SPECTRUM Raising Girls on the
My firsthand account, along with other moms raising ASD girls
By Christina McGairk
According to the CDC, in 2021, 1 in 44 children were diagnosed with autism in the United States. CDC data in 2018 showed that 1 in 27 boys had autism compared to 1 in 116 girls with autism.
When my daughter TiTi was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) back in 2015, at the age of 3, little was known about girls on the spectrum. Most of the research pertained to boys, leaving autistic girls under the radar mainly because autism manifests differently in girls. A 2019 report in Medical News Today found that girls may avoid eye contact like their male counterparts and have repetitive behaviors, but other signs in girls may be overlooked. For instance, delayed speech, being more quiet and withdrawn, and increased irritability and meltdowns are more common in girls. I had a high-risk pregnancy due to multiple fibroids. When TiTi arrived, she was a happy, normal baby girl. Her abilities to crawl and walk were a little delayed by two months, according to the charts and graphs. She also had a reflux issue after eating, but other than that, she was developing typically. When she turned 1, she was talking up a storm, saying multiple words that she picked up like “Hi,” “Bye,” “Mommy,” and started saying some of the alphabet. Then, about the age of 1 ½, I noticed all of her vocabulary went away. I just figured she got tired of talking or was just shy. When she turned 2, I noticed she walked on her tiptoes. Her doctor believed it was a sensory issue and to keep an eye on it. When TiTi was 2 ½, my boyfriend at the time said he noticed some of the same traits in TiTi that he saw in his granddaughter, who had a developmental delay. I did my research and got her enrolled in the First Steps program. I had one person come in to work with TiTi with her numbers and letters. Another person helped her with her sensory issues. Then at the age of 3, although she was avoiding eye contact every once in a while before, she completely stopped looking at anyone who called her. Her speech was also still delayed. I babysat a couple of children who had the same issues and were the same age as TiTi and were later diagnosed with autism. I think deep down in my heart, I knew she had autism, but I had to turn over every stone before I made the final step. I had her hearing checked. Her hearing was fine. I had her eyes checked. Her eyes were fine. That’s when I knew I had to take TiTi to an autism
12 Special Needs Living • May 2022
CHRISTINA MCGARIK and TITI MCGAIRK
CHRISTINA MCGARIK and TITI MCGARIK
CHRISTINA MCGARIK and TITI MCGARIK
care specialist to see if she did, in fact, have autism. I took TiTi to Riley, where she went through a battery of observations. They were checking to see how she grasped objects, how she formed her words, how she interacted with them, and if she participated in pretend play. After going over TiTi’s results, the specialist said TiTi was right on the border. She could fall on either side. I took some time to let the news marinate, and I decided that if her ASD diagnosis helped TiTi get the help she needed, that’s what needed to be done. I’ll never forget that day. I looked at my daughter in the backseat and started crying as I drove out the parking garage. I cried not so much about the diagnosis but knowing she would struggle most of her life and had
