Is it autism or shyness?

[Anonymous]

How would one differentiate the two in a toddler?

[Anonymous]

What are some of the characteristics you are seeing? Is the toddler different around familiar people than around strangers?

[Anonymous]

yes. very comfortable with parents and the caregiver. very reserved and anxious in company of new people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes. very comfortable with parents and the caregiver. very reserved and anxious in company of new people.

Does the child respond to their name, look up at a person who is speaking to them, play near other children if the parents/caregiver are nearby, have about 20 words?

[Anonymous]

Yes he does respond to his name and will look at the person talking to him. If the other children are near adults he does not know, he will not approach them. He stays kind of frozen in company of stranger adults. Is nonverbal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes he does respond to his name and will look at the person talking to him. If the other children are near adults he does not know, he will not approach them. He stays kind of frozen in company of stranger adults. Is nonverbal.

How old?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes he does respond to his name and will look at the person talking to him. If the other children are near adults he does not know, he will not approach them. He stays kind of frozen in company of stranger adults. Is nonverbal.

Probably a speech delay. I'd get an assessment done by two if he is not talking.

[Anonymous]

26 months

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:26 months

At 26 months, is your child completely non verbal or does s/he have some language? there is milestone benchmark that my ped used--I think it was 20 words by age 2 with some stringing together.....me milk...me carry, etc

[Anonymous]

If he is nonverbal at 26 months, you need an evaluation.

If it's any consolation, my kid with ASD has never been shy, ever.

[Anonymous]

We just started speech therapy and the therapist does not know for sure if it is ASD. But she says it is definetly a speech delay.
I wonder if an autistic child could also be shy?

[Anonymous]

My 3rd child is verbal, but she would literally shut down any time a stranger (adult or peer) approached her or tried to interact with her. I kept thinking she was just painfully shy until I realized she never warmed up to most people, period. There were other things that led to her diagnosis: Fleeting eye contact, lack of pretend play, imaginative play, repetitive speech, repetitive play, restricted interests, rigidity. She's not my first to be diagnosed with autism, so around 26 months I realized that she too was on the spectrum. I would definitely get an evaluation done. It could well be just speech delays, but if you find a lot of behaviors that differ from the norm and it is pervasive, he might be on the spectrum. It's not unusual for a non-verbal child to be shy, as the child lacks the ability to interact, so either way I would have him checked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just started speech therapy and the therapist does not know for sure if it is ASD. But she says it is definetly a speech delay.
I wonder if an autistic child could also be shy?

Yes, an autistic child can be shy. Shyness is temperament not a diagnosis and not an indicator of anything but personality although extreme shyness (like extreme anything) can be an anxiety disorder.

[Anonymous]

Why is she afraid of adults? Who is her caretaker?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just started speech therapy and the therapist does not know for sure if it is ASD. But she says it is definetly a speech delay.
I wonder if an autistic child could also be shy?

Yes, an autistic child can be shy. Shyness is temperament not a diagnosis and not an indicator of anything but personality although extreme shyness (like extreme anything) can be an anxiety disorder.

So how would you differentiate between the two?