Does this sound like my son is autistic? 19 months old! Help please.

He's a toddler! Don't worry

None of that suggests autism to me and I have a child on the spectrum.

Everything sounds normal and fine. Speech seems fine. It's totally normal for a child your sons age not to play with children. Kids don't really play with children until 4/5 or later. Playing alongside is very normal and expected.
I don't think any 19 months would know or want to play with another child.

Pushing the car sounds normal. Autism can be say when a child has a toy car but instead of pushing it around saying brum brum they will spin the wheels around or play with it in a non typical way.

I wouldn't worry about him lining stuff up. Ds is autistic and never lined things up like people thought he would as a 'stereotypical' asd thing. However, Dd who is not on the spectrum lined things up all the time.

Some autistic children do all of those things, some autistic children do none of those things.

There’s no hard and fast yes/no tick boxes for autism.

Only thing Id keep an eye on would be speech and flag at 2 year review.

Even if your DC is autistic its just who they are

Another coming on to say don’t worry. I walked on my tiptoes all the time until I was about 25 and i still do sometimes. I also W sit (still my natural default way of sitting in my late 40s), I spent a large amount of time as a young child lining up toys and sorting Lego into shapes and colours and getting extremely upset if someone messed them up or mixed the colours in plasticine or coloured outside of the lines etc. I’m also not very demonstrative or affectionate and I’m very rules focussed.

All could have been seen as signs by my parents. I’m not autistic though. Fortunately in the 70s there wasn’t as much information readily accessible otherwise I suspect my mother would have been worrying.

His 19 months give him a chance. My youngest was 2 and a half. The only words he said at that age was mum and milk. He is Autistic. Different children speak at different times. Talk to your HV if you have concerns.

SLTs are extremely experienced at spotting signs of autism - they're very often the first people who do. So if your SLT isn't worried I don't think you need to worry.

People worry a lot about little boys lining up their cars. But think about it - what do cars do? They line up on the roads, they queue, they park beside each other in car parks. All these parents panicking and their kids are just parking their hot wheels!

Sounds like a completely bog standard toddler, honestly

He's too young OP.
Also you seem pretty freaked out by the idea of having an autistic child. I've got two autistic teens - it's fine. They are fine.

Hi sorry to jump on this thread.
Just also looking for advice. My son is 3 years old. He only says a few single words, yes,no and some animals sounds. He is in speech therapy. I think he has traits of autism but his SLTs are not concerned atall. They said speech delays are very common and often misdiagnosed as autism. That 1in 10 boys gave a delay.

Autism traits my son has.

1. Lines things up. 2. Flexes his fingers in a weird way. 3. Isn’t sociable with other children unless he knows them. (Could be covid related?) 4. Delayed speech. 5.loves sensory play 6. Doesn’t wave but gives high 5s. (But can’t now due to covid 😩) 7. Very stubborn.

Other things he does that make me think his is not Autistic.

1. Drives his play cars around the house. 2. Puts a dodie in his sisters mouth and brings her a bottle. 3. Looks for my reaction when things happen. 4. Is getting on really well in playschool and smiles to the teachers. 5. Can do jigsaws, build things and is physically really strong for his age. 6. Very affectionate with people he knows (hugs, kisses etc) 7. Gets over being told no easily.

It’s so stressful because all my friends kids are speaking in full sentences and are also sending videos to a what’s app group of their kids.

OP, autism is a social and communication disorder- tip toe walking and lining things up are some stereo typical indicators, but not in and of themselves markers of autism. All children will tip toe walk for a bit- they're enjoying exploring a new sensation. My autistic DD at nearly 6 still does. It is almost impossible to diagnose at age 2 precisely because it is a communication disorder which is very hard to definitively pin down while their communication is still so nebulous. What you're referring to are commonly associated sensory issues which are part of an autistic child's proprioceptive sense being different from someone who is NT. This is also why they typically love swings or bouncing, because they enjoy that sensation of movement. That said, at the age of two all children love swings and bouncing and lining crap up. Honestly you're confusing normal developmental steps with autism.

Don't worry about it for now. If autism runs in your family then it is what it is. There is literally nothing to be done, so enjoy your baby who from the descriptors sounds perfectly fine. As PP have said, if he does have ASD it really isn't the end of the world. It's sad to think of the difficulty the world will pose, but many people have gone through that and emerged and flourished and lived good, meaningful and happy lives.

I'm usually one of the first to suggest autism but this isn't one of those occasions. Lining things up at that age is entirely ordinary behaviour, My son had scores of cars and would line them all up. He started speaking at 12 months and could speak in sentences at 16 months, but didn't bother walking until 14 1/2 months. He was obsessed with trains. Obsessions with Thomas the Tank Engine. Then Harry Potter. Then Pokemon. Volcanoes. Flags. It only becomes an issue if they get 'stuck' in an obsession and don't move on. Anyway, if he does have ASD, it's really not the end of the world!

My son did all of those things, early Walker, observer of life, thinker, liner up of cars...and it wasn't or isn't autism.
Son is now 12 and top of his year at school and obsessed with sport. Lining up cars was his specialist subject at age 1.

I think it's difficult to tell at this age. unless there's something glaringly obvious like a regression in skills. With mine I was first became concerned about them around age 2 (DS) and age 4 (DD).
I would agree with the person who says to make a note of any concerns - they may be useful in future if you ever need them. But put them away somewhere, and revisit later if you're still worrried.

He sounds fine OP.

Both my boys have autism and do some of those things and not others.

But both mine scored as a much higher risk. With a zero score id put it out of your mind.

Child psych here

To me it all sounds age appropriate

Just keep a note book and write down any other concerns you may have and ask staff in nursery if they notice anything

He is still so young xxxx

No. It sounds like your son is 19 months old.

Sounds like normal development for his age. Tip toe walking has to be frequent to be a concern and children do it for a number of reasons that aren't related to autism. Toddlers play alongside eachother and are amused by others while also enjoying solitary play. Younger toddlers seem to enjoying running together or making noises together before playing with toys together. Lining things up is a normal schema for the age. Autistic lining up feels different to this type.

Hes just a toddler being a toddler.

My son used to line cars up. He isn't autistic. Toddlers play alongside each other at this age. They normally are nearer three before they develop true friendship where they actively play with other children.

I dont think he sounds like there's anything that would be a cause for concern at this stage.

I also remember watching the toddlers at a playgroup when mine were small. They were like little planets all whirling round one another but not actually interacting. Totally toddler behaviour.

Step away from Dr Google!!

Reeeeeelax

Please stop worrying. My dd is autistic, she wasn't babbling at all, no words until past 3. Most babies and toddlers parallel play at that age, interaction is more around 3 years