I'm working with a child who is almost 3yrs old, was just recently evaluated for autism (no report available yet), and the mom has been told by several people (non-professionals) that her daughter is only 'mildly autistic'. I just want some opinions and am not looking for professional advice and wouldn't dare say anything to the contrary to the mom. The team that is working with this little girl all feel that we are looking at a dx of at least 'moderate to severe'. Here are her 'red flags':

~Child does not attempt to communicate, has no language skills, and speech consists of some limited babbling and animal-like noises
~Child does not respond to her name
~Does not communicate needs
~Does not follow directions
~Can throw intense tantrums
~Does not smile
~Does not meaningfully manipulate toys and prefers to bang them together or against the wall
~Repeats an activity numerous times
~Prefers to 'play' or be alone
~licks/tastes everything - even shoes someone is wearing
~previous history of siezures (medically controlled now)
~The child head butts and bites

She does maintain eye contact on an inconsistent basis and does not resist being held and cuddled but usually doesn't seek that contact. She is typically in her own little world and it has been a real challenge for any of us to reach her in order to find anything at all to expand on.

Any opinions would be appreciated. With the mom in denial, I feel like we are prohibiting this child from receiving the maximum benefit of intervention.

There is no way someone reading a description of a child on a computer, could rate a child mildly or severely autistic. I am glad the little girl is currently being evaluated. It surprises me that non professionals would say to the mom that they think she may be mildly autistic. I remember when my child was going through the diagnosis process. We first saw a speech therapist and she told me that my son who was 28 months old was at a 16 month level for speech and cognitive. I said what do you think is wrong? She said I would need to get a full evaluation from the Developmental Evaluation Center. She said she was only qualified to diagnosis speech and could not say anything else.

I feel that I am an expert on autism since I have a child with autism, but since I have no medical training I would never tell someone I thought their child had autism. I would, however, not hesitate to tell a concerned parent to not wait one second if they thought their child was having a problem. Don't ever wait, or let some doctor push your worry's aside. If a mom thinks something is wrong with their child, they are almost always right.

Why is it important for you to have someone say if they think the child is severely autistic?

I knew someone would ask why I wanted to know. It's simply an opinion question for my own curiosity, nothing more. Very few types of professionals have the qualifications to diagnose autism but any of us can recognize the signs. Anyhow right after this post, I received a call with the results of the evaluation so now I just hope as a team we can do what is needed for this child. An appropriate diagnosis in this case regarding severity will help with getting the intervention she needs through the school district. Without it, she'll be classified as developmentally delayed and 'shoved under the rug' until she reaches 5.

From your description of the RED FLAGS vs her age, it sounds like the delays are potentially moderate. My son displayed similar RED FLAGS when he was 20 months and his evaluation put him at a moderate delay. Three is tough age though because Early Intervention Services are over under the birth to three program. You have to rely on the school system to provide the services and unfortunately they don't always offer what's most appropriate.

My neice has some these symptoms and she is severely autistic and she is now suffering from seizures. I do not know what to do but she was evaluated and she is waiting to be placed in school I am hoping this will help her to improve but she does seem to have basic common sense about certain things.

I have 4 chlldren 18,8,7,6.The older one a girl and the others are boys. The three boys all have been diagnosed with autism. I like the mom of the one you spoke about had denial issues with one in particular because he did'nt manifest most of the "symptoms as the other two. Over the years I see that each child is so very different and yet they do share some commonalities. My middle boy (mildly autistic) has been mainstreamed to go go school with the regular ed kids and is doing pretty good, there is some speech problems and but he is very understandable and helps his other brothers a lot. I presently work in an autistic unit with preschool children and say if you suspect at all there may be a concern if your child is developing skills late or have taken on some peculiar actions PLEASE have your child seen by a doctor preferably one with experience dealing with autistic children) neurologist etc. If the child is autistic, the earlier the beter. Ideally, getting the child therapies and etc. by 2 to 3, there is a good chance of having a hold on this thing before they are 6 or 7. My husband and I have quite a few stories and adventures to tell to say the very least. But I feel God has given them to us because he KNOWS this is what we can handle, even though I question it sometimes, nt I would not trade my experiences for the world. This is just the tip of the iceberg for me, but whatever I can say or do to help anyone I will. This is my life, and I have a very good support sysem with my family. For those starting out, hold on for the roller coaster ride of your life! but just as rides can be scary, they can be great fun too!