Kiera has been seeing a speech therapist since she was 16 months old. Her speech was slightly delayed, so we wanted to be proactive. In February, the speech therapist told me that she has noticed Kiera has been displaying some red flags that may indicate Autism. The first thing I did when I got home was to start researching autism, red flags and treatments.
My first thought, after reading some of the indicators, was "that might explain a lot."
Delayed speech or no speech - check
Focused, gets lost in her own word - just like her daddy
Repetitive play - she loves to build towers, actually she just likes to stack things
Likes to spin - but isn't that normal
Behavour issues - sometimes she gets frustrated easily or has a tantrum for no apparent reason but then again, she is 2
Oversensitive to stimuli (feel, light, noise) - she usually takes her pants and socks off by the middle of the day and she isn't very affectionate with people
No imaginative play - check
Independent - check
Hmmmmmmmmmmm...
At our next appointment, B, the therapist, conducted a speech and language assessment. She found that Kiera scored normally in expressive comprehension, but scored low in auditory comprehension. My translation is her understanding of vocabulary and ability to express herself is normal, but her ability to understand and process what is said to her is low. Her brain processes input differently than ours, so she has difficulty following directions.
Fast forward to now.
We are awaiting assessment, which may take up to another year before that can be completed. And now I am starting to doubt my initial reaction. She has started to play imaginatively, she is social and can make eye contact, she is verbal and is not stuck to routines.
Maybe she is just quirky.
Is she autistic or am I just looking for behaviours that mimic autism?
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