Worried about autism

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I'm glad for you.

A lot of kids who have ADHD are very busy infants. If you feel something is different about your child you may be right. I think it will just take some time to know what that is. And whether it will turn out to be a problem. It may all be fine.....I hope!

Go to the doctor while it doesn't sound exactly like autism to me
and maybe nothing is wrong
but there are lot of issues than can cause speech delays

The only thing that sounds concerning at this young stage, is the finding things more interesting than people part. My son would stare at things. especially things with color contrast---but he was not into eye-contact.

I am not saying it means anything at this stage, necessarily, but I do think that is somewhat unusual for NT babies (not that I have any NT kids, for comparison)

I think everything else you list is getting very ahead of things, at this point.

So, I agree with the advice to keep on observing, yet trying not to worry.

It sounds to me like - I can't find a softer way to put this, and I don't mean it as harshly as it sounds - you are afraid of autism. By that I mean of autism itself.

My only experience with autism prior to finding out my son and I have it (mine is currently diagnosed as "sub-clinical" but the diagnosis is not yet complete) was the movie Rainman and TV shows and movies of their ilk, or the residential program where my high school offered service. None of these offered accurate depictions of autism (the residential program was in the 1980s, where kids on the spectrum were not treated appropriately either medically or socially) and they certainly were all dehumanizing and scary. Unfortunately, many organizations purported to support autism have found that their funding depends on keeping autism scary...so the skewed world view continues.

Autism can make life more challenging, aspects of it can be disabling, but it also can make life more interesting...and I think in some ways better. Many of the kids we now label as AS or HFA used to be called "late bloomers" by people who were kind, or "weird" by people who were not (like myself,) and the large majority of kids being diagnosed now are in that group. For the kids whose communication skills are severely impacted (I'm not going to say IQ, as it is a horrible diagnostic tool specifically as concerns communication delays, but that is often used as the "functioning" rubric) we've got much better tools and have much better outcomes than we used to, and are learning all the time.

If you are starting on this path, it can seem very scary - and there are certainly ups and downs, but your kid will still be your kid, no matter what his quirks are: it's like parenting any other kid, except sometimes turned up to 11. You are very early in terms of getting help: early intervention is critical but it typically does not start until a child is 12 months old or has missed the first speech milestones. In my own experience, my son was meeting milestones, but there was a pattern of him being totally unable to meet it up until the last possible moment where it would be clinically significant. Patterns like that are significant, even if a child meets milestones.

All of that said, many of us wound up here because we had a "gut feeling" that something wasn't right, and that is your best indicator that you need to do something. Trust your instincts as a parent - I encourage you to take your child to your doctor and if you feel like the doctor is even a tiny bit dismissive, find out where the early intervention center is in your area (if you are in the US, a free assessment is mandated for any at-risk child; typically those are offered by your school district.) Unfortunately, pediatricians are not trained to spot autism the way they should be, and don't usually look for it in babies - so don't feel uncomfortable looking for an expert opinion. Your pediatrician should, however, be able to screen for and rule out alternate causes of developmental delays like lead poisoning, fragile x, down's, hearing loss, etc.

Assessments are a no-harm, no-foul thing: if they find nothing and you are still concerned, wait a while...don't be shy about having your child re-assessed later: sometimes it's hard to see things until they develop a little. If they find something, then rest assured: there are all kinds of tools and supports for you, and your child will be fine.

I know there have been sibling studies where they are seeing signs as young as 6 months. It will be very difficult to find someone who does diagnosis at this age, but you can certainly learn and start using techniques that promote social interaction during your regular activities like feeding, diaper changing, playing, etc.

I googled and found a couple of things:

There was a study of something called Infant Start, based on the Denver Early Start model that had positive results: http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/publish/news/newsroom/9182

They used a test called Autism Observation Scale for Infants. I suspect it is currently only for research purposes and has not yet been validated for general use: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/518834_3



I would suggest you read up on the Stanley Greenspan approach called Floortime. It has techniques for following the baby's lead to get reciprocal interaction going: http://www.stanleygreenspan.com/

Thanks everyone for some really great comments and responses.
I will do my best to follow your advice.

OK, I found this page by CDC about 6 month olds. Since your son is only a month and a half older, I think it would still apply to him.

