Does it sound like 13 month old DD is autistic?

[redballerina]

I wasn’t sure which topic to post in so please tell me if I need to move it.

I am wondering if DD(13mo) is autistic. My reasons are:

Since about 3/4 months she HAS to hold/pull my hair to go to sleep
She doesn’t react to her name a lot of the time
She throws herself back a lot/bites a lot/pulls hair a lot (others, not herself)
Used to say mum and dad but doesn’t anymore and doesn’t babble much at all
Gets very hair pull/bites if she’s excited
doesn't make much eye contact, you have to almost catch her but she won’t really do it voluntarily
If you drop something/make a bang, she doesn’t look.

I’m confident it’s not a hearing issue as I take her to a few music classes a week and she moves to the beat very well and generally enjoys songs a lot.

I have two other children and there’s one tv show she is fixated on if it’s on, literally nothing else will make her look/move and it’s not coco melon/miss rachel etc, I’d say it’s more for 2-3 year olds.
There’s more but I’m in a bit of a rush but just wanted to know from that, would you suspect autism? Thank you so much for reading, I’m a bit stressed about it.

Talk to your GP/HV.
We can't really know if your child has autism or not.

You need to get hearing issue assessed first. It’s too early to go down autism assessment route but one of they first things they would say is to get hearing checked first.

Glue ear is way more common than autism.

Google will be just as reliable as a bunch of people on here agreeing with a list of behaviours you’re writing from your viewpoint. See a doctor, nobody here can tell you.

She's far too young for any kind of diagnosis, but you should get her hearing checked as a first stop.

You cannot tell at this sort of age.

moving to music does not mean there is no hearing issue. She could have trouble hearing higher notes/voices and hear the bass/beat perfectly well.

get a hearing assessment if you are worried (or easy home version - drop something bloody heavy and loud outside of her vision and see if she responded.)

Hello. She may be autistic, she may have hearing issues and/or developmental delay.
she really needs to be assessed by a professional team.
I disagree that she is too young. Its budget cuts that have pushed the age of assessment up, not clinical research.
Unfortunately it’s unlikely you will get a ASD assessment at her age.
you can ask your GP or health visitor for a referral to your local child development team.
write down your concerns and what you would like from the referral
in the meantime, it will not hurt to use strategies for children with asd.
I strongly agree with getting a hearing test. You would need to do this as part of the asd assessment anyway.
children really do develop at different rates and some have ‘spiky’ profiles I.e advanced at some things, delayed at others, typical at others.
good luckn

She could be, and it’s worthwhile raising concerns with your health visitor to get things like hearing checks done now. How has she fared on developmental checks?

It can’t be diagnosed yet, and the message is very likely to be wait and see. In Israel, The Mifne Centre is working with dc from 6 months, so it’s worth a look at their research to see what can be beneficial at this early stages.

I’d also recommend taking a look at sensory regulation, so that you can better identify what soothes your dc. Sometimes we can focus too much on wanting them to look and behave “ normal” when they are just drawn to activities and sensations that calm their nervous systems.

If there are any sibling or relatives with ASD she might be put in the pathway for assessment early. Either way , talk to your Health Visitor.

You mention that she no longer says mum and dad. Please see the GP and ask for referral to investigate this skills regression.

Her behaviours and lack of speech progression would concern me.

The biting and hair pulling will get worse if not addressed, purely from a behaviour pov. Can you afford an occupational therapist to help you develop ways to help DD get past this? You must put a stop to the pulling of your hair, as a priority.

Get her hearing tested. By a professional, not just your opinion.

A lot of those things sound like your average 13 month old. When you say she used to say mum/dad was she really, or just babbling sounds that you thought sounded like it?

I work with children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Many are under the age of two years. I would not be able to give an opinion from your description. Our assessment of need usually starts with an hour of observation plus parent interviews. Even then I don’t jump to conclusions. It is not fair on anyone. However I do think you should be talking to your HV about an hearing test and what support is available. I would hope you could find a speech and language therapist and an occupational therapist. I work outside UK so not sure how easy it is.

Don't underestimate what your child can accomplish.

She has held your hair to sleep for the past 10 months? This is a habit you really need to think about, autistic or not, because it's surely not sustainable.

She's very young, habits can be formed and broken. Young children often throw themselves back when upset as they don't have the language or ability to express their needs.

When you say she doesn't react to her name "a lot of the time" what do you mean - 30% responds, 70% doesn't? 10/90? 0/100? A concern would be never responding to her name.

Don't assume hearing is fine because she enjoys music, vibrations count for a lot. Has she had her hearing checked? If she doesn't look towards a loud noise or, for example, the doorbell, and often doesn't respond to her name, hearing would be my first port of call.

Trying to respond to points made, sorry if I miss any.

Yes, she constantly pulls/chews my hair. If I’m holding her she pulls and chews it, if she’s falling asleep for nap or night, she has to hold it.

I’d say 80% of the time she doesn’t respond to her name.

I will definitely say to HV about hearing but her newborn check was fine hence I’d be surprised.

She definitely used to say mum and dad. She did say mumma a few days ago so she can say it but barely does.

Obviously, you’re stressed about all this, but right now it’s not the time to be thinking about diagnosing your child. You need to address the hearing test issue because that’s something you can get a categorical answer about.

When assessing a child with developmental concerns you cannot focus just on “my child does this”, you have to have someone experienced in working with children with developmental concerns to think about the context in which the child is exhibiting the behavior. Also you need to think about what function the behavior performs.

But please do not make autism your focus. I know it might take up thoughts - but First you need to enjoy playing and interacting with your baby. Communication has to be your concern. Easy to say but it is hard work. I hope you can find a supportive team of experienced professionals who can hold your hand through this.