Anonymous wrote:Call Children’s Hospital and Kennedy-Krieger and tell them you want a full neuropsychiatric exam. They will put you on a waiting list. Tell them that you would like to also be on their cancellation list so that if someone doesn’t show up your child can be seeen sooner.

Kennedy Krieger is in Baltimore but is a top facility and worth the trip.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many tantrums per day? 2.5 is a very tough age. The only thing that stands out to me is the biting sibling. Is she in daycare? How is her behavior there?

I have never counted, but it's over everything. Getting out of bed, getting into bed, brushing teeth, then to stop brushing teeth, getting into highchair to eat, getting out of highchair, any form of playing with toys (not sharing), having things taken away that are potentially dangerous to a 2 year old, having to leave certain places, not being picked up, wanting to get changed into different clothes, out of them, wanting a bath, not wanting a bath, etc.

I'm sure I'm missing some topics.

No, not in daycare. They are both at home with me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've grown increasingly worried that my 2.5 year old daughter might have some behavioral challenges, but I don't know possibly what.

Kiddo has always been a handful -

1. Very picky eater (sometimes barely eats due to stubbornness and at times I just have to feed her otherwise she won't eat),

2. Always fights at bedtime (screaming, sometimes hitting, wakes up in the early morning hours screaming for one of us and occasionally will bang head on the wall/door). Only ever wants to sleep while touching one of us.

3. Doesn't play well with older sibling - hits, headbutts, throws toys, screams, rarely shares

4. Always crying and hanging on me to pick her up. Very difficult for me to try and do anything because I can't have bodily autonomy.

5. Flies into a full tantrum over the simplest things - full body flailing to the ground, kicking legs, hitting arms, screaming. I'm worried she will hit her head and injure herself.

I'm very exhausted after years of this. My older was never like this in any way.

I feel like we need to get an evaluation of some sort but I am completely lost and don't know where to begin.

Not sure if this is all normal anyways or if it sounds like something, and if so, merely curious as to what from experienced parents.

Thank you for reading from a very tired mom 😞

I feel your exhaustion. The symptoms described are often caused by trauma of some sort. —single mother

There hasn't been any trauma, though. Been with me every single day of her life. Rarely been out of my sight. Only times she is away from me is if I need to go out and my husband isn't available to watch, she will stay with my mom/parents for a few short hours.

This is not a regular thing at all.

Never been to daycare, never stayed with my in-laws or her cousins alone.

I genuinely cannot point to any trauma whatsoever.

What were her earliest symptoms?
At what age?

Gosh, I'm trying to think back - even though realistically it was *that* long ago, it feels hard to go back in my memory. It's all a blur!

She's been a fussy, fussy sleeper since birth.

We had our older in a co-sleeper until 6 months, transitioned to a pack n play at 6 months, then a crib at 8 months.

Around 18 months is when we got to sleeping through the night with our older. There has been ,ero problems with sleeping since and fine with eating since age 3 (now 6.5 y/o).

Older started talking at 20 months and has been fine ever since. Currently a strong reader and bright.

Younger daughter still at times just talks nonsense but does say some words that I can understand.

I know every kid is different, and so I struggle between wondering if younger kiddo just seems insanely difficult in every aspect because our older was so well behaved and just so much easier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I didn't mine at children's hospital Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders

But they told me 2.5 is still very young, so they could possibly rule a diagnosis out but couldn't confirm one

I appreciate your reply!!

Just out of curiosity, and you don't have to answer if you're not comfortable doing so, what was your child being evaluated for?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've grown increasingly worried that my 2.5 year old daughter might have some behavioral challenges, but I don't know possibly what.

Kiddo has always been a handful -

1. Very picky eater (sometimes barely eats due to stubbornness and at times I just have to feed her otherwise she won't eat),

2. Always fights at bedtime (screaming, sometimes hitting, wakes up in the early morning hours screaming for one of us and occasionally will bang head on the wall/door). Only ever wants to sleep while touching one of us.

3. Doesn't play well with older sibling - hits, headbutts, throws toys, screams, rarely shares

4. Always crying and hanging on me to pick her up. Very difficult for me to try and do anything because I can't have bodily autonomy.

