If your child was diagnosed with autism

[anxiousmotherof1]

What were they like at 11/12 months old ?
Am extremely worried about my baby boy as he has failed the asq communication and social test . I know is early but he is 11 months already so i dont rhink much can change in a month ? He does not point or wave bye bye he does not give me his toy or roll the ball back at me or anything like that
He aso does not initiate peekaboo but he will laugh when we do it
He is already walking he has eye contact but not when he is busy playing with somethin

I haven't read thoroughly all of the threads but if it hasn't been said: get dc hearing & vision checked as well. the peripheral vision is important to check. children can be word holders (1 of my dc was - they speak late but understand exactly what you say ie follow instructions). please don't worry too much children change and develop at vastly different rates (I say this as a parent of adult within the spectrum)

Hi OP my eldest has recently been diagnosed with HFA. She's recently turned 4. In some ways she was advanced in that she spoke quit early and she reached all her milestones in terms of walking, rolling over etc.
I did notice at 11/12 Months that she had sensory issues. She wouldn't wean, she wouldn't touch the touch feely bits when reading books and became quite distressed at lights when out and about.
She has always played alone but at that age I wasn't concerned about this so much. Neither did she show me things or wave but she would get excited when a familiar person came to see us so I didn't recognise any issues with this at the time.
I think you are right to keep an open mind about it for the time being. It's still very early days and children do develop at different rates. As you've mentioned before, as you speak multiple languages at home it may be that your son is just trying to process them which may account for some of the delay.
I know it's difficult but try not to be too concerned about it at this stage. I think my DD was around 2 when I became more aware of the social and communicaton issues.
Time will tell if he is does develop autism but it's good that you are aware and on the look out. The early they are diagnosed and can have support put in place the better. Good luck

Yes, DS didn't show me things or wave either. He will wave now if prompted but it's very stiff and forced, if he's not prompted then he doesn't do it.

DD cried constantly at that age. Almost literally. She cried for around 14 hours a day non stop. Cries of rage, anger and frustration. No other 'red flags'. I feel so sad when I think back. She wasn't coping and I wasn't coping

@Soopdash am so sorry hope she is doing better now

@EwItsAHooman this is why i worry about the waving and showing staff as it seems to be a red flag . He does reaches for things he wants of reached to a direction he wants to go but thats it .

She still battles her issues everyday but overall she is a very happy girl. She's almost 11 now

@Soopdash so happy to hear that my biggest fear is him not being able to lead a somewhat normal life if he does have it

We live one day at a time. Right now, I can't even begin to imagine what she'll be like as an adult. Unlike to think she'll be able to hold down a basic little job. As for living independently, I'm not sure. One day at a time though

I think when my son was 12 or 18 months check up concerns were raised as was not speaking. He would line his toys up which was a sign but it was the lack of speech were concerned about . He was formally accessed at 2 years 9 months for autism but it was quite obvious then . He's now a teenager . May be different now but a lot more awareness now . I would try not to worry too much , on your next check up raise concerns they know the signs. but all autistic children are different my son won't be the same as yours and vice versa .

*I like to think she'll hold down a job! Typo!

My DS turns 2 in a few weeks and doesn’t speak. At his 1 year check he failed every box on the questionnaire. He wasn’t walking, wasn’t waving or using any gestures and wasn’t babbling or talking.

A year later and and he has made a lot of
progress but is still significantly behind in communication. I have taught him sign language and he can now sign to get his needs met. He still doesn’t talk, but is trying to make sounds now. He now waves and does hi 5.

@SleepyMcEdie am glad he is makong progress !

My ds is now 18 years old and I still remember how I felt when I suspected there was a problem.

I remember my ds could only say a few words, If I said to him where’s the door he wouldn’t point, he was a very unsettled baby, didn’t like being picked up or put down, a very fussy eater and also toe walked even with shoes on.

A friend of mines daughter had started nursery and one of the members of staff mentioned that she thought she might be Autistic, as it turned out she wasn’t but I remember one evening my dh was on night shifts and I couldn’t sleep for worring about my ds so I went on the computer and looked up symptoms of Autism and my heart literally sank, everything on the list described my son.

He was diagnosed at 3 and is in his last year of sixth form now at a special school but he has a great life, I wished I could of seen into the future at how much he has progressed, yes he’s non verbal with severe learning difficulties but he makes his wishes known and is a sweetheart and I’m blessed to be his mum.

My best advice is trust your gut instinct.

@Sorry10 i hope your son is doing well now ?

@eggsandwich that brought tears . You sound like a lovely mom. The trouble with me is that am a very anxious person always over thinking and analyzing things which is why i dont know if i should trust my instict or not . I really really hope am wrong .

My son (only 22mo) was just like yours at 11 months and as he has two parents with suspected autism I was concerned.

He did however pass the mchat by 18 months, pointing came around 14 months, he never stops pointing now. His ability to communicate has exploded since 18 month, still few words but very good at communicating and interacting. He didn’t initiate peekaboo until maybe 12 or 13 months. Of course he’s very young and could yet receive an autism diagnosis but I would say don’t underestimate the development that can happen in a very few months.

Anxiousmotherof1
He's doing great thanks he's a very happy young boy

DD1 (4yo) has ASC. We had concerns at 10-12 months as she wasn't babbling, didn't respond to simple instructions, didn't wave or point. She hated loud noises and sounds like whistling and avoided eye contact if she didn't wish to engage with you. Her play was focused and repetitive, no pretend play but that's not necessarily a big issue at that age. She was ahead in terms of being able to shape/colour sort, build towers and do jigsaws, but always did it in the same order. She was very dependent on routine (more so than other babies/toddlers - same song/story every night, dress in same order etc) but that could also have been explained away by language delay to some extent. A lot of things became more obvious as time went on and she didn't catch up and also since having DD2.

We were referred after pushing with HV at 2y3m for speech therapy when she had started making consonant sounds (eg dadada) but no words, and were seen 6m later when she had started saying some words, who in turn referred to paediatrics a year later, she was seen by autism services in July this year and diagnosed by August.

There is a huge range of normal milestones though. At this point I'd say keep an eye on it, but try not to worry too much.

I haven’t read all the replies but I knew at that age that my DD was probably autistic. It took a long time for diagnosis, but by 2.5 she was under the child development team.

DD was passive as someone else has mentioned, she wouldn’t engage with me. She was loving and we certainly had a bond but she wasn’t interested in joining me or pleasing me. That was what worries me most.

She is now nearly 10, quite high functioning in many areas but is at special school now.

Looking back If I knew then what I know now I would enjoy the bits that were enjoyable. Like I say we had a bond and there is so much live between us. That is what makes a relationship and the relationship in the end is what is most important. Nurture that.

Good luck - but please trust your instincts.