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Does my child have autism?

Hi, i have a little girl who to the knowledge of myself and family members is showing some sort of autistic behavour. my daughter was deliverd by emergancy csection as her heart beat was lost on the monitor. Due to the fact that the medical team had to deliver her as quickly as possible, the way they pulled her out, they had damaged muscle in the left side of her neck. Due to this my daughter could not turn her head for several weeks and had to have physio to correct this. She had a severly flat head on one side which now seems to have more nrmal shape,although you can still slighty see this. As a baby my daughter NEVER cried when hungry, i had to set my alarm to feed her to make sure she recived food every 4 hour. My daughter NEVER smiled, babbled, or take note in her surroundings, she used to lay for hours just staring into pace. She didnt like being picked up or cradled. At 4 and a half month my daughter started having seizures, she was having on a good day 30 seizure, on a bad day it was reaching 100+. The seizures were only brief lasting under a minute. She had multipal tests done including MRI, EEG, ECG, hearing, eyes, lumbar puncta to ensure of a correct diagnosis. EEG picked up the seizures and epileptic diagonois was made. Due to the fact that my daughter was constantly in and out of a seizure her developmental asspects are delayed. My daughter is now 3 years 4 month, her speech and language is severly delayed, she has no sense of danger or the world around her. She has an older sister of 6 which she doesnt interact with much. She seems to be in her own little bubble, and is easy distressed if any body tried to pull her attention away from wheat she is doing. She has a high interest in playing with her marbles, balls, cars, and building blocks. She has a round bag in which she has lots of round objects in such as marbles, balls, wheels, spoons, anything that has a circle on it its in there. Around the house she will line these objects up. If one of these objects are moved she will become distress and scream, then start with a tantrum, she will then show aggressive behavour by hitting who ever is closest to her. NO ONE can touch her toys. She CAN NOT tolerate loud noises such as bikes, hover, planes going over house ect. I used to go watch her older sibling in school assembly when awarded with an achievement, i can no longer do this as she can not cope with the sound of the clapping for the children in assembly, she becomes extremly distressed and covers her ears whilst screaming and crying. At home she will walk past members of family like there not even there. Members of family can call her name and its 50/50 if she responds to you. She will NOT make eye contact, but if asked to do so then the eye contact will last all of 2 seconds. She has a like for tin sounds, eg. spoons, dog dishes, which she can recognise these sounds over the sound of her own name being called. My daughter can count to ten missing 5 out, and is doing really well with colours. She is not yet useing the toilet. We have tried introducing the potty and pull up nappys, but had no luck with this as she becomes upset and distressed. She has a strict bedtime routine of 6.45pm. During night she will wake several times for water, if this is refused she will scream and not settle till she has been given what she wants, this is also the case during the day. When we strip the bed for clean linen we have to make sure the linen is washed and put back on before she notices as she can not cope with change. She is on a 2 word level understanding, but her speech is slowly inproving. She will answer a question with the question, eg, would you like a drink? in response, me  drink? Moving on to socialising, she attended portage once a week up till the age of 3 with a home visit every fortnight. At portage she will show affection to another child if the child was upset, she would offer the child a toy and say "whats matter?" During the social play she will play alone or sit back and watch what others are doing. When musical play is introduced all other children at portage sing and do macaton signing, however my daughter will sit and listen and not join it with the actions. My daughter will not give kisses or cuddles if asked but she will show concern and offer cuddles if someone is upset. My daughter has flat feet, im not sure if this is linked to this but when younger she walked on her tiptoes, never putting her left heel down. this has been corrected with physio and NHS boots, but the flat foot is still there, will the arch come as she gets older? Im just looking for some advice, and any advice would be greatly apprecitated.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for your reply. No, my daughter does not roll play. She has high interest in marbles and cars. When she plays with the marbles, she constanly picks them up one by one and places them into a bowl, then takes them out one by one and changes to another bowl, or sometimes pouring from one to the other, making no sound as she does this. As for playing with the cars she lines these up side by side, again without making any sounds, once lined up she will find another spot in the house and start the process all over again. Yes she is still undergoing speech and language, and still under watch of neurology every 6 month. She does not dress her self yet either, myself or or family member has to guide her arms through tops legs in trousers ect. Theres just so much thats of the ordanary. She was decorating acorns other day with glitter and tried to eat the plastic pots that the glitter came in, actually biting into it so it all cracked in her mouth. She likes a bath but doesnt like over ankle deep as she panics and becomes distressed.
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973741 tn?1342342773
Hi.  I'm so sorry to hear about your daughters traumatic birth.  That must have been so scary!  I'm glad you both lived through it and are here today trying to do the best you can.  That is a blessing, right?  We must always remember our blessings.

I read some wonderful things in your post.  Your daughter shows empathy to others when they are upset-------- fantastic!  She plays with her toys and playing with cars------- does she act like she is driving them?  Pretend play is excellent if she is doing any of that.  AND, that she has interest in toys and comes up with a plan on her own as to how to play with them is great.  She does show affection to you and will make eye contact.  All good.  Ya know, it is only at after 3 that any kids really engage in partner play with peers-------- until then, they may do parallel play----  doing their own thing along side another child but playing alone essentially.  Can you get her to roll a ball back and forth with another child?  This is the beginning of interaction and easy to do.  

I don't know if your daughter has autism, a developmental delay or brain damage due to her birth.  I would seek out a developmental pediatrician to assess.  I'm a fan of occupational therapy and play therapy.  Both will help her with skills to cope in the world that she lives (the covering of ears at noise, social skills, etc.) as well as help her with various behavior things.  Also, they will address any issues with her nervous system.  I assume you are already doing speech therapy as that is a must.  I'd spend time with other people and help guide her to the interaction.

She sounds like a sweet little girl and you sound like a great mom.  Let us know how it goes.  Is a developmental pediatrician a possibility?
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