Early signs and diagnosis

What were some early signs or behaviors that made you think your child might be different? What prompted you to seek a diagnosis for your child?

S-Ish - Ish always used to cry. I thought it was usual for babies to cry and always just tried to stop his crying. He didn’t feel different at all. I left him under the care of my mother and went to continue my masters. My mother felt it was difficult to deal with him. He wouldn’t communicate much but we assumed he could be a late speaker. Despite our medical background, we couldn’t pick up on the signs until we went for a friend's get together and a pediatrician friend saw him and suggested we go for a diagnosis from a clinical psychologist. The appointment was 2 days away. So, I started reading up about Autism and realized that Ish was ticking off almost everything on the checklist. I could relate with all the symptoms. He was 2 years and 6 months old then. He was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD, NOS) at that point.

HM - M had evident milestone delays by 5 months of age. He wasn’t sucking, there was no neck control, no eye contact or any non-verbal communication. We were noticing the signs until he was 1 year old but could not understand what or why. He was 1.5 years old and there was no speech yet. Until then we were doubtful. We were also scared that if we go get it checked, there might be something wrong. We were convincing ourselves saying that he is a boy and so the developmental delays. But co-incidentally he also happened to swallow a plastic toy around that time and while visiting the pediatrician for that, I shared my concerns about his developmental delays. The pediatrician checked and referred to a developmental pediatrician. Through few assessments, they diagnosed him with Autism Spectrum Disorder and auditory intolerance.

SS - My mother-in- law visited us in the US when S was 2 years old. She, like any grandmother, tried interacting with my kids and noticed that S may have developmental delays. Until 2 years of age, it was like S was hitting off all the milestones. He would interact, respond to his name and even follow instructions. It was from 2 years onwards that he started walking on toes even when his shoes were on, and became a very picky eater, especially after he started daycare. We then took him for diagnosis and they said he was on the borderline of the spectrum. We were not given a real picture at all.

SG - G was around 1 year old. He was a very happy, relaxed child. Social smile used to be there, but there was no responding to name or signs of imitation while interacting with my in-laws. Slowly, he started to spin anything and everything he could spin (plate, bicycle wheel). If there was nothing, he would sit and spin himself. He was meeting physical milestones with a 2-3 months delay, so we thought he would be a slow learner or maybe have some difficulty with hearing alone. My in-laws felt there was a delay in development and we also felt he was different from other kids we see around. We visited a pediatrician and he said there seems to be some issue and referred us (to NIMHANS) for diagnosis. There, within 5 minutes he was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and we were just told that there is no cure, therapies are the only way to manage and that there are therapy centers where we can go and get more information. I had studied about Autism during my studies but in small detail. I knew it was a childhood disorder, but nothing more. My husband and I were not convinced with the way he was diagnosed and traveled to Mysore to get a detailed assessment done. There he was again assessed in detail, diagnosed and we were briefed about the disorder in good detail.