So here is the most common question I am asked when someone first meets Ben.
When did you know there was something different about Ben?
The answer is, Ben was a late walker and talker but up until 18 months old he still fell into the parameters of normal development, although on the far end of the range. At 18 months we thought maybe he had a hearing issue because he was not responding to his name.
When that test came back completely in range we were relieved but no one ever said, “What else should we look at to see why he is not responding to his name?”. At the age of 2 he just didn’t seem to have enough words but the pediatrician made statements like “Boys talk later than girls” and “His brothers are doing all the talking for him”. I always encourage people to follow your parental instincts. I knew something was wrong but didn’t know where to turn.
There is a tool called the M-CHAT which is a quick assessment to see if there are signs of autism in a young child. If I had this tool when Ben was 18 months old, I would have recognized other signs that I missed along the way and would have had Ben diagnosed sooner. It is never too late to be diagnosed but it’s never too early as well.
Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised - M-CHAT-R autism test
Love you more,
Mom