That CDC page says about most six month olds:

"Strings vowels together when babbling (“ah,” “eh,” “oh”)"
"Begins to say consonant sounds (jabbering with “m,” “b”)"

And that you should worry if your child:

"Doesn’t make vowel sounds (“ah”, “eh”, “oh”)"

So it sounds like his babbling development would be at the low end of average. Not a cause for concern so far.



Similarly, the CDC says most six month olds respond to their own name, but doesn't list lack of it as a concern. So I'd peg that as low average as well.



This is more concerning. The CDC says that you should be concerned if a child 'Doesn’t respond to sounds around him'.

In my experience, this can be a sign of deafness or autism. Keep in mind that deaf people often have very sensitive peripheral vision, so it can sometimes seem like they heard something when really they saw it out of the corner of their eyes. However, if you're sure your kid can hear, this is more likely to reflect a child having a very strong attentional focus to the point of tuning everything else out, which is a common trait in autistic kids.



The CDC says about most six month olds:

"Likes to play with others, especially parents"
"Responds to other people’s emotions and often seems happy"

And says you should be concerned if the child:

"Shows no affection for caregivers"
"Doesn’t laugh or make squealing sounds"

It sounds like he does laugh, even if you have to work hard to elicit it. But does he show affection for you guys? You mentioned he can be comforted by cuddles if he's upset, so that might count.

He certainly doesn't seem to like to play with you guys, and it sounds like he might not respond to your emotions either. So at the very least he'd be low average, but he might be behind here.



The CDC page doesn't make any mention of imitation for 6 month olds. It does mention "copies sounds and gestures of others" on the 9 month old page, however. So I'd say he's too young for imitation yet.



The CDC page mentions crawling for 9 month olds and pre-crawling signs for 6 month olds, so it sounds like he's ahead there!



The CDC page mentions 'begins to sit without support' for 6 month olds, which implies not very stable yet, so it sounds like he's ahead there too.



The CDC says about most six month olds:

"Shows curiosity about things and tries to get things that are out of reach"

And says you should be concerned if your child 'doesn't try to get things that are in reach'. So it sounds like he's showing an appropriate level of curiosity.



Another motor trait more typical of 9 month olds than 6 month olds!



The CDC says about most 6 month olds:

"Brings things to mouth"
"Begins to pass things from one hand to the other"

And says you should be concerned if the child:

"Has difficulty getting things to mouth"

So he's on target there.



The CDC page makes no mention of sleeping patterns, but it does say about most 6 month olds 'looks around at things nearby' so it sounds like he's on target.



OK, well, in summary, it sounds like you have a boy who is potentially delayed in social skills, low average in language skills, advanced in gross motor skills, and on target with cognitive and fine motor skills.

That profile would certainly be typical of an autistic kid, but I do think 7.5 months is too young to tell for sure. However, I think you should talk it over with your pediatrician.

Meanwhile, since he's so active and mobile, how does he feel about more energetic kinds of social play, like chasing him around, catching him briefly and then letting him go to resume the chase? (Personally, I like to pretend I'm a kid-eating monster and make 'eating' noises whenever I catch the kid.) That might be a kind of interaction that would appeal to him more. If you can convince him that interacting with you guys can be fun and exciting, then he'll start developing his social skills better.

And if he does turn out to be autistic, don't worry too much. It's not nearly as terrible as people make out.

This is a good sign.

Autism, contrary to stereotypes, doesn't actually affect attachment to parents. However, parents stressing out about their child's development or not knowing how to connect with their child can sometimes affect attachment.

It's too early to assign him to an attachment category yet (that would be at 9-12 months at least), but some studies have shown signs predictive of attachment category in children as young as 6 months. And in your son's case, those early signs seem to be suggesting that he feels securely attached. (Insecure children tend to either reject comfort even when upset, or else get super-clingy and really hard to calm down.)

Autistic or not, he'll be a lot happier knowing he can count on you guys to make him feel safe.

He actually does respond pretty well to sounds around him. It's even quite easy to shift his focus elsewhere.
The only problem is it's almost always another toy, not a human face or voice that achieves that.

My son was real quiet when he was a baby and that worried my mother. I wasn't worried. I was sure his doctors would have said something if there was a concern. But he turned out to be normal so no autism.

