Overstimulated toddler

Idk why your pediatrician will not say yes/no. They could just refer you to a pediatric psychiatrist or have an autism evaluation done. Super simple. The waitlist can be long though.

I would look into sensory processing disorder maybe? My little brother has it and when he was a baby going into his toddler years it was absolutely horrid. Between the constant overstimulation, the tantrums once he got a little older, etc. Once my parents got the diagnosis, they had them take him in for occupational therapy and it helped a lot. Also got some extra tips for how to soothe him when he did have bad days. He ended up being officially diagnosed with ADHD as well around the time he hit 3rd grade which tends to be a common trend when having a SPD diagnoses as a toddler

@Hannah they aren’t going to diagnose a two year old with adhd that’s just too young to know

@sydney behavioral pediatricians and pediatric psychiatrists start evaluating and documenting behaviors at 1 years old. The wait to get into them is very long. What she’s describing could be a lot of things. A child being overstimulated by lights is a cause for concern. Autism can be diagnosed at 2 years. ADHD by 3. I know this as fact. Seeing a specialty doctor can help get your child therapies and services to help them learn and adjust. 1-5 years are the most important for laying a solid foundation of learning, behavior, and social skills. If a parent sees something wrong, it’s important to seek out the necessary resources to ensure their child is developing correctly.

I would do some research on Autism based on what you've described while keeping in mind that some quirks our kids often outgrow. I remember when I was pregnant and just doing some research, I watched a few videos from moms who were raising autistic children on YouTube. Just to be a bit more acquainted with what early warning signs looked like. So that if I noticed that my child identified with some maybe not all of those signs, I would be able tackle it early and also advocate for my child in seeking guidance and help from pediatricians. That goes for the other suggestions on here as well. Around the same time as my research, I also came across amazing information on "Sensory disorders as well", which is less commonly spoken about but I think can be even more readily helped. YouTube can be pretty helpful in sharing what something looks like in real life.

@Hannah yes they absolutely could document behaviors and stuff, and autism is definitely different from adhd. but i was just pointing out that her child’s regular pediatrician isn’t going to just diagnose her barely two year old with adhd. of course going to see a pediatric psychologist is much different as they’re trained specifically for that and may make a diagnosis after evaluation.

@sydney that “stuff” you’re talking about is diagnostic criteria that helps children get services to improve their quality of life. It’s a cause for concern if she’s told her pediatrician about his behavior and they didn’t offer referrals, give her the MCHAT questionnaire, or tell her to seek a more educated opinion. The pediatrician is failing this child by not looking into behavioral abnormalities like hyper fixation and sensitivity to lights and loud noises.