Diagnosis of Mild Autism in 2-year-old

it just looks like there's a bunch of neurotypical  kids interacting it doesn't even look like one of   them is Autistic so we've been getting a lot of  questions about Simon he's our two and a half   year old and he just barely got diagnosed with  autism another reason we want to share Simon's   experience is because Simon really defies a  lot of the stereotypical behaviors of autism   we totally would have never gotten Simon tested  for autism if we didn't already have Ezra who's   our six-year-old who he is autistic and uh we  wouldn't have noticed any red flag red flag   yeah so in this we'll talk about some of the red  flags that we noticed probably because we have a   child already with autism um and so we were  watching more closely for those types of red   flags we just want this to be a reference and  to get people thinking and make more awareness   for parents because I know it can be such a  blessing to find out early as early as possible   that your child is on the Spectrum and give  them the help they need and then also yourself   because it's really really hard to have a child  who's autistic and not know that they're autistic   it's extremely difficult as a parent but once you  know and it opens up this world of resources and   help and just better understanding and Ezra  when he was first born we noticed right away   that he might be autistic he didn't really have  eye contact he had more of the stereotypical   things that you think of when you think of autism  and so by the time we had Simon I was definitely   watching for those red flags just wondering if he  would also be on the Spectrum he was hitting all   of his Milestones he had great eye contact he had  this amazing smile that was definitely a social   smile he would laugh at us when we would play  with him even at three months old hello Simon   yeah and by the time he had his first birthday  I just knew that Simon was not autistic because   he'd hit all of his Milestones up to that  point and just listen to this kid Babble yeah to me yeah like I had no thoughts of him being  autistic at all at first yeah Simon was and still   is very like socially motivated he wanted to be  held all the time some things are really difficult   with Simon and some things aren't I can give him  a haircut in our RV when we were traveling to   all the national parks I love seeing Simon notice  other people's feelings he does this really well   Simon even Comforts his older sister when she  falls down during a hike at one of the national   parks he notices when other people get excited and  he gets excited too here is a fun little moment   we had when we had just told all the kids in the  RV that we were going to take them to Disneyland   Simon at two years old had no idea  what Disneyland was [Music] [Applause] Simon had a lot of fun during Halloween he was  pretty scared at first but when we had some good   experiences and he got to see that the candy  actually went in his bucket he got to eat it   later he got pretty good at it and it was fun  to see his little victory dance at the end we   have a whole movie on that here the dentist  on the other hand was not as fun but he was   a brave little soul and we tried to make the best  of the situation that video is right here he has   wonderful relationships with his brothers  and sisters and when they interact it just   looks like there's a bunch of neurotypical kids  interacting it doesn't even look like one of them   is Autistic and a lot of times with certain kids  autism can hide and you don't see it as well and   we definitely did not see it in Simon right at  first usually Simon is a pretty easy going child   just as long as you don't take a car away from  him or a device or screen that he's watching   or don't try to get him back into the car when  you're visiting Death Valley I mean come here it's time to go Simon come on Simon's also really good at copying other people's  behavior he sees right here the kids doing   service and putting logs in piles and putting  strings around them and so he wants to help too Simon is putting my pile of  nine on top of the other one and Simon is actually a pretty good eater look how  he gets into this apple eats pretty healthy and he   really isn't that picky Simon is such a cuddler  a lot of times when we're in the RV he will come   and sit in my lap while I'm editing video he just  wants to be held and since Ezra is so different   than Simon we just figured hey cyber's not like  as Resto Simon should be on the Spectrum but we   were very wrong the first red flag of autism that  I saw was when Simon was walking and he was on his   tiptoes and when I saw that I was like oh that's a  red flag that's a sign of autism now of course if   your child just does that one thing it doesn't  mean that they have autism but I was really   looking for these red flags and I was like okay  there's one if there's three I'm taking them in   and the second red flag that we saw was Simon was  extreme fixation so he would and does get really   attached to something and then if you try to take  that thing away or anything changes or there's   has to be a transition he just has a meltdown  one time we were at a friend's house and he was   playing with you know the Friends toys and then we  had to leave and that was uh I mean he was just we   couldn't get his shoes on yeah he was just going  crazy mad at us and then I think it lasted like an   hour yeah it was a long time before we could get  him calmed down those just extreme fixations on   a certain thing and then if you try to take  that thing away it's it's not good and most   two-year-olds don't want their toys taken away  but this example is especially with like just cars   he's fixated with cars and so if he sees  another car he has to have it I remember   at Thanksgiving he saw a red car and he  just had to have it and my brother talked   him through like okay how do we ask for things  because he just went into a meltdown even before   anyone said you can't have it he's just like  screaming that he had to have it