I would just keep watching him and by the time he is 1 yr old, see how his language is developing. Especially look to see if he is using language to interact. My AS son had language at 10 months, but over time, we realized that he was just saying words. He was not using the words to get what he wanted. He was just repeating words and labeling items. I would also keep my eye on how he interacts with his peers. If he shows no interest in other children by the time he is 2, then I would be concerned. As far as the physical milestones, be thankful that he seems to be on track there. My AS son did not walk until he was 22 mos old, and he still struggles at 10 yrs of age with motor skills although it has improved greatly over the years.

My advice would be to continue interacting with him as best you can, but try not to worry yourself to the point of missing out on enjoying him. Make sure you are rocking and holding him as much as he will allow. I think this is very beneficial.

Good luck!

My son was a really quiet baby, never really cried, didn't need me was content on his own, never babbled etc. He doesn't have autism but we found out at 2 that he has bad glue ear and I think he's had it since he was a baby so that's why no babbling and not very social when he was a baby. If they've got glue ear they can hear but everything is muffled so speech is so much harder to listen to than sounds it takes them a lot of concentration. When you have your 10 month check if he's still not babbling tell them and they will refer you to get his ears checked. I wish I had done that sooner he is now 2.4 and has words but lots of sounds missing and not joining sentences together he's having a grommets operation tomorrow which I wish I had it done when he was a lot younger! Anyway I would advice you to stop worrying as I said my little one was a quiet reserved baby not very social, now he is the most affectionate little boy I know he's social funny giggly and so well behaved! As long as you have some interactions with your little one a few times a day, smiles with eye contact etc hes fine. All babies are different don't compare to others I know it's hard when you see the smiley ones! And as these guys said you really shouldn't fear autism it's nothing to fear you are just fearing the unknown.

Update:
Baby is 8 months today.
Some other signs that worry me:
1. Eye contact remains poor.
2. When I enter his room in the morning he doesn't seem to even notice I came in or ask to be picked up. He's just busy trying to climb out.
3. When he is falling asleep, he does this self soothing thing (stimming?) where he continuously kicks one foot on the mattress.
4. Very little stranger anxiety, although he will "examine" strangers for a short while.

What I can tell for sure though is he definitely does not focus on one thing for very long. He is very active, almost hyperactive. Plays with one toy for a minute tops and then wants to move on to something else. His attention can be redirected very quickly. If he falls and hits his head on the carpet he will cry and can be consoled fairly quickly (usually in under a minute). When I enter the door after returning from work he seems happy to see me, will make some attempt to crawl towards me but along the way changes his mind and decides to focus on something else or change direction.

I hope you are, in addition to learning about autism, also reading some material on normal child development. I think some of the things you're worried about are typical baby behaviors. Example: kicking foot repeatedly against mattress. Babies explore their bodies and what they can do with them. They also experiment with cause and effect (I move my leg like this, and it makes a sound).

7.5 months is too young...by 12 months look for three things...i) lack of eye contact ii) lack of interest in social speech (as opposed to babbling) and iii) repetitious behavior or lining up blocks in a row all the time...

In my state in the U.S., it's not too early to get early intervention in to do an assessment. I first had them in to look at my twins when they were four months old because I was concerned about muscle tone and feeding. While most medical/neuropsychology experts won't give an official diagnosis until children are at least 18 mo old, early intervention can tell you whether or not your child is tracking on all fronts according to the average. And if they are 30% or more (probably differs by state) below average on any developmental front, you would qualify for services. This means that they would come into your home and help you work with your child on whatever category in which s/he was delayed. Early intervention doesn't give diagnoses, but they can effectively assess whether or not a child is delayed, and the treatment at this age would be the same no matter what your child may or may not be diagnosed with in the future. By that, I mean that if he's presenting with a social delay, EI will teach you how to incentivize him to make better eye contact and look forward to social interaction - important regardless as to whether he's on the autism spectrum or just otherwise delayed. So, I would politely demand that's pediatrician put in a referral to early intervention for an assessment. At best, he is not sufficiently delayed to qualify for their services. At worst, he is, but then they will come in and help you and you can get him assessed by experts at around 16-18 months for official conditions if he hasn't caught up by that point. But every study known to man says that the earlier you intervene, the better the outcome for the child, so trust your gut and don't be swayed from using all of the resources available to you. Early intervention is one of those resources. Good luck and good job, mama, for reaching out!