My son is possibly..

A "highly functioning autistic". He is being refered to children's for a full evaluation. I'm not sure what to think.He had his first basic evaluation for speech and failed; that was expected. He doesn't talk much, especially around strangers. So they went ahead and tried a cognitive eval. They know that he is very intelligent, but chooses to ignore his teachers much of the time. At home it is different. He listens better, does what is asked of him, he knows when it's time to feed the sheep and horses, he can solve problems easily, etc. they have an observation room where parents can watch their children, but the kids only see a mirror. I've watched him many days and he is just a different child compared to being at home. He bit one of the teachers because he didn't want to go to group.. He never bites at home

He doesn't like public situations it seems. He either freaks out and tries to hide or acts up BADLY; hits strangers, runs away, pulls shelves down, etc..

My youngest is totally different and is on cue. My 17 month old started saying clear words at 9 months and had 15+ words before his first birthday. Now he is onto almost complete sentences and just keeps improving.. Connor is almost 4. He too started talking right before the age of 1, but regressed. He stopped saying the words he had been saying everyday.. About a month or 2 later he started acting out in public. Ever since its been a battle. I stopped taking him out so much. DH's older sister put me down hard saying this is ALL my fault.. So I blamed myself for the last 2 years. I was continuously being screamed at by her, i got even more depressed. My grandmother, who had 6 children, said she wasnt alarmed bc sometimes kids just dont want to talk. DH's mom said she wasnt concerned either bc DH didnt start talking at all until he was almost 4 and the same with potty training.. His doctor said he wasn't too concerned, but I have doubts. We have to wait more than 3 months to even get into Children's to begin the process so his preschool teachers will be treating him as if he was a diagnosed autistic. The next meeting is monday..

I just need some insight and advice from others who have been through this

m currently going through this with my 21 month old son. I just had his hearing checked yesterday and now we are waiting for a speech therapist to come to our home seeing as he's failed the other tests given to him.

Quoting Gir!:" A "highly functioning autistic". He is being refered to children's for a full evaluation. I'm not sure ... [snip!] ... a diagnosed autistic. The next meeting is monday.. I just need some insight and advice from others who have been through this"

*hugs*

it's a roller coaster of emotions.......all of this is still pretty new to me as well, my son was diagnosed with autism in December. It is very overwhelming at first, you get alot of information thrown your way. Are you really in Ohio?

If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them if I can  

Are they really thinking that at before 2? They said they don't start getting concerned until they turn 3? What made you or whoever think he is? What were the red flags for guys? Yes, I live near Columbus, Ohio  

Quoting Gir!:" Are they really thinking that at before 2? They said they don't start getting concerned until they turn ... [snip!] ... until they turn 3? What made you or whoever think he is? What were the red flags for guys? Yes, I live near Columbus, Ohio  "

the very first indication of an issue was my son's speech, he still doesn't have much meaningful conversation. He was at an 11 month old level at the age of 2 1/2. Now he says many words and will say a few 3-4 word phrases but no back and forth conversation at all. He didn't engage in any kind of imaginative play and never tried to play with anyone at all. He would just kind of isolate himself, either that or just run around like a wild man. Tantrums and self harm were also issues with him, although he doesn't hurt himself anymore. Oh and lack of eye contact.

I'm in Grove City  

No speech or interests in learning
head banging
doesnt play with others, no social interaction
spinning and lining up toys, spends hours doing these things
doesnt respond to anything (hearing is fine)
no eye contact
hes far behind other kids his age in everything he does

Thats why we are having a speech therapist come out, only they are qualified to tell us the issue and of course it may take months before we have a proper diagnosis. Right now its up in the air and could be multiple things, but Autism is on the list.

I started worrying about it at 15 months when he didnt progress or speak and his doctor just expressed her concerns to me 2 weeks ago at his appt.

Quoting wombie:" the very first indication of an issue was my son's speech, he still doesn't have much meaningful conversation. ... [snip!] ... harm were also issues with him, although he doesn't hurt himself anymore. Oh and lack of eye contact. I'm in Grove City  "

That's pretty much what connor's biggest issue is. It's hard to understand what he says, if it has meaning at all. He mumbles to himself a lot or just does things on his own. He repeats some words twice like "mom mom" "dog dog" "cat cat".
He started to see phrases, especially "I see cows" and "I love you" when he was 9-10 months old. He suddenly stopped talking a couple months later. At the same time he started getting EXTREMELY aggressive if someone tried to wash him at bath time. He's thrown himself all over the place before anyone came near him to the point of giving himself a bloody nose and bruises. He must clean himself up. He has gotten better in the last year about it, but he is almost 4 years old. He will be 4 in November.
He hardly has eye contact with strangers, but at home he does whenever he's not upset.
He doesn't play well and sometimes not at all with other children. That's gotten better sense he's had a little brother to play with now. He can be VERY possessive and has absolutely no desire to share toys. He has been around other kids on a regular basis. For awhile I just stayed home with him or left him with his grandparents or daddy whenever I met somebody or have to work because of his behavior. I've gotten a black eye, kicked in the face, punched, slapped, now biting.. you name it, he'll do it to get out of having to listen to somebody. He refuses to participate in larger groups (10-12 kids his age), but he does well with only a few kids in the group activity. He barely participates. He also won't potty train even though he can do it physically. They said he just won't do it unless HE wants to. He'll pee and poo himself unless he wants to use the toilet, aka play with it (flushing is fun)