5. Flies into a full tantrum over the simplest things - full body flailing to the ground, kicking legs, hitting arms, screaming. I'm worried she will hit her head and injure herself.

I'm very exhausted after years of this. My older was never like this in any way.

I feel like we need to get an evaluation of some sort but I am completely lost and don't know where to begin.

Not sure if this is all normal anyways or if it sounds like something, and if so, merely curious as to what from experienced parents.

Thank you for reading from a very tired mom 😞

I feel your exhaustion. The symptoms described are often caused by trauma of some sort. —single mother

There hasn't been any trauma, though. Been with me every single day of her life. Rarely been out of my sight. Only times she is away from me is if I need to go out and my husband isn't available to watch, she will stay with my mom/parents for a few short hours.

This is not a regular thing at all.

Never been to daycare, never stayed with my in-laws or her cousins alone.

I genuinely cannot point to any trauma whatsoever.

What were her earliest symptoms?
At what age?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've grown increasingly worried that my 2.5 year old daughter might have some behavioral challenges, but I don't know possibly what.

Kiddo has always been a handful -

1. Very picky eater (sometimes barely eats due to stubbornness and at times I just have to feed her otherwise she won't eat),

2. Always fights at bedtime (screaming, sometimes hitting, wakes up in the early morning hours screaming for one of us and occasionally will bang head on the wall/door). Only ever wants to sleep while touching one of us.

3. Doesn't play well with older sibling - hits, headbutts, throws toys, screams, rarely shares

4. Always crying and hanging on me to pick her up. Very difficult for me to try and do anything because I can't have bodily autonomy.

5. Flies into a full tantrum over the simplest things - full body flailing to the ground, kicking legs, hitting arms, screaming. I'm worried she will hit her head and injure herself.

I'm very exhausted after years of this. My older was never like this in any way.

I feel like we need to get an evaluation of some sort but I am completely lost and don't know where to begin.

Not sure if this is all normal anyways or if it sounds like something, and if so, merely curious as to what from experienced parents.

Thank you for reading from a very tired mom 😞

I feel your exhaustion. The symptoms described are often caused by trauma of some sort. —single mother

There hasn't been any trauma, though. Been with me every single day of her life. Rarely been out of my sight. Only times she is away from me is if I need to go out and my husband isn't available to watch, she will stay with my mom/parents for a few short hours.

This is not a regular thing at all.

Never been to daycare, never stayed with my in-laws or her cousins alone.

I genuinely cannot point to any trauma whatsoever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've grown increasingly worried that my 2.5 year old daughter might have some behavioral challenges, but I don't know possibly what.

Kiddo has always been a handful -

1. Very picky eater (sometimes barely eats due to stubbornness and at times I just have to feed her otherwise she won't eat),

2. Always fights at bedtime (screaming, sometimes hitting, wakes up in the early morning hours screaming for one of us and occasionally will bang head on the wall/door). Only ever wants to sleep while touching one of us.

3. Doesn't play well with older sibling - hits, headbutts, throws toys, screams, rarely shares

4. Always crying and hanging on me to pick her up. Very difficult for me to try and do anything because I can't have bodily autonomy.

5. Flies into a full tantrum over the simplest things - full body flailing to the ground, kicking legs, hitting arms, screaming. I'm worried she will hit her head and injure herself.

I'm very exhausted after years of this. My older was never like this in any way.

I feel like we need to get an evaluation of some sort but I am completely lost and don't know where to begin.

Not sure if this is all normal anyways or if it sounds like something, and if so, merely curious as to what from experienced parents.

Thank you for reading from a very tired mom 😞

I feel your exhaustion. The symptoms described are often caused by trauma of some sort. —single mother

Anonymous wrote:I've grown increasingly worried that my 2.5 year old daughter might have some behavioral challenges, but I don't know possibly what.

Kiddo has always been a handful -

1. Very picky eater (sometimes barely eats due to stubbornness and at times I just have to feed her otherwise she won't eat),

2. Always fights at bedtime (screaming, sometimes hitting, wakes up in the early morning hours screaming for one of us and occasionally will bang head on the wall/door). Only ever wants to sleep while touching one of us.

3. Doesn't play well with older sibling - hits, headbutts, throws toys, screams, rarely shares

4. Always crying and hanging on me to pick her up. Very difficult for me to try and do anything because I can't have bodily autonomy.

