We knew when Steven was 19 months old. Steven's development was on par or even ahead until he was a little over a year. Then he lost his words. He would sit against the wall and bang his head, not hard enough to hurt himself, but hard enough to freak us out. He went from eating every jarred baby food out there, no matter what the brand, to eating only chicken nuggets and a few other finger foods. Then he only wanted chicken nuggets. He threw up on me every day for two years straight. He played with toys in strange ways, and lined up the canned goods in the kitchen. He became less likely to go to other people, and stopped giving kisses altogether.

My husband and I were totally perplexed. We checked each individual behavior, and they all listed different causes. It wasn't until I took Steven to the pediatrician to be tested for milk allergy, that the word autism came up. I went home, looked it up, and it described Steven to a tee. We knew then. It was a year and a half before we got the official diagnosis. But I'm glad we didn't wait, because the way things are now, we'd be up the creek without it.

i get sencond but i know my son did not speak a word anything my word is now is he
but early intervention is the best please and research a lot u see the good and bad
god bless u

I said something was not right at birth. At 4 I took her to a child psychologist. At 12 years and 9 months she was diagnosed. I am greatful we were able to achieve functioning recovery.

Once my son was diagnosed at the age of 2 we pretty much told everyone At the time his diagnoses was "mild to severe" autism.

There is no shame in a child having ASD, it's a disorder. Yes there still is a stigma around mental health in general, but good friends will be thankful you shared this and family 'should' be supportive. Surround yourself with caring and loving people. :)

Knew something was wrong about 15-18 months. Officially diagnosed at 26 months. Started telling people immediately with mixed outcomes.