All About Autism

[hellflame]

Hi everyone,need some advice.


My little girl is 14 mths old ,although i know it’s too young to be assure of anything however i do have concerns as my little girl always screams for no reason whenever we are dining outside. She does the norm like making eye contact with us, no flapping of hand as of now,smiling to us and even to strangers.Am i too paranoid or should i consult a specialist to do a full diagnosis?

Appreciate any advice,
From a concerned daddy
Thank you.

[Liew Nga Wing]

hellflame\" post_id=\"2063486\" time=\"1649001088\" user_id=\"197427:

Hi everyone,need some advice.

My little girl is 14 mths old ,although i know it's too young to be assure of anything however i do have concerns as my little girl always screams for no reason whenever we are dining outside. She does the norm like making eye contact with us, no flapping of hand as of now,smiling to us and even to strangers.Am i too paranoid or should i consult a specialist to do a full diagnosis?

You may study the below article and see whether your little girl is having these symptoms.

https://www.parents.com/baby/health/autism/early-signs-of-autism-in-babies/

[sharonkhoo]

hellflame\" post_id=\"2063486\" time=\"1649001088\" user_id=\"197427:

Hi everyone,need some advice.

My little girl is 14 mths old ,although i know it's too young to be assure of anything however i do have concerns as my little girl always screams for no reason whenever we are dining outside. She does the norm like making eye contact with us, no flapping of hand as of now,smiling to us and even to strangers.Am i too paranoid or should i consult a specialist to do a full diagnosis?

Appreciate any advice,
From a concerned daddy
Thank you.

Yes, she is too young for any certainty - even if you take her to be assessed, you won't get any definitive answers. ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is essentially a social skills disorder. If your daughter is making eye contact, smiling at you, etc, it's quite unlikely to be ASD.

I'm not a professionally trained, but I have an ASD daughter (now grown-up) and another daughter who is neurologically typical. My guess is that your daughter is suffering from early-onset* \"terrible twos\". When at home: is she required to sit nicely in a chair and wait patiently for food? Does she have to entertain herself in the high chair when parents are talking to others, ordering food, etc? She is very likely objecting to having to wait, being restricted, being relatively ignored, and not being allowed to explore all the novel and enticing things she can see around her. If you want her to be patient in restaurants, try to inculcate sitting at table at home, and help her learn to entertain herself with small toys and books, paper and crayons etc. But a toddler's patience is very limited - if she can stay seated for more than 10 mins without food, that is already an achievement. When my kids were small, eating out for us was mostly \"eat and run\" - if we wanted to chat, we got a babysitter or invited people to our home.

Another possibility is that she is over-stimulated by too many new sights and sensations, or noise and activity, especially if the home environment is relatively quiet. That is something that you have to ease her into, and she will gradually acclimatise.

Hope this helps. I think your child is behaving exactly as a any normal toddler would.

*Edited to add: In case you worry, it's very normal for kids to display the beginnings of the terrible twos by 1+yo. It will only get worse!

[zac's mum]

Regarding the “terrible twos”, yes it can start in their 2nd year of life, ie from 12 months old onwards. Am kind of glad my son had his over and done with earlier. If the child is not verbal yet, it feels more “terrible”, but hang in there. Mine had terrific threes (in his 3rd year of life), fantastic fours, fabulous fives, and basically very sweet to me ever since, no communication issues.

[hellflame]

Really appreciate all replies providing lotsa insights! Yes ,my in laws restrict her in the babyseat while feeding her and my girl always show that frustration like looking at us and shout at us or will feeling agitated. Perhaps this is the cause of her reacting this way.

[ChiefKiasu]

hellflame\" post_id=\"2063519\" time=\"1649062300\" user_id=\"197427:

Really appreciate all replies providing lotsa insights! Yes ,my in laws restrict her in the babyseat while feeding her and my girl always show that frustration like looking at us and shout at us or will feeling agitated. Perhaps this is the cause of her reacting this way.

Your in-laws are not incorrect in training good eating behavior, and if you give in to your DD, it might actually reinforce her poor behavior, thinking that she will get rewarded by behaving badly.