okay please   say more please do you want a car we need  a soft voice so we can use a car [Music]   but we need to use a nice soft voice we  always say please love please Simon can use   a car we love cars wow we love Lightning  McQueen's I think these are the best hmm so that was our second red flag that I saw and  when he was about two years old just barely two   I saw Simon one night running from corner to  corner of the room and he was laughing having   the time of his life just running again and again  and again and I I saw him and this wasn't weird   our odd behavior to me because he did this all the  time he liked to run and laugh so I didn't think   anything of it and then as I was watching him just  that one night it dawned on me he does this every   day if not more than one time a day and I was like  this is a repetitive Behavior this is another red   flag of autism and I knew right then that we would  need to get him on the waiting list to see if he   actually is autistic and as I was watching Simon  going from corner to corner of the room it came to   my memory other little repetitive behaviors that  he has he'll take my hair and wrap it around his   finger to help soothe him and to help himself calm  down and he'll also start running in circles again   and again and I remember especially we were in an  RV for quite a long time visiting all the national   parks it was a super fun time and we got lots of  fun video to share with you guys but during that   time when we were in such a small space I began to  notice more of the repetitive behaviors because he   was just always in my peripheral vision I was he  was so close to me all the time and so I noticed   when he would go back and forth and that's when he  would spin around that's true I didn't think about   that yeah in the house it's like not as evident  but in the RV literally every night he would run   back and forth back and forth and we all knew it  because we're all right there you can't miss it   well and I think another big thing obviously is  we're thinking language would start to develop   right because he he still wasn't talking and um  and it just wasn't progressing at all like no   no mama or Dada or anything really he said those  things like a few times yeah not not consistently   it wasn't like I learned this word and now I know  what it is like none of that so that was another   big red flag too so I'd say four four things that  were like okay something we just need to get it   get him checked out and just see although but like  like both of us were still like I don't think he   has autism like but let's just find out and we  got him on the waiting list which was six months   so I had to wait for six months until he can even  go in and when he walked in he just started being   so social he went up and to start babbling and  talking to the doctor he was playing with the   toys he was showing the doctor the toys I mean  he was doing so many things that that I was like   there's no way he's autistic he was showing  that he was motivated socially and I just sat   there for two hours and watched my son in my head  not be autistic so the next time we come back and   see the doctor two weeks later and I was ready  for him to tell me okay your son is not autistic   and we sat down and then he handed me this big  like book of papers just so many papers and it   was the diagnosis I looked at it and I said autism  spectrum disorder and I was completely surprised   so far we asked it I had just literally been on  the phone with my mom telling her that Simon is   not sick as the doctor explained to me where he  is on the Spectrum which is extremely different   Than Ezra it started making sense so a Simon's  diagnosis says that he has social communication   at level two restricted repetitive Behavior level  one and of course those things are very subject   to change as he grows older Simon's without  intellectual impairment and with language   impairment yeah so when she called me and I could  tell something was wrong wait but it's like it was   like more quiet what's going on I had just been  humbled and proven wrong so and uh and then she's   like Simon has autism I was like mine's blown away  too I was like what then when Holly went through   this and explained why and that there isn't an  intellectual delay but you know these other things   that made made a lot of sense and maybe we should  do another video about Ezra and his diagnosis and   kind of the difference um they are so different  of that uh diagnosis and that experience because   it was even though his was obvious I mean I  was in denial for a long time a really long   time that was really hard that was hard it's  good to see I think the the differences between   individuals so we should probably do that so put  in the comments if you want to hear Ezra's story   as well so hopefully this helps you see some of  the different red flags and how they can add up   if you're seeing you know three or more of those  things then you might want to check it out so   our three older kids Mark Benson and Marine  we actually interviewed them and asked them   what is it like having two younger siblings on  the Spectrum and we made a video out of it it's   pretty endearing it's right here you can see right  here as well is our playlist autism playlist so as   we've traveled to all the national parks and had  those experiences that kind of highlight what it's   like living with autism especially in that case  in an RV or a really National Park or on the road   um we've put those in that playlist here so  make sure to check that out if you haven't   already please subscribe to the channel  we'd love to get to know you guys bye see ya

Channel: 7-Ahead

Views: 747,052

Keywords: Autism in kids, autism in baby, autism family, mild autism, mild autism symptoms, mild autism in 2 year old boy, mild autism in 2-year-old, autism symptoms in babies, autism symptoms, 7-ahead, 7ahead, 7heads, 7 heads, mild autism in 3-year-old

Id: uGl3bLiDHJg

Length: 13min 22sec (802 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 10 2022