Mrs Speechie P

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Mrs Speechie P

Hi- My name is Andi Putt and I am a pediatric speech language pathologist, autism evaluation specialist, & disabilities advocate.

Welcome parents, & professionals!

09/23/2026

It can be really hard to say things on the internet - especially if you are a sensitive people-pleaser, but here are some of my uncensored thoughts as an Autistic SLP.

Emphasis on the part that talks about nuance. There will 100% be individual examples of some of these that might change my tune, and I’m always willing and able to listen to people with different perspectives and experiences than me.

09/22/2026

First words often vary from child to child, often depending on what is important to them + easier to produce.

These are common examples of first words in both allistic and autistic kids. Autistic kids *may* produce these words in scripts first (ie “it’s bath time” instead of “bath”). We also know autistic kids tend to say their first words later (averaging between 18-36 months vs typical 11-14 months- although taking later does not always mean autism, and talking early doesn’t “rule out” autism. In fact, talking very early, 9-10 months, is actually an autism trait).

Autistic kids also are more likely do produce highly specific or complex words (excavator, triceratops) as first words, or early academic concepts like numbers, letters, or shapes.

My son’s language developed early (advanced but not in a super significant/notable manner), and his first words were pretty in line with these- and he’s autistic.

09/21/2026

4 new profiles - with a variety of differences, support needs, and misconceptions… All Autistic.

As always, Autism is a pattern of differences in social communication and interests, routines, and sensory processing. It’s not just 1-2 things, however differences can be subtle, masked, or so well accommodated (like with Bre) that they may not be noticed or obvious to new or unfamiliar people.

None of these fit my autism profile well, and Bre is closest to my autistic son- for most autistic people, you will not see an exact replica of one’s experience- because autism can be very different from one person to the next.

09/19/2026

Some Autistic kids make eye contact - and that’s okay. Both me and my Autistic son make eye contact in natural and comfortable ways, BUT that’s not true for all or even most Autistic people.

If it doesn’t come naturally, we don’t need to be forcing this. I have taught one teenager who *asked* me to work on this with her. I’ve also taught kids to look near eyes if another adult says “look at me” or tries to force eye contact. I’ve also taught kids that they can turn their shoulders towards a speaker if they repeatedly ask if they are listening or just can’t wrap their heads around the fact that people can listen and look away at the same time. I also explain that some people use eye contact to communicate and some don’t - but the burden shouldn’t fall solely on autistic people to adjust to this difference in communication style.

09/18/2026

Many kids access their autism diagnosis later than they should.

Some have obvious differences early on and there’s evaluator error (or lack of knowledge).

Some mask their differences.

Some get diagnosed with more “obvious” disabilities first.

And some are able to meet social expectations- until they surpass their capacity or until they burn out.

Here are 10 different- and common - paths to later autism diagnosis in kids.

09/17/2026

Current Autism prevalence is 3.22% of 8 year old kids in the US. This isn’t the actual number of autistic 8 year olds, it’s the number of autistic 8 year olds who have been formally tested and diagnosed.

This percentage has increased over time with better knowledge and understanding of autism, increased testing of autism, and the broadening of the diagnostic criteria. Each time this number rises, it’s not saying that there’s more autism (even if there IS more autism, that’s still not what that number means).

With that said, it’s still pretty significantly lower than other/similar developmental disabilities, and yet autism continues to be the disability that’s most frequently villainized and talked about as if it’s “taking over” or “oh so everyone is autistic now.” Which, no. Here’s a broader overview of autism diagnosis compared to other diagnoses.

Note: it’s super difficult to get exact numbers on these and numbers will vary from study to study. Personally, I think all of these numbers are lower than the actual prevalence and I will not be alarmed when any of these increase.

09/16/2026

🧠 Adult Autism *diagnoses* are increasing at a faster rate than children. Women are more likely to receive a (late) Autism diagnosis. (Diagnoses is emphasized bc they were always autistic, just diagnosed late)

Everyone’s path to late dx is different, but you’ll notice some common patterns like early delays + mis/under diagnoses (usually ADHD, anxiety, OCD, bipolar, GT, emotional disturbance in school, stuttering, voice disorder) + some indicator of quirkiness.

My path was very different from those in that I thrived in school and my differences were only clear once I reached a burnout state after having a child. (Second to last slide!).

Last slide is blank if you want to fill out your own ♾️

Working on a kids version that I’ll post soon!

09/15/2026

Autistic kids aren’t broken, but most do benefit from supports and accommodations. Not changing who they are or what comes natural to them- but by helping them fit into a world that’s not built for them.

09/14/2026

Talking about autism in girls is important because they are frequently missed and misdiagnosed- but any gender can present:
1: in a non-stereotypical way
2: via internalized (or masked) struggles
3: in a socially motivated way
4: with other disabilities appearing more obvious
5: in subtle ways
6: in ways that are dismissed/labeled as personality quirks or downplayed
7: in a manner where they reach all milestones and expectations until those surpass a person’s capacity

Autism is a *pattern of differences* and not just one or two things. In order to be autistic, a person would need to have that pattern (which can be subtle), but I’m repeating this here so I can draw the “but everyone does that” statements back to the caption that I’m sure they didn’t read before commenting 🤣

09/12/2026

“I think my child is probably Autistic, but I don’t want to label them”

Autistic kids get labeled all kinds of things all the time- why not given them an accurate diagnosis to help themselves and others better understand them?!

I was called - “tattle tale,” “teacher’s pet,” “know-it-all,” “rude,” and “stop crossing your arms and frowning like that, you look mad” (which I guess the last one isn’t exactly a label but omg did I get told that allllll the time). What were you (or your kids) labeled, if not autistic? ⤵️

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