[sharonkhoo]

ChiefKiasu\" post_id=\"2063525\" time=\"1649065090\" user_id=\"3:

Your in-laws are not incorrect in training good eating behavior, and if you give in to your DD, it might actually reinforce her poor behavior, thinking that she will get rewarded by behaving badly.

Agree with Chief. How often do the grandparents feed her? If it's daily, then she will get used to it. If it's not as frequently, and she is not restrained at other meals, then that causes confusion, and she will always fuss at the times when she is restrained. Since you want her to sit when dining out, the best solution is to require the same behaviour at every meal, whether at home or elsewhere.

I am a great advocate for seating kids at mealtimes. It's safer as kids are more focused on the food and less likely to choke. It's also safer for kids to be seated when dining out - avoids trips, spills, scalds etc. My kids have almost never had a meal without being seated in a high chair or other \"trap\". They learned to sit and eat, and it hasn't harmed them in any way. It also means that my husband and I have been able to eat at the same time, and while the food is hot! Of course, once they've filled up, they won't sit still long - but that's normal for small kids.

If your daughter is showing frustration at home during meals, it could be that she is bored. Is she always spoonfed? At her age, she should be allowed to eat some food with her fingers, and also try to self-feed. Giving her something to hold and self-feed will make it easier to feed her the rest of the food. And she will learn to feed herself earlier - both my girls, even the one with dyspraxia, were able to self-feed with a spoon before 2 yrs old. It's messy, but that's a passing phase. The kids will appreciate the independence, while parents will be able to eat their own food more easily.

[Klisna]

Dear all, sorry can I check anyone have good home English tutor recommend ?I am looking for home tutor for my boy (mainstream school P1).Thanks a lot

[hellflame]

slmkhoo\" post_id=\"2063526\" time=\"1649067655\" user_id=\"28674:

Agree with Chief. How often do the grandparents feed her? If it's daily, then she will get used to it. If it's not as frequently, and she is not restrained at other meals, then that causes confusion, and she will always fuss at the times when she is restrained. Since you want her to sit when dining out, the best solution is to require the same behaviour at every meal, whether at home or elsewhere.

I am a great advocate for seating kids at mealtimes. It's safer as kids are more focused on the food and less likely to choke. It's also safer for kids to be seated when dining out - avoids trips, spills, scalds etc. My kids have almost never had a meal without being seated in a high chair or other \"trap\". They learned to sit and eat, and it hasn't harmed them in any way. It also means that my husband and I have been able to eat at the same time, and while the food is hot! Of course, once they've filled up, they won't sit still long - but that's normal for small kids.

If your daughter is showing frustration at home during meals, it could be that she is bored. Is she always spoonfed? At her age, she should be allowed to eat some food with her fingers, and also try to self-feed. Giving her something to hold and self-feed will make it easier to feed her the rest of the food. And she will learn to feed herself earlier - both my girls, even the one with dyspraxia, were able to self-feed with a spoon before 2 yrs old. It's messy, but that's a passing phase. The kids will appreciate the independence, while parents will be able to eat their own food more easily.

My mother in law spoonfed my kid every dinner and even though i propose to let my girl to self fed but always unsuccessful as my mil will decline it. Yay i was thinking perhaps she is bored as we seldom fed her while we go out ,we will do it at home b4 we go out. There was a time while we were dining out my daughter turn behind looking at a family and suddenly shouted at them like \"ahhh\" at them...

[sharonkhoo]

hellflame\" post_id=\"2063700\" time=\"1649217556\" user_id=\"197427:

My mother in law spoonfed my kid every dinner and even though i propose to let my girl to self fed but always unsuccessful as my mil will decline it. Yay i was thinking perhaps she is bored as we seldom fed her while we go out ,we will do it at home b4 we go out. There was a time while we were dining out my daughter turn behind looking at a family and suddenly shouted at them like \"ahhh\" at them...

I see why your daughter fusses when outside. She's bored! She doesn't have food to eat, and she has nothing much to do. For that age, I would \"buy time\" by giving something to eat, preferably with her fingers, feeding her little bits from your plates, and giving her a rotation of little toys and books. But don't expect to sit and have a leisurely meal. Since this is really off topic, if you have other questions about toddlers, find the toddler thread to post questions. All the best!