New - please help with advice re 8 month old - Autism Spectrum Message Board

RachelDevin · 01-25-2006, 01:08 PM

I am one of the primary caretakers for my 8 month old grandson, so I have him here 4 to 5 days a week. He has been exhibiting symptoms that don't remind me of my own children at all and I am very nervous about it. By 4 months old, we were wondering if he were deaf or not, because he didn't seem to respond to noises or voices. That seemed to get better and now he smiles and plays with toys and seems to be a very happy child, but.....

He only responds to his name about 20% of the time. He flaps his hands over and over and over again whenever he is anxious. A few weeks ago he was making the b, m, w, p sounds, as well as numerous vowel sounds. Now the consonant sounds are all but gone. He looks at you, but you never get the feeling that he is really looking AT you. When we take him out in the stroller, he will play with the toys on the stroller, but will remain quiet during the entire outing. We were in the mall for about 1 1/2 hours last week and he didn't make a peep the whole time, as if he weren't even there.

I don't know if it's just that it's been a long time since I took care of a baby or if I should listen to my "gut" that's telling me that something just isn't right.

Do 8 month old babies hug back? Do they mimic yet? He does look up when the phone or doorbell rings and he knows to look at those objects when they ring. He laughs. He claps his hands when he's happy. I just don't know. Please tell me what you think.

Thank you so much.

Rachel

jeffreys mom · 01-25-2006, 01:18 PM

Eight months is young however, my son was about 8 months when I suspected.

He should be babbling, looking when called by name, smiling and trying to engage back when you are talking to him. Look up Childbrain on the internet there is alot of good info there about the early stages. That's where I got alot of my info . Good Luck

boysboysboys · 01-25-2006, 02:33 PM

Hi,
I can totally sympathize with your situation. I was wondering about my son when he was that age too, but kept convincing myself he was alright. As hard as it is, I would recommend having him evaluated by a developmental pediatrician or pediatric neurologist as soon as possible. I waivered for a while before calling and now wish I had called sooner. My son does have Autism and now we are running into long waits for treatment. My sons (twin 3 year olds who both have Autism) have spent a year waiting for intensive therapy to start. We had to wait a few months to get in to see the Dr. for the evaluation, fill out paperwork and wait a few months to be approved, then go on another waiting list to start therapy. The procedure is different in every state, but from what I have read from other peoples accounts, waiting seems to be the norm. If you get the evaluation and everything looks good, that's great. If your grandson needs therapy, the sooner the better. Good luck and come back to this board often. There are a lot of really helpful people here.

aidymum · 01-25-2006, 04:03 PM

Hi Rachel, I have an adorable wee boy with a diagnosis of Autism who is 7. He got his official diagnosis at age 3.

I too had suspicions something was wrong with my son when he was about 8 months old, for a lot of similar reasons that you have expressed. I can imagine you will be out of your mind with worry. My advice would be to deal with your concerns head on and speak to the child's Mum and other care givers to see if they have similar doubts. My general practioner, when I approached him ( after my mother and I had both thought that there was a problem), told me "When's mum's worried, I listen , when Mum and Granny are worried, I worry too". I know you don't want to give other family members worries if there is not a problem, but if you have that gut feeling, I would raise those concerns.

I would reccomend doing a CHAT test with him. This is usually done with children of 18 months, but it may give you some early indication if your concerns are illfounded or not. You can Google CHAT and it will throw up a lot of information. The "tests" are things like... Does the child answer to his/her name? Can they follow a pointing gesture? Can they have shared attention with you? You can run them yourself at home. Keep in mind that the wee one is only 8 months old and these tests are designed for children of 18 months.

Lots of parents and professionals have so many different views on causes and treatment of Autism, but the one thing everyone agrees with is early intervention is vitally important. Act now, it may not be autism, it may be a temporary delay, or just a developmental blip, but better to check it out and do something positive rather than just worrying and waiting.
Good luck, Aidymum x

OrbieKL5 · 01-25-2006, 07:21 PM

I am not certain where you live, but under the assumption that you live in the US, I would get in contact with the Early Intervention (EI) agency in your state. They will come out and do a developmental assessment on him. EI should probably be able to come out and assess sooner than you'd be able to get him assessed by a developmental pediatrician, but if EI assesses him at below average skill level for his age, you will need an official diagnosis from a doctor in order to start services.

I would get on the ball as soon as possible, as wait lists are long, and the sooner, the better.