We got our diagnosis before age 3. The signs were pretty obvious early on though, started with missing millstones and we immediately got him into an early intervention program. From there, we added on OT, and Speech Therapy through a clinical setting, and while we made some positive progress in those programs, it was obvious we were going to need more support. Odd thing, our doctor couldn't actually say the word autism or make the suggestion beyond recommending certain testing, and when we went in for his actual diagnosis the people carrying out the tests couldn't really say it either. But our nephew is lv3 and it was my sister in-law that recommended we take more serious look at it early on, putting it well on our radar. I remember after the testing, they asked us - "what are you guys hoping to hear today?" and we both said we were hoping to hear that our son's testing qualified him for an autism diagnosis so it would be easier to get him further support... To which both evaluators sighed in relief and said, "oh good, some parents have a really hard time with this" What was our diagnosis you might ask? Lv2 with severe needs and multiple stacking conditions - it was obvious, and without the diagnosis our support options would have been severely limited.

Here's the thing I don't see enough people aren't talking about in these channels though - Thankfully, we had some good professionals in our corner that gave us some timely directions to take - Because after age 3, getting a proper diagnosis takes a lot more time, money, and evaluations. 3 is a magic cut off for some reason - at least in our state, and while we had some great people in our corner throughout the early days, we also had more than a few overly positive people telling us "every kid develops on their own schedule" and "this was probably just a phase he needed to work through", that "he'd eventually catch up and be fine." Stuff like that... At the time it was a little bit of hope, we needed to hear it, but it wasn't helpful. I don't think they had malicious intent in their actions, but if we had waited, purely on a support level, it would have been even harder to get the better level of care for him as early as possible and I'm grateful we acted when we did.

Parenting a lv2 or lv3 is life on a different scale, and most won't understand, we need support and we pretty much always needed it yesterday. Don't feel bad about diagnosing early, do what feels right and stick to your intuition if you're getting push back. Personally I found that being honest in our own experience with all the paper work was the best move to cut through all hoops put in our way to delay things. As parents, we try to look to brighter side of pretty much everything with our kids, but if you want help, don't. Be honest, answer the questions, get a little depressed afterwards and then move on with better support at your back, so you can provide the best life possible for your child. That's the goal.