16 month old autism? Advice needed please

[Leabee1234]

Just looking for some advice on my 16 month old son. He's just turned 16months. I am worried he is showing autism signs. His nursery have also picked this up..
He can't say hardly any words just mama dada and sometimes hiya but don't think he even knows what they mean. He tries to say 'row row' and to sing the row row your boat nursery rhyme.
He doesn't point or anything like that just claps.
He flaps his hands ans uses his arms and hands alot when excited
He will get fixated on spinning stuff especially spinning wheels on toy cars.
He doesn't really interact with other children at nursery prefers playing alone
He doesn't like loud noises
When he's frustrated he hits me in temper or throws himself to floor
He sometimes rolls.his eyes back when looking at me but don't know if he's doing it in a playful way
However -
He does respond to his name when I say his name and looks at me not all the time but most
He knows what the word no means
He can maintain eye contact
He is very happy and smiling
He is very interactive and happy with his family and know who different family members are
He can clap and sometimes tries to wave
He also took his first steps a month ago but will not walk at all. Hes a fast crawler just feel like its late for him to be still crawling he can take steps but just falls into my lap or falls down after 3 or 4 . Refuses ro walk..
I am just worried he may be autistic and don't even know where to loon for advice. I am going to book an appointment with my health visitor. Just seeing if anyone else has any similar experiences . Very anxious mama here 🙁😢

He could be or he could not, it's a wait and see thing untill he continues doing behaviours past the age of appropriateness.

As he can clap teach him signing language, it uses a different part of the brain to speech and will massively reduce his frustration and once baby can clap at 6 months they can sign.

If he is autistic theres not a huge amount the can do at that age, you need to wait really until 3 or 5 to know for sure. Generally it becomes obvious when they can no longer cope with the demands put upon them, sometimes this nursery but for lots of children their autism doesn't become an issue until the hit Secondary school

Makaton is a good suggestion. However, don't "wait and see", get in the system as soon as you can, there's no harm done if it becomes irrelevant. My DS was diagnosed on his second birthday and that was over 25 years ago! Don't waste any time, get the help of the nursery and start lining up appointments, get info etc.

I would agree it's worth getting a referral from your GP or Health Visitor as soon as you can because the waiting list for an autism assessment can be extremely long. A few years ago, it was a 2 year wait for under 5s in my area.
You can get support without a diagnosis - it should be based on need - but it really helps have a diagnosis to access extra support at school.

When my DS was a similar age, autism was suggested because he displayed similar behaviour. He also had speech therapy at about 18m, which, in hindsight, is crazy!

He's now late 20s, a surveyor, nothing came to anything. I'm the one diagnosed with ADHD recently, though, which is funny.

It's so easy to get embroiled with all of this. But, just go along with it. It's only when you're old and experienced that you look back and think, 'why was I worried?'.

Thank you all I have spoke to health visitor and they will be arranging a development appointment and review in the new year.

What is makaton sorry?

It is sign language that covers keywords, not full sentences. It can really help with focus and consistency.

That doesn't mean he's not autistic though, it's quite possible that he's just undiagnosed with what would have been Asperger's syndrome before everyone was lumped in together - especially if there is neurodiversity in the family. DS is a software engineer but he has an Asperger's diagnosis, you can be autistic and successful.

OP I'd say there are red flags there especially if nursery are picking it up too. Good idea to speak to HV but he might be too young for it to be clear. I would look to get him referred though because it could be two years or more before you get to see anyone and by then it might be more clear. Make a note of anything you notice and continue doing that because you will forget some things as he gets older.