Expert: James Michael Roan - 3/10/2008

Question
I have a 15 month old child who I think shows several diagnostic features of autism and I would like your opinion. We do have an appointment with her Ped next week, but am anxious for input sooner :)
She has no words but she does babble. She has never pointed, waved, nodded, or shaken her head. She attends quite
poorly to name (after several tries) and to a point. Her eye contact is inconsistent, she rarely makes it spontaneously, and when I make it she often breaks away. She has a compulsive hair twirling/pulling behaviour that is mostly at night when tired and also when nursing.
On the upside, she brings us books for us to read and toys which make sounds if you press them and she will imitate pretend play with a telephone (although I haven't seen any spontaneous pretend play). She seems to enjoy interacting with us on a functional level. She follows a 1-step command sometimes (she might give you a ball thats in her hand, but not go get one that you point to).
Most worrying for us is that in the last 3 weeks we have seen some regression. She had learned to clap at 12-13 months but will not clap now despite much modeling and encouragement. She has also developed extreme fear in social settings, for example clinging and crying at the park and supermarket where she was fine just a few months ago.
My concern is that this hasn't stablized yet and there could still be more losses. If she has an ASD do you think that immediate intervention would be warranted to try to stem the tide, and maybe get her moving forward again. I am too afraid to just wait and see.

Answer
Hi Rob;

Yes, early intervention will help her make huge gains. If you live in the U.S. call the special education department in your school district and tell them you want to get on the agenda immediately for an Early Intervention referral. Make sure you emphasize suspected autism. The assessment and intervention if she is eligible is at school district expense.

Kind regards,
James