Autism Spectrum advice and support

Seriously we need a word with these food companies keep changing the packaging. So today I did my freezer shop to find my lads safe foods which he asked for and I thought i can't find it. So I went back to where the worker was stocking the freezer and I had to ask if they where the same ones he was yeah I think so. So I grabbed them . Then come tea time I had to tell my lad they where still hes safe food and thankfully he does a sniff test and they are the same. Why do food companies do this.

Hi

I am looking for some advice. I have twin girls who are turning one next week.

One twin is meeting all of her milestones and is on track however my other twin I think is falling behind massively.

Some of the things I am worried about;

She has poor eye contact when being held, she will engage and smile when she is further away however when I hold her she just looks around. She is very behind on gross motor, only started crawling at 10 months. She can’t get herself into standing or sitting by herself - her core appears to be weak. She can hardly eat solids without gagging and struggles to actually pick a lot of the food up and put it to her mouth so I’m also worried that her fine motor skills are delayed. She is a very happy and content baby and rarely cries. She does make sounds and at times will repeat a word I say like hiya. She was waving a lot since 6 months but that has stopped recently although she has started doing it occasionally the last few days. She can follow some direction like when I say clap your hands she does it without prompting, she smiles and giggles whenever i walk into the room and she also knows what no means. She can’t point or share toys yet although this is something i only recently started working with her on.

I have spoken to HV who says they do not see any concerns and that they think I’m comparing her to her sister too much which I may be doing but I’m finding it really hard that one twin just understands everything and another who seems like she is miles off.

I am looking for some advice on how people managed to get a referral as I want her to get any support she needs as soon as possible and not just wait and see.

Thanks and sorry for the long post.

Hello folks I am new to the group and new to knowing my son is on the spectrum. He is 2 1/2 and we have him working with First Steps as of now to see where he really is at in life right now. So I’m aware that self injury is something we should redirect of course but there are a few others that I’m not quite sure how to help him with. My son will do this thing where he shakes his head back and forth really really fast. It typically comes when he is really happy and too much is going on, or if the tv is on. It looks uncomfortable from my point of view, there’s constant emotions across his face, his eyes are real big, and we can never get him to snap out of it. Should we be redirecting this?

My 1 yr old son was recently diagnosed with Autism. They diagnosed him with mild autism but me and my husband don’t see it. His symptoms are more similar to a toddler with ADHD. None the less, we are moving forward. He was already in private PT so now we are able to put him through all of the therapy services he needs since his sessions will finally be covered by insurance.

I’ve been on the fence on who to tell. I told my immediate tribe but I’m not sure if I want to share it with my entire family. People like to say they don’t treat ppl differently but they do. Mental illness and mental disabilities is a BIG taboo in both of our families. They don’t believe in therapy, getting tested/evaluated, or anything that requires modern medicine. They feel like everything is fixed with prayer and time.

That’s not us. That’s not how we run our household. We are problem solvers. We take action and believe in using the resources around us. Prayer is sprinkled in there as well.

I also like to be the one to control how information flows from my household. Him being on the spectrum is not negative and I don’t want it be painted as such.

I say all of this but my problem is isolation. When I am protecting myself and those around me I isolate. Me and my therapist have been discussing this in depth but it’s hard not to do it in this situation.

How did some of you tell your family? Or were you a bit more discerning on who to tell?

Is high function autism eligible for DLA?