Thinking 13 month old has regressive autism

[ButtonsMama19]

Hi please help.

My 13 month old boy has shown signs of speech regression, and other worrying signs.

He said mama at 9 months... continued with it to 12 months but no other words, a bit of bababa and wawawa but nothing else. Over the last few weeks he’s stopped saying mama and gone back to shrieking and blowing raspberry’s, it’s like he’s 8 months again. He’s also stopped waving. He only did this for a short time but it’s stopped altogether. He has never pointed. He does clap in response to me clapping and when he sees someone he’s happy to see, and sometimes when I say ‘good boy’. There’s no other gestures like nodding head etc.
I was worried about him having no development in language but now he’s gone backwards.

He never responds to his name but I don’t know if that’s new or not, I never really noticed.
He does look round when he hears music from his tv show he likes, or if I say ‘no’ he stops and sometimes looks. So I don’t think it’s hearing.

He initiates peekaboo and chase me - crawling. He can not walk yet.

He pulls books anc toys from a shelf to play alone, if I join him he will interact, sit on my lap, but he won’t bring things to me himself.

He does do some imitation play. He has a kitchen and likes it if he puts a cup to my mouth and I pretend to drink.

He eats and sleeps very well.

HV came out today and although has made pead referral and said he’s not hitting target and has developmental delays but basically seemed to dismiss the regression side of it as he only lost 1 word.... but that was 100% of his speech!

I feel like it’s massive red flags for autism and she’s dismissed that as ‘far too soon’.

I feel really stuck. He doesn’t babble only shreik to get responses now and I spend hours each day babbling and talking to him and get nothing repeated. But if I blow a raspberry he does it straight back.

Eye contact is fairly good. He smiles if I do something funny, but not just if I smile at him anymore (he did at 6-9 months)

Please please reply and help me my head is spinning.

(For info, no history of asd, English only speaking household. )

Hello OP I don't know anything about regressive autism but I do know that you know that child better than anyone and you should continue to press for investigation if you feel something is not right.
My DD has ADHD and I knew there was something going on before she was two but you will have a lot of people tell you things are normal and not to worry.
They're trying to reassure you but it's not helpful really.

you can engage in pretend play when you are autistic, but it is different to NT pretend play. (as observed in dc's ados assessment and expalined by the consultant)

Omg way, way too young to be considering autism.

Both mine have seemed to go up and down a bit developmentally. They often drop one skill while perfecting another, mine vocalised less in the period just before walking.

Op glad to see it. 18m is the classic time when lots of kids have a huge language explosion.

Hi OP, I agree with everything @heydoggee says. Not too early for signs at all. It's great you've got a referral in place and it means you're on the right track to have him checked out. Be aware it's a very long process but hopefully everything will turn out absolutely fine for your son. He is only 13 months. Good luck!!

Just realised this is an old thread!! 🤣 Glad to hear things are going well OP!!

Neither of my children started speaking until 13m and walked at 18m. They’re fine.

You’re looking too hard.

13m is far too young to be diagnosing autism.

However.

Our little girl who is now almost three did almost the exact same thing at that age. We could never decide whether it was due to lack of social contact during as lockdown hit (although she has 6 siblings, aged 5, 9, 10, 13, 14 21) or something more worrying, but she had very similar signs to what you describe.

She was saying around 4 or 5 words and lost them all, she stopped smiling and never, ever even flinched to her name being called (to the point where we wondered if she was completely deaf).

Otherwise, fine motor, gross motor skills all normal, if not slightly ahead of schedule. She had complete melt downs at anything not in the normal daily routine.

It got to the point where in January of this year we started reading a lot about autism and starting the ball rolling with health visitors, hearing tests. In particular we looked at applied behavioural analysis amongst other 'treatments' and started using some of the tactics described such as specifically rewarding eye and recognising eye contact and trying to pick up on non verbal queues she may have been trying to give us and we were missing.

The last 6 months have been radical in the progress made, it may be coincidental, but we have in a very short space of time, a girl who smiles, jokes, initiates eye contact and interaction, who could sit happily on a beach surrounded by strangers, and who is improving daily.

Just saw your update glad everything is going well

@Charlotte0114@ButtonsMama19 how are your children doing now? X