5. Flies into a full tantrum over the simplest things - full body flailing to the ground, kicking legs, hitting arms, screaming. I'm worried she will hit her head and injure herself.

I'm very exhausted after years of this. My older was never like this in any way.

I feel like we need to get an evaluation of some sort but I am completely lost and don't know where to begin.

Not sure if this is all normal anyways or if it sounds like something, and if so, merely curious as to what from experienced parents.

Thank you for reading from a very tired mom 😞

Anonymous wrote:How many tantrums per day? 2.5 is a very tough age. The only thing that stands out to me is the biting sibling. Is she in daycare? How is her behavior there?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how child find works in your area, I assume it’s a birth-3 program at this age. I’d definitely start there but would also be looking for private providers as well if you have the means to do so.

Here’s the basic breakdown I follow for EI:

Contact birth-3

Contact insurance (they may not cover anything now but will help for you to know what info they need to get services covered). Ask about pre-diagnosis vs diagnosis, some cover pre-diagnosis at this age if behavioral concerns are inhibiting ability to be formally assessed using standard measurements.

Schedule pediatrician to rule out medical issues like hearing, vision, etc. and get possible pre-diagnosis.

Schedule developmental pediatrician for later date /possible diagnosis once you have assessments completed

Look into EIBI program- get behavioral assessment and ABLLS-R- birth-3 May or May not help with this. ABLLS-R should be updated at least every 6 months.

Schedule OT, PT, SLP assessments- birth-3 May or May not help with this. PPVT and EVT are great speech assessments to get and update yearly.

Contact public school regarding IEP at age 3 (even if homeschool you may still be able to use it for SLP, OT, etc). Easiest time to get IEP is 3rd birthday. If you anticipate needing extensive services hire a lawyer and advocate. If you just need speech you should be fine/birth-3 should be able to assist.

I think a nutritionist and allergist can be useful as well to help rule out additional medical concerns.

Keep immaculate records, get copies of everything, make yourself a binder. Record dates, times, phone calls, print emails. Give physical copies from binder to each person on a need to know basis, much easier than requesting office A to send to office B, etc.

Thank you very much, this is super helpful!

It has been daunting to try and figure out the processes and the general overview of it all. And being exhausted (and currently sick) makes it even more overwhelming!

I am really appreciative of you outlining this all!

It’s very overwhelming at first but it does get easier once you have people helping you. The paperwork aspect never gets better, unfortunately, that’s why I mentioned keeping good records.

I’ve met 18 month olds that screamed almost all day long, couldn’t speak until age 3, and had huge issues with sleeping and eating. Through a LOT of hard work, consistency, and parents doing everything they could the progress was incredible. As they aged the gaps between them and NT peers became smaller. This type of progress takes a huge commitment at this age but change is definitely possible.

A good intensive EIBI program is worth its weight in gold. The first year will be the hardest and progress might start slow but don’t ever lose hope. Deal with the behavioral issues first, then the language, then attending, then play and social. It will all come together if you have competent people leading you.

Find a group of great professionals and listen to them. Don’t skimp on your research/interview process when finding someone, especially the BCBA. Look for home-based early intervention experience and verbal behavior experience as well as experience addressing sleeping and eating issues and parent training. If you can afford it then find a BCBA that can provide at least 15-20 of the hours themselves, especially in the beginning.

Supplement with a nanny that can be trained to help with consistency, or get someone to watch your other children so you can learn from the professional and do what’s asked when they aren’t there. Record sessions if you have to, but 1:1 sit in time for the first few months is most useful. Consistency and time will be the key to progress but you also need to act quickly and intensively at this age.

I don’t disagree with the PP about a neuropsych, and KK is great, but sometimes at this age a full neuropsych is almost useless. If behavioral concerns are most prominent issue these have to be addressed first before formal testing can take place. You don’t need a diagnosis to start a private pay EIBI program, or at least start the assessments to see if this type of program would benefit you. Get on the waiting list for KK but don’t wait to start home EIBI services. Time is very important when addressing the things you’re concerned about.

Regarding parenting classes, parent training is hugely important, but a good BCBA can cover this with you in a more individualized way than a general parenting class could. You can certainly sign up for one but might not need it if you find an experienced BCBA.

