Marissa's Mom
Member
Hi there. My daughter (2.5 years old) was just diagnosed with mild HFA at a university hospital after waiting for the appointment for 6 months. After hearing our descriptions on her behavior, the doctor simply diagnosed her by checking check boxes of DSM 5 without interacting with her or observing her. My daughter is not in preschool, and she has a mild temperament and very few sensory sensitivity. We were concerned about her because she has limited eye contact, joint attention, and back-to-forth conversation skills. We weren't sure if she was being a typical two year old or being atypical, and we thought the doctor can observe what she does (vs. listening to what we say).
My questions is how this diagnosis would help her overcome any issue she may have in the future. Right now, she sleeps and eats (though a little picky) just fine. Also, she is okay if she doesn't follow the same schedule everyday. She's obsessed with books, and she likes them much more than her toys. This in addition to the things I mentioned already (eye contact, joint attention, conversational skills) are the main challenges now, though these things don't seem to bother her, and she still seems to enjoy every day very much. Many kids her age don't really talk, so she's ahead of them in many ways! She already receives OT/ST, but we have run out of things to talk about lately. Should we be seeking help improving her eye contact and play skills, or should we just wait and see what happens? I was assuming that the doctor will suggest something new for us to do, but they just diagnosed her with autism, and that was the end of the appointment with no constructive suggestions. Even after the diagnosis, I'm still not quite sure if she is just presenting a unique personality within the range of normal, and I don't want to give her too many boring therapies, when she'd rather want to be playing at a park or looking at her favorite books.
Any suggestion what we can do now? I know this is really early for someone to be diagnosed to have high functioning autism. Does anybody who was diagnosed later wish he/she did something as a toddler? We have though about enrolling her in a part time preschool so far and contacting the local autism agency for possible ABA sessions. I apologize for the lack of my knowledge in this area in advance, but I'm hoping we can get some advice with regard to how we help our daughter navigate through this.
My questions is how this diagnosis would help her overcome any issue she may have in the future. Right now, she sleeps and eats (though a little picky) just fine. Also, she is okay if she doesn't follow the same schedule everyday. She's obsessed with books, and she likes them much more than her toys. This in addition to the things I mentioned already (eye contact, joint attention, conversational skills) are the main challenges now, though these things don't seem to bother her, and she still seems to enjoy every day very much. Many kids her age don't really talk, so she's ahead of them in many ways! She already receives OT/ST, but we have run out of things to talk about lately. Should we be seeking help improving her eye contact and play skills, or should we just wait and see what happens? I was assuming that the doctor will suggest something new for us to do, but they just diagnosed her with autism, and that was the end of the appointment with no constructive suggestions. Even after the diagnosis, I'm still not quite sure if she is just presenting a unique personality within the range of normal, and I don't want to give her too many boring therapies, when she'd rather want to be playing at a park or looking at her favorite books.
Any suggestion what we can do now? I know this is really early for someone to be diagnosed to have high functioning autism. Does anybody who was diagnosed later wish he/she did something as a toddler? We have though about enrolling her in a part time preschool so far and contacting the local autism agency for possible ABA sessions. I apologize for the lack of my knowledge in this area in advance, but I'm hoping we can get some advice with regard to how we help our daughter navigate through this.
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