To think my baby has autism?

I have two autistic children. I would say that 18 months to 2 years is the time that you can start to see differences from NT kids more. By 18 months, they should be pointing to things to share interest. Play is also very important. A child who does not have much interest in toys should be kept an eye on.

But with all that said, you can have a child with completely normal language development who still turns out to be autistic. One of mine was not diagnosed until age 9.

I’m a big advocate of early diagnosis if it fits . Otherwise people expect your child to be able to do things they simply can’t. And that’s just not fair.

That's great if it's your experience but I think you need to be more realistic about the struggles for many autistic people and their parents. If my daughter has autism I won't love her any less, it's because I love her so much that I worry. Life is hard enough but it's harder for ND people living in a NT world. My nephew is HFA and he is doing great but there have been many difficulties along the way. My best friends son has had a horrendous time, these are my personal experiences with autism so yes, I'm scared that daughter may be autistic for those reasons and there is very little help out there and parents are often afraid of the unknown, it's not a slight on anyone with autism so please don't take it that way.

I’m child psychologist and My DS both autistic. Both doesn’t respond to their name when called and not pointing. The pointing part is very important.

no need to panic yet. But its good for you to address it in the next appointment.

I’m autistic so I often find myself musing on whether my DD is, too. She didn’t respond to her name until all of a sudden she did at 12 months. I just keep in mind that they all develop at different times - she’s a little behind other babies but she had a difficult start.

Also, no-one has said they ‘dread’ their child being autistic, but as someone who IS, I can understand parents who hope that their child won’t have to cope with the additional difficulties that autism can create in life. I love my daughter to the end of the earth and I will always love her no matter what, but I hope she’s not autistic because, quite frankly, sometimes being autistic is absolutely fucking shit 👍

If that's to me @Itisbetter then I'm quoting the OP.

What on Earth do you mean “there’s nothing wrong with autism”?

there is nothing wrong with autism

I don't know about wrong but it is a disability, not some kind of great superpower. Having problems with social communication is always going to be problematic when you are part of a social species melting down because your socks feel wrong has its drawbacks also.

My Ds2 is autistic, he's amazing. But if he wasn't autistic he'd still be amazing and his life would also be a hell of a lot easier day to day. So yes OP if your dd has autism there will be positives and negatives but it's natural to be concerned.

@DixonD yes! with both my son and daughter I had concerns from their earliest days. In my son's red book I was raising concerns of him being unlike my older ones at six weeks although I didn't know what was wrong. Ds was born on the cusp of the rise in numbers so autism wasn't as well known then. With dd having already had ds, but with them being like chalk and cheese, I knew when she was four months old.

Just to add, of course autism is not necessarily something to dread - but in a lot of cases it is very far from easy. The family members mentioned about have an extremely difficult, challenging life and I am grateful every day that we are not going through the same thing. It’s one of the reasons we stopped at one child.

A family member of DH’s was diagnosed at 2. It was obvious before 1 that she had autism. It’s hard to explain but she was so very clearly “different.” I think the parents knew/suspected very early on as they were querying different things with me when she was 9 months old. Failing to respond to her name and not giving eye contact were two of the concerns that I can remember. She was also not even trying to talk.

She’s five now and beginning to form simple sentences but she is quite severely affected.

I hope that your daughter is absolutely fine. If it’s only now because of the form that you are concerned I suspect your worries may be unfounded. Good luck - parenting is one worry after another!

My DD went through a phase of ignoring her name around the time she turned one. She'd had a couple of ear infections in a row so I presume it was a temporary hearing problem. Possibly coupled with an unwillingness to listen at times!

Just to add, there is nothing wrong with autism. Love your child for who they are. I have an autistic son and husband, with lots of ND in the family. I wouldn't mind either way what my children are like and where they sit on the ND scale. I don't like hearing people speak with dread about their child possibly being ND. It's all part of normal anyway.

Well first of all dd had a chromosome and metabolic disorders screen to rule out other things. They were questioning Retts Syndrome. Then the paediatrician referred her for sight and hearing checks to SALT, OT, phtsiotherapy and child psychology. She spent six weeks at the nursery at the Child development clinic as well so she could be seen by the special needs health visitor, early years teaching service and anybody else who wanted to observe her interactions. Then there was a meeting where all findings were discussed and she got her diagnosis the week of her second birthday.

It's so hard to know at this age, but I knew with my son that there were big differences between him and other babies.

My Grandson is 1 and he doesn't respond that well to his name, avoids very close eye contact, and can spend a long time just throwing one toy on the floor and has no interest in playing with any other toys. He also rotates his wrists a lot, flaps his hands and was diagnosed with stereotypies. We were told he is way too young to tell one way or another.

They all develop differently, but I would definitely get their hearing checked again.

My dd was referred for a multidisciplinary assessment for autism at twelve months. My concerns that made me "know" she had autism (I had a son diagnosed at two and a half already) was that she was very silent and very still. So I could sit her in a spot without toys and she wouldn't move (I once watched her sit for three hours through a strategically placed mirror) even though she could crawl. She didn't cry for my attention or try and make her needs known so she wouldn't reach for a cup if I was drinking and she was thirsty. she wouldn't reach for a biscuit even if she wanted one when I put it in her hand. Plus she didn't distinguish between me and anybody else so if my friend had her for an hour she would be completely comfortable and wouldn't acknowledge my return. I never had concerns over eye contact tbh which was good as a baby, not always so good as she got older. I too would be asking for a repeat hearing test and try not to worry.

They may have ADHD if they have incredibly sensitive hearing but struggle to hear.

Id be incredibly cautious about pursuing ‘interventions’ for autism if there aren’t any real issues. Behaving differently to the majority doesn’t mean that behaviour is wrong.

Autism isn't necessarily a bad thing. I don't think early intervention 'cures' the autism, or reduces it, it's more about educating the parent to understand the way people on the spectrum tick so that bonding and parenting becomes easier and more joyful, and as a result, any autistic dc will flourish even more. Many of the most successful people are autistic. A consultant at hospital asked us whether our dc had any special medical conditions, and when we said she has ASD, he just smiled and said: I myself and most of us doctors here are on the spectrum!

I agree with hearing.

Also, though, remember that your baby is not necessarily supposed to be doing everything on that questionnaire. There's a wide range of what different babies can do at around 12 months, so the HV will give your baby a score based on your responses to the questionnaire and if it's over a certain number your baby will be in the "no concerns" zone. They don't have to score full marks to be in that zone. I say this because the questionnaire for my DS1's one year check really freaked me out but actually the HV said his results were normal.

OP- contact your health visitor. I know they get a bad rep on mumsnet but I am a child protection social worker and the majority I know are incredibly supportive, understanding and really helpful. The service has been cut to the bone so unless there is a flag on the system to indicate a need for extra support, the service is very limited. The majority of health visitors and school nurses I work with are more than happy to offer support outside the now (very limited) national health programme.