I don't think that these two things are enough to label a child as autistic. You need to look at other facets of his behaviour as well. Does he have obsessions, play beside other children rather than with them, make little or no eye contact with people, line up toys, get upset when habits are not adhered to or when the unexpected happens? There are lots of different signs of autism, I am only listing the ones my own exhibited as a young child. Do the neurologists have any other diagnosis or don't they know what the problem is? Google autism and study all the symptoms and then if your gut instinct still thinks it is relevant to your son, go with it and fight for a proper diagnosis. Best of luck to you and your son!

Hi there
I know it is very hard when you feel something is wrong with your child. I believe go with your gut instinct, if you feel something's wrong then most probably something is. Even though what you have described doesn't necessarily indicate Autism, it may indicate something else.

I'm having my daughter evaluated as she is demonstrating a few Autistic behaviours.

Some signs are as follows:
Flapping of hands.
Speech delays.
Resists cuddles/affection.
No or limited eye contact.
Doesn't interact in playtime (prefer to play alone).
Sensory Issues (dislikes some forms of touch).
Obsesses with unusual objects(may put the object very close to the face and seem to study it quiet intensly).

These are signs that my daughter is displaying. I know there are many more indications.

I absolutely believe you need to keep investigating the issue, one thing that my ped told me to is to record all of the unusual behaviour and take the recording to your next visit.

I hope this helps as I know exactly what it feels like to know something is wrong with your child. It's very distressing and a very emotional time.

Take care and I hope you get concrete results so that you can work to a wonderful future.

Julie

hi everyone!
my 2 and a half year old son is not talking yet!
he can only say mama but not all the time. he babbles but doesnt imitate to words you want him to say. what its frustrating is that, his not showing any interest of anything i m teaching him. he doesnt pay attention to what i say most of the time..his hearing was already tested.no problem was seen.
now he is being assessed for autism. im just frustrated because i feel that im a failure...an incompetent mother who cant train a child to be a smart one. he knows nothing. cant even count. doest know his abc and colors too.
even if i sing to him everyday, repeating the songs over and over again, he cant remember them.
well, i taught him action songs and he does it sometimes...very seldom, i should say.

but my son's so sweet. he kisses me and his dad and his baby brother always. he always gives me a hug.
lately...he is potty trained but still with plenty of accidents.but his doing really great.

my problem thats been bothering me is speech delay and a slight autism.
any mothers out there experiencing what im going through now?

Your speech therapist is lying to you if he/she hasn't made the suggestion that it is perfectly normal for your child to be late in developing speech skills. Sure, it could be autism, but then it could also be a sign of a high IQ. Many highly intelligent people started life "slow." Some have even been misdiagnosed with autism before they proved that they were really just the opposite. And three times a week? That is ridiculous. There is absolutely no reason to go in more than once or twice a week for any kind of therapy, except maybe chemo. It's all about the money with most therapists, that's why a lot of them claim that therapy takes years when in reality they could potentially help you solve your problem in a matter of weeks or months. I know that from experience. I have never been able to understand more than a word or two from a 2-year-old's mouth. There are kids more than twice that age who are still very hard to understand, but they all get over it on their own.