Never give up hope, people that can help you exist.

Aba is for kids with autism. Op does not need a nanny. This advice is excessive. Start with a developmental ped.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know how child find works in your area, I assume it’s a birth-3 program at this age. I’d definitely start there but would also be looking for private providers as well if you have the means to do so.

Here’s the basic breakdown I follow for EI:

Contact birth-3

Contact insurance (they may not cover anything now but will help for you to know what info they need to get services covered). Ask about pre-diagnosis vs diagnosis, some cover pre-diagnosis at this age if behavioral concerns are inhibiting ability to be formally assessed using standard measurements.

Schedule pediatrician to rule out medical issues like hearing, vision, etc. and get possible pre-diagnosis.

Schedule developmental pediatrician for later date /possible diagnosis once you have assessments completed

Look into EIBI program- get behavioral assessment and ABLLS-R- birth-3 May or May not help with this. ABLLS-R should be updated at least every 6 months.

Schedule OT, PT, SLP assessments- birth-3 May or May not help with this. PPVT and EVT are great speech assessments to get and update yearly.

Contact public school regarding IEP at age 3 (even if homeschool you may still be able to use it for SLP, OT, etc). Easiest time to get IEP is 3rd birthday. If you anticipate needing extensive services hire a lawyer and advocate. If you just need speech you should be fine/birth-3 should be able to assist.

I think a nutritionist and allergist can be useful as well to help rule out additional medical concerns.

Keep immaculate records, get copies of everything, make yourself a binder. Record dates, times, phone calls, print emails. Give physical copies from binder to each person on a need to know basis, much easier than requesting office A to send to office B, etc.

Thank you very much, this is super helpful!

It has been daunting to try and figure out the processes and the general overview of it all. And being exhausted (and currently sick) makes it even more overwhelming!

I am really appreciative of you outlining this all!

It’s very overwhelming at first but it does get easier once you have people helping you. The paperwork aspect never gets better, unfortunately, that’s why I mentioned keeping good records.

I’ve met 18 month olds that screamed almost all day long, couldn’t speak until age 3, and had huge issues with sleeping and eating. Through a LOT of hard work, consistency, and parents doing everything they could the progress was incredible. As they aged the gaps between them and NT peers became smaller. This type of progress takes a huge commitment at this age but change is definitely possible.

A good intensive EIBI program is worth its weight in gold. The first year will be the hardest and progress might start slow but don’t ever lose hope. Deal with the behavioral issues first, then the language, then attending, then play and social. It will all come together if you have competent people leading you.

Find a group of great professionals and listen to them. Don’t skimp on your research/interview process when finding someone, especially the BCBA. Look for home-based early intervention experience and verbal behavior experience as well as experience addressing sleeping and eating issues and parent training. If you can afford it then find a BCBA that can provide at least 15-20 of the hours themselves, especially in the beginning.

Supplement with a nanny that can be trained to help with consistency, or get someone to watch your other children so you can learn from the professional and do what’s asked when they aren’t there. Record sessions if you have to, but 1:1 sit in time for the first few months is most useful. Consistency and time will be the key to progress but you also need to act quickly and intensively at this age.

I don’t disagree with the PP about a neuropsych, and KK is great, but sometimes at this age a full neuropsych is almost useless. If behavioral concerns are most prominent issue these have to be addressed first before formal testing can take place. You don’t need a diagnosis to start a private pay EIBI program, or at least start the assessments to see if this type of program would benefit you. Get on the waiting list for KK but don’t wait to start home EIBI services. Time is very important when addressing the things you’re concerned about.

Regarding parenting classes, parent training is hugely important, but a good BCBA can cover this with you in a more individualized way than a general parenting class could. You can certainly sign up for one but might not need it if you find an experienced BCBA.

Never give up hope, people that can help you exist.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Call Children’s Hospital and Kennedy-Krieger and tell them you want a full neuropsychiatric exam. They will put you on a waiting list. Tell them that you would like to also be on their cancellation list so that if someone doesn’t show up your child can be seeen sooner.

Kennedy Krieger is in Baltimore but is a top facility and worth the trip.

Too young for a neuropsych. Developmental ped.

Thanks for your reply! If you have any recommendations, I'm interested to hear them