Expert: Valerie Herskowitz - 5/28/2010

Question
My daughter is 2 1/2 years old and was recently diagnosed to have autism by our healthcare physician solely based on a few concerns i brought up. After reading up on autism i am not ready to accept the fact that the diagnosis is correct. To give you an understanding of her behavior I will list them here. Please just give me your honest, expert opinion. She has not began to speak above the normal babbling. She is also very hyper. She also tends to put her hands over her ears;Sometimes when she is being scolded, other times when loud noises are around. She had a stage of walking on her tip toes, but that has slowed down dramatically. She also had a very bad habit of putting everything in her mouth, and that has slowed down with age as well. She understands emotions; she smiles, laughs, cries, and even gives puppy dog faces when she is emotionally hurt. She communicates by using body movements such as pulling, directing, and leading. She comes when her name is called, she eats with utensils, she drinks without lids, she can stack her large lego blocks, and she runs at full speed when she knows she is in trouble. She has a bigger sister, age 6, who she plays with on a daily basis. She has older cousins who are closer to her age, whom she mimics when they play together. Everytime i come home from work she runs to me to give me a hug before i am able to close the door behind me. She can learn quickly by doing; some examples are turning on the television, turning on and off lights, turning pages of books, and opening doors. I have noticed that i only need to show her something once and she has it mastered after doing it just once. My original concern was that she had hearing problems, and from the limited testing supplies, her doctor could not argue that. She did not have any ear infections, but i do want to have her see a specialist in that area. My main question to you is do you agree with the doctor's diagnosis of my daughter? If you do, would you agree that it is a minor case? I understand that your word should be taken lightly, but I don't feel exchanging minimal concerns with a doctor is sufficient enough to make an arguable diagnosis. Therefore, i will take your word with more value due to your expertise in this field.

Answer
HI Raymond
I previously answered this question, but it must not have gone through as it is still appearing as an unanswered question in my box. If you have already gotten my answer, however, I apologize for the redundancy.

I do agree with the diagnosis due to the following behaviors that your daughter is exhibiting:
1. speech delay
2. hyperactivity
3. history of walking on her tiptoes


These behaviors are commensurate with speech and language and sensory issues that are characteristics of autism.

She does appear to be very bright, however, as demonstrated by the fact that she is a good learner especially in the visual areas (things she sees you doing).

I know it is very difficult to accept that your child has autism. But because she is a quick learner, I would highly recommend that you immediately begin working with her on her communication skills. I would recommend that you start with using picture cards or sign language to help her communicate while you elicit the help of a speech pathologist to help her learn to talk. I do private consultations on the phone or Skype if you need some help in this area. Just email me at info@valerieherskowitz.com.

Good luck and hope to hear from you