I don't have the background to speak to the autism issues, but agree with DeeDee above, and particularly about working with an autism center that's associated with a children's hospital. I've also found with my kids (and their different needs) that our pediatricians have been able to steer us to competent professionals and away from ideas or places that weren't worth looking into.

Originally Posted by DeeDee
And yes, diagnosis at age 2 has historically been very difficult (and note that several years ago, when those early diagnoses in this study happened, the improved standardized tests that are now in use weren't available, so those *were* subjective early diagnoses.

There's also one other thought I had when reading the comment (somewhere above) about overdiagnosis at 2 and some children "outgrowing" autism. My dd11 has medical issues that are also found frequently in a sub-group of children with autism, so I read a lot about that specific subset of children when I was trying to find help for her when she was very young (her issues started at around 2 years old). During that time (which was around 10 years ago now, so my "knowledge" is out-of-date, to be sure) - there was a thought that the children who were diagnosed around 2 years old after having a "regression" in development were not really the traditional form of autism but perhaps another form or an entirely different issue. This didn't mean they didn't have autism (or something else in common with each other), but how it played out over their next few years of life was sometimes very different than in children with "classic" autism.

The other thought that comes to mind (to my very un-knowledgable mind, so take it with a big grain of salt!)... interventions and treatment and opportunities for children with autism diagnoses are much wider now than they were when I was a child. Recognition and diagnosis has also most likely improved. When I was a child *MANY* years ago, autism meant a child who was so locked away inside their head that there was very little hope of them ever being functional in the world. I remember it being big news when either a parent or a dr took their child to the ocean for the first time and somehow discovered that what had kept their child so isolated in their own world was that they were exceptionally sensitive to sound. Things like that. Today we understand sensory issues relating to noise perception, touch, etc. So maybe what can look like "overdiagnosis" is really just heightened awareness and knowledge.

Best wishes,

polarbear