Autism at 11 months old?

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A few people have mentioned to me about my baby being on the spectrum. (They are close relatives and wasn’t being nasty) they’ve mentioned a few characteristics that apparently show she’s on the spectrum. She rocks back and fourth all the time, bangs her head a lot when in a high chair even after it hurts her, scratches herself, she does sometimes smile but you have to really really work for it, doesn’t always emotionally respond ie singing songs or showing her bright musical toys she doesn’t always smile she just looks blankly ahead sometimes doesn’t even make eye contact. I never really thought much of it, put it down to normal baby behaviour but now 3 different people have mentioned it, it’s starting to concern me abit. Is it too early to show signs? (FYI if she does have Autism it wouldn’t matter to me one bit I just want to help her)

She’s also always been a “grumpy” baby

It’s never too early to raise such queries with health visitor and/ or GP. Think DS was first sent to SALT at 2, but was then referred immediately to paed. Didn’t get a diagnosis of ASD until 5 but it was good to know we were in the system and being kept a regular eye on. I would book appointments with both HV and GP, take along a written list of concerns and ask to be referred to a paediatrician. We’ve had lots of NHS support since being in the system, so there is everything to be gained and nothing lost.

Are they recognising the features because you have family members with autism? It's very early and I have no experience I'm sorry.

My son had dreadful eye contact and was late to smile but he's NT, he just never had any focus and still doesnt!

I also spoke to HV who was helpful at listening to developmental concerns I had about my daughter (aged 12 months) and she referred me on.

My sons 3 and he’s autistic. He would smile but again we had to work VERY hard for it. He also rocks and flaps his hands. He was also hard work and grumpy as a baby bless him.

We waited until his 2yr 4 month review to ask for a referral and he was diagnosed just over 3 years old. Lots of children shows traits from birth and some develop Normally abd go through a regression.

At that age the first thing to do is check her vision and hearing. Have both been checked? You will need a specialist check at her age, speak to the health visitor.

My nephew is autistic. Just been diagnosed aged 7. He smiled and met all his milestones at the right time. It only began to become clear when he was 4/5. He has no empathy and seems stuck at the emotional age of a 3 year old. So it became more obvious as he grew older.

What I’m trying to say is yes there are signs but all people present differently.

Mention your concerns but I think a lot of the time people won’t take it seriously until they are older.

Certainly the signs of autism can manifest by 11 months however the gap in development is so huge that it's much more difficult to distinguish between normal variation in development and temperament and an actual issue e.g. autism. Do the family who mentioned it have a background in child development or is there a history of ASD in your family?

If you're concerned I would bring it up and get a hearing and vision check firstly then you could push for a referral.

I would definitely speak to your health visitor if you are concerned (and I would be if my baby presented like this to be honest). At that age my dc was sometimes engaged and sometimes distant; didn't recognise their name; didn't mirror/copy other people, like smiling in response to smiles, waving back, that sort of thing. (Although my baby did make eye contact, but not with strangers. Was dx'd aged 3)

Babies are all different and obviously progress at different rates, but the vast majority of babies are sociable and interested in human faces. So if there were no signs of that I would be concerned.

Do push for appointments to get it checked out. If it's nothing, great. If there is, you're ahead and can start to access portage and the like.

I knew dd had autism at eight months and suspected at four months. I had ds who had autism so it makes it easier to spot. Dd was referred to paed at 13 months and diagnosed a week after her second birthday but from seventeen months it was accepted that if chromosome and metabolic disorders tests came back clear then it was autism.

It's rare for a child under 2 to be diagnosed with autisim, but it is not unheard off. Also if they are diagnosed later on it's easy to look back and see signs.

But a lot could just be late development characteristics etc.

I would keep a list if things that worry you how often why or when they happen. Then speak to your health visitors they may say it's too soon to do anything but at least youv spoken to some one and they can help advise.

ASD is a developmental condition that is present from birth, so it is possible to identify differences as early as that. It's unlikely to get a diagnosis that early though. Have you looked at the M-CHAT screening tool? That can be used from a very early age and has 20 questions.

It does sound like there are some valid concerns about her development. Worth seeing your HV or GP.

Actually, scrap that, she'll need to be 16 months before you can use the M-CHAT.

My son is autistic. He was the happiest baby ever. He met all his milestones but struggled with language. Watch and wait. Try not to worry. Easier said than done but its very difficult to diagnose at such a young age. I agree with reporting your concerns. It is a good idea to get into 'the system'

I think it’s never too early to talk to someone if you’re worried.

I knew ds had autism from about 3 months old. He was just so different to my first child - who doesn’t have autism. He would never want to look at me when I fed him, he would do everything he could to avoid my eye contact. He hated being in the buggy (sensory overload I now realise) and would scream blue murder the entire time we went out anywhere.

He would barely sleep. Would be awake screaming 16 hours out of 24 even from the get go. People thought I was making it up.

He was very noise sensitive- to the point if he was asleep in the crib and I put my phone down on the side next to him he would wake up screaming hysterically.

How we survived those early months I will never understand. It was like something from a horror movie

As he’s got older things have become easier as we understand him more now.

He was referred for assessment at 2 (even though I’d flagged up concerns earlier) and was diagnosed at 3 - he has asd, dyspraxia, sensory processing disorder and learning disabilities. He is now 6 and goes to complex needs school (autism specific) and is thriving. He - amazingly - talks fluently and is very chatty and bubbly and is coming on leaps and bounds. We pushed for help at every turn and applied for an ehcp for him for help at school / a complex needs school.

If you know, you know. Well that’s how it was for us anyway.

Honestly looking back dd was different from birth but at the time we knew no better. I don't think any dr would diagnose under 2 but speak to the dr or hv about your concerns however be aware that they will probably tell you not to worry!

Btw dd is now adult and at university thriving (with support admittedly) - whatever happens have hope, it's a spectrum and with early intervention you can maximise potential (we got lucky, she was in one of the best early intervention programmes in the world in the US by sheer chance. I truly believe it made the difference.)

As a senior nurse with 18 years experience of working exclusively with little ones who have developmental delay and additional health needs, please speak with your Health Visitor or GP to get a full 'MOT' done. There could be several reasons why your baby responds the way she does, from an ear infection to vision or hearing problems. All of these need to be ruled out before going down the autism/asd route.

Do not watch and wait as suggested earlier. Raise your concerns now. DS was diagnosed on his 2nd birthday and that was 21 years ago! It wasn't "early" either, we'd waited for that appointment and took a cancellation, hence it being on his birthday. Looking back he showed signs from day one. I also worried about DD as I knew what to look for and I think she could have gone either way, luckily she went the NT way but it was far from clear early on

As has already been said, autism is present from birth but most parents only get to see the signs in hindsight.

You need to see a developmental paediatrician or similar asap to rule out other issues, just in case ASD isn't the cause.

Would just raise any concerns with health visitors - my 11 year old DS is suspected ASD but not thought to be until year 2 of primary. He was very contented easy baby, made eye contact, spoke at 10 months, only slight indications were he was non verbal at nursery and used to watch children there rather than play with them but appeared happy doing that, took a while to smile at a stranger and would put his hands over ears at playgroup songs though singing wasn't that great tbf

Thank you all for your replies. She does smile at strangers it’s just quite rare. If I’m clapping she does copy and clap. She’s very different to her older sister, who was a happy content baby

I knew DS was autistic at 9 months. Diagnosed at 2 years and 3 months. Get your HV on board, and also see your GP. Early intervention is key.

Raffle how did you know?