Hi, everyone. First, my apologies, as I have no idea which room would be the best for this.

I've tried to avoid thinking/posting about this too much, but I'm really seeking some advice and insight.

My daughter is 2 years old, and she's honestly such a great child. But, when it comes to most things, she's quite delayed. Looking back, it started when she was way younger, and I expressed all of this to her pediatrician. For example, she started crawling at 9 months, but wasn't sitting up unsupported until a month or so after she started crawling. Her doctor just informed me that she was a lazy baby, and knowing that infants learn things in their own time, I overlooked it.

Now, at 2.5 years old, I'm concerned, and something is going on here. Her pediatrician has expressed his concern with autism, but hasn't really seemed to care since said comment. We'll be switching soon, but in the meantime, has anyone ever dealt with this?

She doesn't talk. When she does, it's "dada" "up" "no" or she sings. On the other hand, she knows her numbers all the way to 10, her entire alphabet and can identify them by sight, and she knows most colors.

Some of the things her doctor was concerned with was stemming. She flaps her arms when she gets excited about something. She does so quite aggressively, tenses her entire body, and shakes uncontrollably when doing so. Sometimes, it honestly startles me with how much she shakes. She'll mostly do it when she sees something that she likes: the sky, an animal, the credits at the end of a movie.

My main concern lately is comprehension. If I say "Iris do you want to go bye bye?" "Iris, come brush your teeth," "Iris, lay down," or "would you like something to drink?" She 100% knows what I'm saying. Outside of that, this child just honestly seems lost when you're talking to her, if she even notices that you're talking to her at all. I put her in daycare to see if that would help any, but the other kids were so much more advanced than her, she struggled to build relationships with them. The modt heartbreaking thing for me was to witness her peers sitting together at a table, and my baby completely seperate from them (she's secluded herself from other children since she was old enough to be mobile.) When I would walk in for pickup, they'd all get excited for her with lots of "iris, your mom's here!" She never even realized that they were talking to her. And yes, she's had her hearing checked, because that was my first thought. Everything was fine.

What finally encouraged me to post this is a new thing that I've noticed, and something that I'm getting extremely concerned and overwhelmed with.

She has always been energetic. Literally never sits, or even walks. When she's awake, she jumps. That's how she gets to anywhere she's going, thats what she's doing when she's supposed to be standing still. She just jumps. But lately, her energy is focused on sheer anger! I have never seen such anger in a child in my life. The smallest little upset will send her into a rage. She throws everything. These trashed her daycare room, my mother's house, she's tried to flip the tv, anything that she can move, she will throw. If you're close enough, she'll scratch you, kick you, hit you, etc. While screaming her entire heart out. I have an extremely strict policy in my home when it comes to arguing and displaying anger. I have honestly made people leave because they've chosen to raise their voices or argue..I grew up in that, and I refuse to expose my daughter to it. So, she isn't acting out things that she has seen. I am 100% certain that she has never witnessed this type of behavior in her home. Not even on TV. I just have no idea where it's coming from.

I've gone over everything in my head. She could have ADHD, my brother and I did. It could be autism, she definitely shows some signs of it. But regardless, I just want to know how to properly communicate with my baby, and to teach her in a way that she can understand. I'm absolutely not afraid to have a child with special needs, I'm just afraid of having a child who doesn't feel heard and understood.

If you've dealt with this, or have any tips on what I can do to make both of our lives a bit easier, please comment. As I've stated, we're switching pediatricians to hopefully find someone who cares enough to help me identify where my baby is struggling most and solve it. I'm just looking for some insight in the meantime.

Autism Love