A first night in tears

Georgina Fuller's son Eddie was born in 2012 by C-section. On night one he screamed, refused to latch, and she cried beside his cot, afraid her stitches would tear when she lifted him.

“he wouldn't latch on and kept pulling his little legs up and screaming in outrage”

Grief sitting beside birth

Eddie arrived the day before the anniversary of her mother's death. She wanted a cuddle from the one person who could not come.

“all I wanted was my mum to come and give me a cuddle”

He looked the same, felt different

Eddie was the image of his big brother Charlie. Even so, his mum sensed early on that he was going to be a different child.

“He looked exactly like his brother, but I could tell that he was going to be quite different.”

The eye that turned in

At the six-week check a doctor flagged a squint and referred Eddie to a paediatric ophthalmologist. His left eye looked inwards, so he could not fix his gaze on anything.

Nothing fixed the feeding

Every feed ended in screaming and hours of settling. Colic was suspected, Gaviscon was tried, and his mum cut out all dairy. None of it made a difference.

Bleeding nipples, brushed off

When she showed the midwife her cracked, bleeding nipples, the reply was "At least it's not coming from the baby's mouth." She switched to expressed milk mixed with formula and mourned the bond she had with her first son.

“At least it's not coming from the baby's mouth”

An earnest old man

Eddie did not engage with other people the way other babies did, and he rarely smiled or laughed. A friend said he was like a small, serious old man.

“I told myself that each baby was different. 'Maybe he's just a bit more reserved,' I thought.”

The word arrives at 18 months

Nursery staff called him quiet. By 18 months, with his speech delayed and walking only just starting, someone said the 'A' word out loud for the first time.

Rain Man was all she knew

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, her only reference point for autism was Dustin Hoffman on screen. She assumed autistic people were non-verbal or secretly gifted, and she dreaded her son being labelled.

“I was pretty ignorant and believed that autistic people were mainly non-verbal or had some sort of innate mental superpower.”

Wait and see

As a toddler Eddie could not hold a pencil or cutlery properly and kept falling off his balance bike. His mum asked nursery to hold off on a referral, not knowing how long NHS waits for additional needs really are.

School made it worse

Eddie became agitated, lashed out at other children and could not cope with the noise of the playground. An eye patch made concentrating harder, and he came home to inconsolable meltdowns.

“He would have major meltdowns when he got home and became inconsolable at times.”

Diagnosed at seven

A private assessment in 2019 confirmed autism, sensory processing disorder and pathological demand avoidance. An EHCP followed in 2022, then a fight with the council in 2023 to move him to a specialist school.

Thriving, and himself

Eddie is funny, has two beloved dogs, builds astonishing LEGO models and has made real friends. He still says exactly what he thinks, with a few more filters than before.

“I am hugely proud of him for how far he has come.”

Signs worth noticing

Dr Philippa Kaye points to speech delay or repeated phrases, avoiding eye contact, no response to their name, little pretend play, hand flapping and big reactions to noises or smells. Delays alone are not proof, so talk to your GP or health visitor.

“I thought getting a diagnosis would feel like the end but actually it was just the start”