This is a link to a short article about detecting autism as early as 6 months old. This is very interesting to me because even though I was in total denial my son had autism from the very begining. Once I accepted it, I can think back to clues.
Clues from very early on in his life. Little things that at the time I just thought he was a bit quirky. Now that I understand his autism some of those things were based on sensory issues.
Phillip would never allow anyone to hold him, even as a very tiny baby only his dad and I could hold him without him getting fussy. Loud noises were always a problem. I was at baseball game and parked at the far side of the field. Opened up the back of the car so he could crawl around and the sounds of people cheering wouldn't scare him. A woman came over to chat with us and let out a yell when the ball was hit. Phillip was instantly startled by it and she apologized to us. At the time I felt he was just sensitive but didn't know why.
He never slept in his crib, for one reason or another, I assume the bars were overwhelming for him. He never took a bottle. I tried and tried to give him every kind of nipple I could find and he refused them all. Why? because I was breast feeding him and he couldn't accept the change. I thought he was just stubborn. This made it impossible to leave him anywhere because even if I pumped milk, he wouldn't take it.
Constipation was always a problem. One day I put him in his crib and he was able to have a bowel movement. After that one time, every time I put him in the crib he had a bowel movement. He found something that worked and turned it into his own system. We thought it was because he hated his crib and could get out of it if he went to the bathroom, but that just wasn't the case. It became such a system I was worried about giving up the crib, even though all he used it for was that one purpose. It had become such a system for him I wasn't sure if he would be able to find a new one. I also had no idea at the time this was a part of autism. The repetitive behavior made it easier for him. I can say now with a daily dose of probiotics the constipation was solved completely.
With all the theories thrown at me I can say my son was born autistic, I just didn't know what it was. Would I have done anything differently? No, I think I did and am doing everything I can to make sure his difference is as easy as it can be. When I was in denial I felt it was just his personality and I can say now it is still just his personality. Only now, part of his personality can be explained by learning and accepting autism.
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