Should I be concerned? - Autism Spectrum Message Board

bayoubailey · 06-05-2006, 12:23 PM

Hello everyone, I am the mother of a 13 month old son and I wanted to take a minute to post because I'm starting to become concerned about some of the milestones he seems to be behind on.

What is concerning me the most is that my son is not waving, clapping, or pointing at objects that are a distance away from him. He will point to things he's engaged with as a way of 'exploring' them. I know that by 13 months he should be doing these things, and it's starting to worry me! If I am holding him he will reach and gesture for something that he wants, but not specifically point to it. He will watch me intently if I wave or clap to him, and has great eye contact in general. He does play well by himself, but is also very social and seems to want more and more of my attention everyday. He is also starting to get a little shy around new people, so I don't know if we're starting the separation anxiety age?

Although he does not use words consistently yet, he has said about 6 words with meaning so far. There are a handful of things that he will visually track or pick up if asked. He has been a little slow in development overall I would say. I had him evaluated by EI when he was 9 months old becacuse he was showing no signs of crawling or starting to get around. He started army crawling at 10 months and 4-point crawling at 12 months. Now he crawls everywhere, pulls up, cruises, is starting to stand by himself but I think it will be another month or so at least before he starts taking steps. He seems to be very cautious.

He currently receives OT and PT services once a week and both therapists think he's doing really well. He does seem to have some mild sensory issues that the OT is working with him on...he does not like to crawl with his hands open, and he is also a very picky eater with a bad gag reflex. She does not see any concern for Autism right now because of how social he is and the progress he has been making. Of course, I still worry and wish he would start using more speech or gestures!!

He will definitely look for my approval when he's done something he's proud of! He walks with his push toy and keeps looking back at me beaming and smiling! I also notice that although he is comfortable with both of his therapists, he looks over every few minutes to see that I'm sitting in the room with him. He has also started crawling over to me every 10 minutes or so if I'm in the room where he's playing just to kind of 'love' on me, then goes back to playing. He will also seek me out if he's hungry, tired, or just wants to sit in my lap and relax watching baby einstein or something. He is also a snuggler and will often just lay on me and fall asleep before nap time

Oh, and although he's not mimicking clapping or waving yet, he will mimic me if I click my tongue or make noises with my tongue sticking out. He will also look at something if I point to it.

Sorry for the long rambling post! I just wanted to get a little input from those of you who do have a child on the spectrum as to what I might expect or possibly be watching out for.

Thanks so much!!

Liz Cook · 06-05-2006, 01:00 PM

i think you are set

it all sounds very normal and you have him started in services that will pick up anything IF it developes. my neice is almost 16 months and is as perfectly normal as can be and has only now started using words consistantly.

the problem could be attitude!

my neice has a HUGE one and can wave but wont on demand

he may not want to show off his skills and toddlers can be naturally shy. he may not have any problems... he may infact be "gifted" because smart children can be just as nerve racking as special needs kids

my husband's mom took him to have his IQ tested when he was little because they thought he had developemental problems... turned out he had a genuis level IQ and was just bored

something to consider

sross24 · 06-05-2006, 03:47 PM

It sounds like your son has a lot of great skills. The fact that he is not mimicing, may be concerning, but he seems to be doing well in many other areas. I started to become concerned about my son at 13 months old. But let the doctor convince me to wait and see a little longer. My son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS at 18 months, and is now receiving intensive therapy. He has recently started pointing, mimicing, and saying a couple words. He also did not start walking until a couple weeks ago at 19 months old.

I'm a mom of four kids (2 of whom are on the autism spectrum). From what you have told us, your son sounds like his development is on track. But if you are concerned, get him on the waiting list to see a developmental pediatrician. These waiting lists are so long, so it would not hurt to get him on one. You can always cancel later if you need to. I have to say that there is something special about mother's intuition. I told my pediatrician from the time my daughter was born, that something was just not right. I could not pinpoint exactly what it was, but every year, I took her back to the doc's office and told him that something was different about her. Finally, this year, (at the age of 6), she was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Her language was a little delayed (but not alarmingly so). Her motor skills were on track in terms of developmental milestones. There were no very obvious signs early on, except my intuition that something was just not right. If your gut tells you something is wrong, get him evaluated.

A good indicator for us that something was wrong with our son, was the
M-CHAT. This is a screening tool that can let you know if there is need for concern. See if you can find a copy of it online. And good luck to you. Keep us all posted on your progress.

-Steph