any sport she attempts. She is at an academic schoool and is doing quite well but she constantly forgets books and homework etc. She has a poor grasp of time and days and dates have no real meaning for her. I could tell her at 8pm that it is 11pm and therefore very late so go to bed and she would not realise the correct time. Similarly at the half term after christmas she thought it might be the summer holidays. when I woke her this morning to go to school she was surprised that she was going to school even though it is only Tuesday. She quite often takes things literally so sometimes finds it very difficult to understand what people mean. However she has an advanced vocabularly and frequently other children are unsure about what she means. She is a pleasant child and appears happy and popular with other adults and children especially with her fellow sports team members. I just wonder sometimes if her behaviour is normal aso I forgot to say she is an only child and doesnt really get an opportunity to mix with other kids except at school or in organised sport. Any advice or thoughts very welcome. I have a brother who I am quite sure is on the autistic spectrum and also a neice and nephew. Thanks in advance.

[MargieLu]

Your daughter sounds much like my 15-yr-old niece. We recently gained legal custody and had complete neuropsychological examinations and testing done, which showed she is at Level 2/Level II on the Autism diagnosis scale and also has intellectual and socio-emotional issues. What made her previous guardians unaware of her learning challenges was the fact that she has eidetic memory, and recalls everything she sees, experiences, hears or smells. She also has no concept of time or of passing time, enjoys a lively fantasy world, and gets excellent grades in school (although definitely learning disabled). She memorizes data, but has no functional abilities to use the data in any manner other than repetition.