How early can a child be diagnosed?

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As parents of A/a children, I figured you all could help me out a bit and I'd really appreciate it. I have a question about diagnosing spectrum disorders. How early can a child be diagnosed or tested for a spectrum disorder?

My son is 12 months old and lately I've become suspicious of him possibly being on the spectrum, although I know it is VERY early to be able to tell such things. I have a younger brother with Asperger's and we believe that my father may have Asperger's as well, but he's never been diagnosed.

Levi began speaking certain words around 7 or 8 months... he could say "cracker" "sucker" "quack quack" "yes" "what" and some other words, and I've noticed lately that he no longer says anything. He does babble. All I've heard lately (the last couple months) is a small "uh-oh" a couple times.

For a long time, he has done this thing where if he's sitting near a wall, he'll start banging his head on it pretty hard. I always make a point to move him when he starts it, but he really seems to enjoy doing it, he laughs, and has done it since he started sitting up on his own.

He used to eat everything under the sun, any food set in front of him he'd devour. In the last month or so he has started eating very little. There are very few things I can even get him to take a bite of. He'll eat ritz crackers all day and seems to really enjoy yogurt and generally he won't turn down teddy grahams... but any other foods (we try to give him anything we eat - sandwiches, fruits, vegetables, soups) he'll either take two bites of and turn away or he won't even allow them to be put onto his tray.

Recently, he's started doing this strange flicking motion with his hands and he does it all the time.

In our play group, he tends to play by himself or sits and watches the other babies, rather than play with them.

Does any of this sound like your child acted at 12 months? Can he be effectively tested or diagnosed this young?

Thanks for your help.

No, he should not be diagnosed that young. To be diagnosed you must show symptoms before the age of three years old so you might want to keep a record of milestones and unusual things, but I do not believe a child should be diagnosed before the age of three.

Children grow and change. There is no way to tell autism at that young of an age.

My impression is that the severity of the autism is related to how early it can be diagnosed. In other words, severe conditions show up earlier; less severe conditions are difficult to be sure of until the child is older. My son wasn't diagnosed until he was 7, at which point with 20/20 hindsight we could see it was always there (although it still could not have been diagnosed earlier).

We had no regression patterns, and I think that is the content in your post that raises the most flags. Has anything changed in his environment during that time? Has he been sick? What is daily life like for him (quiet, busy, predictable, or ?). We do have some parents here that experienced regression patterns, so maybe they will have better information. I would definitely note the regression patterns to your pediatrician, and ask at what stage they would recommend further evaluation.

Meanwhile, I'll share something I've wondered, after watching my son grow up. I've noticed with him and many AS kids that they are actually extremely sensitive and aware. To the point where many normal things overwhelm them and actually hurt. And I've watched him intentionally turn off reactions and bury feelings, manipulating his subconscious until he has ingrained rules in his subconscious that control his conscious. He has told me that he has done that for as long as he can remember. So I've sometimes wondered if an infant could do the same thing; just decide something is too much, and make the choice to change it. Hence, a baby talks, is bothered by his own voice (as many autistics are), and goes mute. And so on. I'm not going to say your child is doing this; but I wonder if it is possible, and if paying attention at this young age could actually change it.

Otherwise, I'll tell you what I tell every parent with a very young child: what the child needs more than anything else at this age is to be allowed to be who he is, unconditionally. For the parents to figure out what he needs, and mold his world accordingly. I sincerely believe that. I know that for certain cases early intervention makes a big difference, but it should never be at the cost of just allowing the child to be who he will be, developing the way he wants to develop. There is time enough for the child to confront the realities and expectations of the world; a few years of doing the opposite is a wonderful gift to the child.

I think 12 mos is too young to be diagnosed, but my son did start exhibiting some symptoms at 12 mos. He too began flapping his hands at that age. He was diagnosed at 2.5 yrs old. He would lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling fan and flap his hands. My son also had very delayed motor skills.

At this point, I would just keep my eye on your son, and try to engage with him as much as possible. Talk to him as much as you can, and keep trying to stay in his world. Show him lots of pictures of things and name them for him. Sing lots of songs to him, and play peek-a-boo and different little games to stay engaged with him.

Every case of autism is different, so there really is no way to tell for certain at this age. It is too early for him to really be playing with other children, and you have no way to know yet if his speech is really delayed.

I can tell you that my son is now 5, and he has been getting therapy since he was 1 yr old (we started so young because he had low muscle tone, and was so delayed physically) He did start speech therapy at about 18 mos.
He is now VERY verbal, and speaks in complete sentences and is progressing very well.

So, while I still think it is very early, I firmly believe in early intervention. I would just keep an eye on him, and at 18 mos, if you still have concerns, then I would speak to your doctor.

He can't be tested for Autism, but you can self refer for an Early Intervention evaluation if you are in the US. I contacted them for my son @ 12 months at the suggestion of my pediatrician. If he has delays, you will qualify for services specific to the delay they observe or you have a concern about.

ASD's can sometimes be diagnosed at 18 months - occasionally even earlier (although not very often). Trying to guess at a possible diagnosis according to other people's ASD kids' behaviour at this age is not a reliable way of coming to any concrete solutions. If you have a gut feeling though, don't ignore it - especially if you notice any patterns of regression. I'm not saying that this is a definate indicator, but it would be wise to keep an eye on things.

I don't entirely agree with this. Although more severe conditions are more obvious at an earlier age than milder ones, it does not mean that milder cases of ASD cannot be diagnosed at an early age. My son was just over 18 months old when he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. I began having him tested when he was 14 months old - and although I was told initially by 4 specialists that there was no way he was on the spectrum, he was eventually diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Today (age 3 and a half) it appears most likely that he has AS.


Although my son didn't do this, he did (and still does) search out sensory feedback by burying himself into cushions, or tries to push against heavy objects. Whilst this kind of sensory stimulation is common on the spectrum, it is possible to have sensory issues without being autistic. Perhaps when he does this it is possible to find some firm cushions where he is able to receive sensory feedback without the risk of hitting himself too hard.


Infants of this age rarely play together, so I wouldn't be too concerned. At this age my son used to play with his twin sister (they used to chase each other crawling and laughing), but in situations such as play groups he would never watch other babies. He would become extremely fixated on whatever he was doing and would kind of switch off from everything else (mostly because of the overwhelming amount of sensory input).

As i said, keep an eye on things and discuss your concerns with a trusted pediatrician and in the meantime enjoy your child and encourage as much fun interaction as possible.

I agree with angelbear. Engaging with your child is the most important thing right now. It will encourage intellectual development and emotional attachment whether the child is on the spectrum or not.

From what I have heard, almost every young children / toddlers do that even if most parents are not aware of this fact. Apparently, they get "high" on that.

I think you should wait a little before considering Autism and try to stimulate him intellectually (it's important even for a child with a disorder), don't focus too much on the characteristics he may have, especially at such a young age because you might see more of them and imagine some.

As said earlier, children rarely play in groups at 12months, even twins have been reported to "ignore" each other before a certain age. By the way, some autistic children may try to interract with others so it can be confusing.