The mother said that she began having concerns when her young daughter didn’t want to interact with others from an early age. Signs that her daughter had Autism Spectrum Disorder emerged when she was just 6 months old, the mother said. The mother took her daughter to a pediatrician at 18 months and the doctor said the little girl presents with autism. The mom said that she had to learn to think quickly and develop strategies to make life easier for her young daughter.
The mother of two, Sarah McGill, told MD that her concerns began when her 6-year-old daughter, Niamh, didn’t want to interact from an early age.
McGill also said that signs that her daughter had Autism Spectrum Disorder emerged when she was just 6 months old. The mom also said that her young daughter wasn’t formally diagnosed until the age of three.
According to the mother, the doctor ruled out the possibility of autism on several occasions.
Sarah McGill told the Mirror: “At six months we started to notice that my daughter didn’t like to be around anyone except myself and my husband, she was constantly crying. At that time we thought it was colic as the doctor had ruled out everything else. Although in hindsight I can recognize that it was sensory overload.
Her environments were too overstimulating for her and her crying was the only communication tool she had at that time. Niamh hit all her infant milestones late and some not at all. She began flapping hands, lining her toys up and her communication began to regress, she stopped babbling and vocalizing.”
The mother also said that Niamh was so content in her own little bubble. McGill took her daughter to a pediatrician at 18 months and the doctor said the little girl presents with autism. The mom said that she had to learn to think quickly and develop strategies to make life easier for her young daughter.
The mother is sharing her daughter’s journey on Facebook and said there is no need for families to fear the word autism.
Sarah McGill reportedly said: “Autism is not a word to be feared, it is a person to be accepted and loved. It is a word that explains why people behave and think differently. If you have questions about autism, ask an autistic person. The more we talk about autism, the more widely recognized it will become.
Yes, autistic people share the same core similarities but how an autistic person experiences the world around them is completely unique to them. Understanding each person as an individual is key and realizing what works for one person may not work for another.”
The mom also said that she too had been diagnosed with the disorder. She said that it took her a while to process the information and what it meant.
Sarah McGill reportedly said: “I’m still the same person I was before my diagnosis but it has brought clarity to my life. It is an explanation of why I behave the way I do and why I see and feel things differently from other people. It is a life-affirming experience that is teaching me to be kinder to myself.
People often say, at my age why would I want to label myself as autistic, but what they don’t know is that I was already labelling myself as a failure, anxious, confused, not good enough, weird, and faking my way through life. I always felt like an outsider, looking into a world that wasn’t built for me. Not understanding why people behave the way they do and why people don’t say what they mean.
I was a people pleaser that was riddled with anxiety and depression but still had a smile on my face because I wanted to ‘fit in’, I wanted people to like me. I now have this positive label. This is an explanation that answers my questions about how I’ve experienced my life. It fits, I fit here. The more we talk about autism, the more widely recognized it will become in our society.”