10 month old? Autistic? AIBU?

[MumofHennHals]

I'm really concerned my 10 month old ( he was premature so 8.5months corrected ) has autism.

I'm concerned I'm not giving him the best support he needs should he have it.

It may be typical for babies to do these things but I'm not sure? Any mum advice would be appreciated or any similar stories.

He can:
• Babble - still just lots of 'dadada' 'bababa' 'dododo' raspberries.
• He plays peekaboo- if I put a blanket over my head, he will pull it off for me to go 'Boo!' He will laugh
• if he's putting pretend food near his mouth and I say 'mummy's mouth ahhhh' he will put it in my mouth and smile when I go 'nomnomnomnom'
• he does make eye contact with you and will follow you around the room
•High five

He sometimes can;
• respond to his name... it depends what he's doing if he's doing something cheeky he will smile but not look at me and crawl off - but I'd say if he's busy with a toy he won't look at me.

He cannot:
• imitate noises yet
• can clap, but DOESNT copy us clapping ( he just laughs at us instead )
• he doesn't wave
• if I'm holding him, he won't look at me, he will just push to get on the floor.

He's a completely active baby, he just wants to be on the move and climbing, I don't know if that is the reason he has less social interaction than my daughter did at this age ( because she was stationary for quite some time )

Many thanks xx

I don’t know if your baby has autism or not. He sounds like he’s doing pretty well! There is no real support or help available for such a young child.

My advice, as a mum whose little boy does have autism, is to just enjoy him and celebrate him for who he is. I wasted his baby/ toddler years stressing about if he was autistic or not. He is autistic but he is also kind, clever, funny and sweet.

As a mum to 3, Aunty to many and former childminder, he sounds entirely developmentally normal. If you're really worried though can you try and see your Health Visitor?

Is there a reason why you're so anxious about autism? Does it run in the family?

I think he's just a very different baby to your first.

The only thing you have listed which might be something is not responding to his name. But if you say that to a Dr they'll insist on a hearing check.

And btw autism is absolutely not the worst thing. DS is so sweet and loving.

My son is autistic and a teenager now and I don’t think you can really tell at that age unless they also have a severe developmental delay which many autistic children don’t. If he does turn out to be autistic then there is very little extra that you’d do at that age anyway that you wouldn’t do with a neurotypical baby, and certainly no outside support available. It’s difficult not to worry but try to enjoy him as he is for now, if he is autistic it will become very apparent at some point

It’s way way way waaaaaaay too early to tell, everything you describe can be typical to a NT child, there are no alarm bells from what you’ve said, but he’s only 10.5/8.5 months! I SO understand the worry, but the above PP is so right. Try not to waste the baby and toddler years by making yourself ill with worry, your baby sounds lovely and absolutely nothing you’ve said would be causing me worry just now!

What makes you think he has autism?

Aside from his actions, why do you think it's autism?

Do you work in the field? Do you have contact with many autistic? I'm just wondering why your first goto is autism? at this age...

What is it that makes you think he has autism?

From your description nothing rings any alarm bells. There is a very good reason why children aren’t given any formal diagnosis at this age. Especially as a premie, you will need to wait until there are 2 years old before they are developmentally caught up. If at this point you still have concerns, then go and see your GP. If you can, could you consider childcare, even for 2 days a week, children really benefit from being with their peers! X

It's impossible to say at this age. Most ASD assessments are developed for children 16 months an older. You really can't tell at 10 months old and all kids are developing at a different pace. And even if there are obvious "deficits" at this age, there could be million different reasons for it. Best not to worry right now.

You can't tell at that age, my son is 7 and is currently waiting for an autism assessment. I have always assumed he's likely going to be as both his parents are diagnosed and it's a highly heritable condition. I didn't see any signs until maybe 4 years old, and it's become increasingly more obvious since then.

sounds like a an average baby to me.please try not to worry and every baby is different at what they can or cannot do as this age.

