'What a stranger did in Morrisons left in me in tears on the way home'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

When Kerry Murdock gave birth to her daughter Bella nine years ago, everything seemed completely fine. The newborn would make regular eye contact with her mum and she was hitting developmental milestones for the first year of her life.

However, when the tot reached the age of one, things began to look slightly different. "Around 12 months old, when you'd expect them to acknowledge you when you call their name out - that didn't ever come," Kerry explained.

The Lancashire mum contacted her health visitor with concerns and was able to have Bella's two-year check-up earlier than planned. "They came out and observed her playing," 36-year-old Kerry said. "I was calling her name and stuff and she was just in her own little world, playing with her stuff and turning her little toy cars over and spinning the wheels. "There were signs that really pointed me in the direction of autism, so they said they'd do a hearing test to check for any difficulties with her hearing.

We went to see a consultant and they ruled this out straight away because whilst she wasn't responding to me, as soon as I played a nursery rhyme she looked, she'd turn around straight away. "They referred her to a paediatrician who diagnosed her within her second appointment." Kerry explains the diagnosis came as the professional observed Bella playing and asked the mum some questions about her day-to-day milestones and sleeping behaviours.