Signs Your Child Might Be Autistic

I'm frustrated.  I spoke with an old friend today.  I asked how his boy was doing.  He told me things like, "my child is two but not talking, like the other kids are", "my child has a short attention span...of, like, none" and "my child doesn't seem to want to play with other children."  "My child", says friend, "is a little slow to start speaking, socializing, but it will be okay."  What I want to do is scream....."get them help NOW!"  Those ARE the signs your child is having issues and may, more than likely, be Autistic! 
I admit, even I was in denial at first, thinking, "ya, he's slow, but I have a feeling he'll be okay."  The developmental discrepancy didn't seem that bad, at two, but as time went on, and the other children were stringing sentences together while my child had no words, I started to panic.  It was also when I learned about developmental windows.  The reason doctors and educators test children for milestones is because, if they don't hit those milestones by certain time periods, you lose the ability to teach them those skill sets.  The greatest time of brain development and growth comes in the early years of childhood.  That is why everyone [doctors, educators and Autism organizations] are pushing early detection and early intervention.  The kids have a much better chance at more normal, higher-functioning lives. 
So that is where I am today.  Frustrated, feeling completely powerless to warn people.  That is why I'm writing these thoughts down.  So maybe someone, somewhere will stumble upon my words and get their child the help they need sooner.  If you are one of those people, please check out my post on "Autism.  What You Need To Know."  It's a list of things I wish someone had told me to do when my son was 2.  We're doing great, and I'm glad I have him in ABA therapy and a small social preschool class at Building Bridges, but, how much farther could he be had I known then what I know now?
The other thing people need to know is that Autism treatment is expensive and many of us are going into great amounts of debt to get our child the help he or she needs.  If, laws were introduced to force the insurance companies to pay for treatment, everyone's premiums would go up by an average of 1% which starts controversy.  "Why should I have to pay for someone else's child?"  Well, I'd rather pay that extra 1% than the extra taxes it's going to cost to fund all of these Autistic children who are lower functioning because their parents couldn't afford the help they needed to get them higher-functioning and able-bodied tax paying citizens by their developmental windows.
It's all a train wreck unfolding before our eyes.  Thousands of children will turn 18, needing Social Security and State and Federal social programs in order to live.  All of us in the Autism world can see it.  Why can't everyone else?  Well, one day they will.  Then who will they blame?