DS just bum shuffled and I could cry

[Zzxxyyzz]

I desperately don’t want him to be a bum shuffler but I knew it was likely to be on the cards because he has always hated tummy time and was pretty late to roll.

Bum shuffling is linked to all sorts of developmental delay, dyspraxia, dyslexia etc. I’ve just read a study that stated half of bum shufflers went on to be diagnosed with ASD.

I just feel very sad that I can see a tricky future mapped out for him. I will forever ask myself if we could have done more to encourage tummy time but in the early days he just screamed and screamed and in the later days he was just not fussed about it and would roll onto his back.

Crawling is so important for developing visual acuity, handwriting, visual spatial skills etc. I am just absolutely heartbroken for him.

DH bless him doesn’t have a clue about the implications and is sitting there cheering him and proudly videoing it 😔 I’ve had to come out of the room I just feel sick and so gutted.

An ASD diagnosis is not based off of one behaviour, but a constellation of behaviours. Please try and take a step back and enjoy your child's growth and discovery like your husband is. You can, of course, always being your concerns to your family GP.

Dear God, I would have been ecstatic if s my daughter who passed away at 27 ever achieved that

This does sound like a case of inventing something to worry about ... kids develop in so many different ways. Also most diagnosis with ASD are not catastrophic, I know lots of kids and adults who have autism diagnoses and are getting on with life perfectly OK, and in some cases exceptionally well. Please try to relax and enjoy your child, get some help for your anxiety if you have to and step away from googling 'normal development'

This is nonsense OP.
The bum shuffling is one of many characteristics of developmentally delayed kids who aren’t walking by age 2. For a just turned 1 yo there is nothing to worry about.

I will forever ask myself if we could have done more to encourage tummy time..

Sorry but this would have made zero difference. ASD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and so on are all genetic. They are inherited. If he is ND, he was born that way and you need to embrace it instead of catastrophising over it.

Crawling is so important for developing visual acuity, handwriting, visual spatial skills etc.

This is bullshit. Many kids never crawl. They do their bum shuffling or wriggling and rolling then go straight to walking. Crawling has nothing to do with visual acuity, spatial skills etc.

Christ on a bike take a chill pilll love! I’ve never heard such nonsense in all my life!

My DS has ASD, and as a previous poster said - bum shuffling was never mentioned at his developmental reviews he was a proficient crawler.

This kind of catastrophising will ruin your experience as a parent - but will also induce anxiety in others reading this

Please try not to worry. Someone mentioned this kind of research to me when my youngest started bum shuffling and I spent far too long worrying about her. I absolutely appreciate that there is research which people say supports the link, but in our case, as in many others, that wasn’t the case at all. She’s not had any of those challenges, in fact she’s one of those little sunbeams who everything is a breeze for. I wish I hadn’t spent a second worrying. There is just no point when it all could be fine. Sending love xxxxx

Oh my Jesus Christ, you sound utterly bonkers. This is hysterical nonsense 😂

Also objectively around 10% of children bum-shuffle nationally and around 1% of children are diagnosed with autism.

If we assume that EVERY SINGLE CHILD with autism bum-shuffled (obviously untrue), that's still only 10% of the bum-shufflers developing autism!

DS was a bum shuffler. He is autistic and he's also fucking amazing.

I have four DC. All crawled for a long time, eldest DC for the longest (best part of six months).

Eldest DC is autistic, none of the others are.

I really would not worry about it.

and, FWIW, we’ve spent the weekend at a uni open day. Yes, DC1 has their quirks and challenges in life that the others do not have, but it’s all part of them and I wouldn’t change them.

Kindly OP, ChatGPT is not your friend for analysing research papers. Your figure of 42% got me looking. Is this the paper about the Toyota Municipal Child Development Centre? They had a sample size of 48. Teeny tiny. Not a study worth its weight in paper. I'm also curious what the Toyota Municipal Child Development Centre is. If it's what it sounds like, a place you take your child because you are worried about their development, then those 48 kids are a pretty rubbish sample to reach any conclusions from. All the 1000s of parents with normally developing kids who happened to bum shuffle didn't go, whilst the parents of kids who were delayed in speech and didn't respond to their names, played repetitive spinning and lining up games etc were, some of whom also bum shuffled. Of that sample, it is hardly surprising that there was a high incidence of eventually autism diagnosis.

I think you sound awful, actually.

Perhaps read my posts again.

I love my boy, fiercely. I am worried what the future may hold for him. Bottom shuffling is an established marker for a range of developmental delays. The NHS says so too!

I hope writing that post made you feel good.

Is 42% a consistent replicable finding? That seems extraordinary to me if so. But even IF that is the case that means there's a 58% chance he is not going to have a diagnosis!

I had a crawler and a bum shuffler.

The crawler is the one with the ASD diagnosis. Both are extremely academically able.

Exactly what I was expecting to read ! Tummy time is another load of ridiculous nonsense that parents are brainwashed about ! My children all hated going on their tummy so it didn’t happen. They are all perfectly normal adults .

Kindly, consider speaking to a GP about your anxiety. This isn’t normal (unlike bum shuffling, which is very normal).

The evidence is strongest for dyspraxia, then dyslexia. Also hyper mobility. I appreciate most of this thread has focused on the ASD link but the main one is dyspraxia. Plus difficulties with handwriting.

Balderdash. DS bumshuffled for 18 months and is one of the smartest kids in his school. (V sorry to brag)

No your right its an essential skill apparently for the brain there are studies about it and all sorts but even if you get him to crawl he might still end up with issues but you can try personally had i known how important it was i wouldn't have been so blasé about it

Is there actually any history of autism in his family tree that is making you worried?

BTW neither of mine bum shuffled and both have autism.

i crawled properly and I have ASD. as PP has stated studies on this are small and rare. also! even if it was a surefire mark of ASD/developmental delays, people with disabilities can still live rich, fulfilling lives so there is genuinely nothing at all to be concerned about. please try and be happy that your child is mobile, this is a great milestone! sending hugs <3

Jeezus Christmas people, no need to shit on OP.
If you can't provide support, reassurance, experience or evidence then kindly move on. 🤦‍♀️

Again, going back to the research:

“A twofold increase in the prevalence of poor stereoacuity was observed for low-literacy children who were reported to be bottom shufflers as babies. This association was independent of prematurity. Crawling on all fours at the appropriate developmental age may provide suitable visual input for good stereoacuity development. In other words, sensory-driven neural activity, such as visual input from the crawler’s view of the floor, could assist infant brain development, including visual maturation.”