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The best thing that gave me clarity in the situation was the book Let me Hear your Voice by Catherine Maurice. I also think the website childbrain.com which is a neurology website has some excellent information. It is very common to have different opinions on what is wrong with your child. My son's CARS score was 26 and a lot of days I can not see any characteristics of autism in him. I think the reason you are "miffed" is because it is very hard to hear that your child is autistic. I think my son is perfect so recently I had an expert in the field of autism watch a play date on video of him and his two friends. I thought he is so perfect they will not be able to tell the difference. WRONG! She said during the thirty minute video there were two times when the other children left the table and he did not. He continued to sit at the table and play with Play doh. The second red flag was during the video he said, "Look Daddy I made a bracelet for you. Do you want to put it on?" The person viewing the tape said he did not say that he was making it for either of his friends. I was upset because during the video my son asked the other two children more questions and initiated interaction with them more than they interacted with him. And when they were making things with Play doh. The other kids did not say look I made this for you to the other kids. Anyway I was upset because I thought it was very nit picky. The bottom line is when people tell you your daughter is autistic you need to listen to their reasons. Insead of just writing off the experts saying Blah, Blah, Blah. Why don't you work on the things that they tell you is wrong with her. The expert told me that a regular person would not be able to tell my child had autism, but things that seem small now will stand out later on in life. That is why I am getting him help now while he is still 3. She said is speech is phenomanal and his cognitive abilities are advanced for his age. She just thought he needed a little tweaking socially. It is hard to hear, but your daughter will be able to benefit immensley from experts suggestions.

The autism spectrum has a wide range...from severe to high functioning..
Your daughters diagnosis can change through the years...for example
When my son was young 3 he was diagnosed severe...now that years have gone by he is moderate.
As much as you have gone through with a yes and no diagnoses I don't blame you for feeling the way you do.....
I would suggest to do more reading and ask yourself what does your heart really tell you about your daughter...
ASK questions...lots of questions why the Drs. said no then change their minds...what is the difference between now and then. etc....
Suzann

Maybe she has Asperger's syndrome which on the Autism scale.

Jaynie is about 4 and a half? How is she coming out on tests for language and other areas of development? What was the other syndrome they'd considered for her when she was younger?

A problem with diagnosing autism, when one doesn't have a lot of experience with it, is that "typical" children do some of the same things autistic children do, but it's a matter of degree. Severely autistic children have more of the stereotypical behaviors, such as hand flapping, spinning toys, etc. and more sensory and social issues. But then there are milder autistic behaviors, Pervasive Developmental Delay (usually with less of the social problems) and Asperger's, which is often not diagnosed until a child is older. However, I have seen some professionals quick to say "autism" when it was PDD.

I think the most important thing for now is to consider what recommendations have been made for her. If there are particular therapies or programs designed to address areas of need, go for it. The earlier the intervention the better. I treat many autistic children and I've worked with a couple who were very difficult to reach at a young age, but by receiving a lot of help from the beginning, they've made some great progress.

I have a 6 year old son, wh finally at the age of 5 was diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder - so he is autistic to a degree, although his caregivers (sorry - too much for me to handle), believe he has some other syndrome and no one can pinpoint exactly what is wrong with him. He was a failure to thrive as a baby, but reached his milestones with no probs. It was at about two he started to slow down, to the point of being diagnosed as special needs. I did not want to believe it cos he seemed so normal up to that point (he was then in the care of my mother). He just went down hill from there. When at 3 I watched other children of the same age playing, I did notice the difference. It wrenched me for the next two years up till his diagnosis, and even now I feel like it was something I had done. But he is Not normal, and never will be, but with the right therapy and a great family looking after him, he is happy and secure. I still wonder where I went wrong, he looks so cute, but his is Austistic, like it or not, and you just have to accept it too, and do all you can to make her life as easy as possible (and yours!!!)