If you’re worried at all about his development talk to your health visitor. Your baby sounds like a regular 10 month old though.

Is there a reason you’re worried about autism specifically? My 2 older children have autism and I would be lying if I said I didn’t wonder about my youngest who is a baby based on nothing other than the fact her siblings are diagnosed and I am probably on the spectrum myself. As @JPC123 said upthread, enjoy your baby and who he is. My children are so much more than just autistic.

I worked with asd children and I could tell from around that age (although I was cautious and never said anything except to dh until it became more obvious) the signs for my son were-

No babbling
No eye contact
Sullen , expressionless most of the time except when feeding or screaming
Limited engagement/interest in anyone but me
Obsessed with feeding/certain sounds
Screamed a lot

As he got older his vocab was slow to develop, he had three words at 18m and was not fully verbal until around 7. Massive meltdowns, routines, would watch same shows/read same books repeatedly. In nappies until 6. No interest in other children. Limited diet. Rocking, head shaking, spinning.

He was referred to pathway at 20m and diagnosed at 3.

There is very little to say he’s autistic at 10
months. Is there a familial link in your immediate family? My eldest started showing traits with speech delay, then by preschool and lack of social skills the discussion of ASD did quietly start. It was only by reception that an actual push was made to assess. With my second, I did suspect from before 1 that he was autistic, but he was a very distressed baby who never slept. As soon as he was able to say words, he just repeated numbers over and over again. By nursery, it was quite evident he had high needs and low development but it still took until he was 5 to be diagnosed with autism.

Long story short, don’t over think anything. He should be due his 1 year developmental check soon, if you feel development isn’t going as it should before the 2.5 assessment you can ask to see the HV sooner. I had a fantastic one who was incredibly supportive and very on the ball with what traits really did flag autism and what is just normal spectrum of abilities.

Sounds normal to me if you have any concerns speak to your health visitor.

He sounds bang on track for his adjusted age. He's also a curious and busy little beastie, wanting to get off your lap and explore. Stop worrying and enjoy him.

Ten months is far too early to ,even my severely autistic non verbal teenager didn't really show any signs of autism at ten months
But speak to your health visitor about your concerns and they can keep an eye on how things progress and refer to appropriate agencies if necessary also posters need to stop mimising autism based on their own children it's a vast spectrum and impacts everyone differently, some far more severely than others.

My child has autism, and the signs were pretty obvious from around 12 months old - she wasn’t doing any of those things and massively behind in terms of development. Your child sounds very usual in terms of development for their age.

My eldest DS was also prem. He is also profoundly ASD with his communication being the hardest hit. He was picked up at birth as something not being quite right even allowing for his early arrival. he did have a difficult birth but no additional problems resulting from that. His peadiatricians, SALTs and all were very concerned. I had a hunch he was not right but he was also pretty ill in his first year. TBH I suspect you simply have an active little boy who is starting to catch up on his early delivery.

As a comparison my prem son who does have ASD but without a learning disability.

He never babbled.
Never played peekaboo. Only played with one spinning toys for hours.
No pretend or copy play at all.
No eye contact.
No high five or any other type of interaction with others.
Never responded to his name.
Never smiled except at his spinning shiny toy.
Did. Not laugh.
No demands to be anywhere.
Refused all standard weaning food unless it contained chilli or similar spice.
Horrendous screaming to regain his shiny spinning toy.

TBH At this stage just continue to allow for your DS having a corrected age. No baby does every single mile stone on time let alone by the book. Those who are early or had a rather rough start tend to be a bit slower in some areas as they s-l-o-w-l-y catch up. As a rough rule of thumb a month early takes 12 months to catch up, two months two years and so on. Active little boys tend to focus on being active over quieter activities like talking then once they can easily move they start to catch up on chattering. Every single child is different. The developmental checks look out for patterns of development that MAY indicate a child MIGHT need a bit more support or encouragement. Most are fine.

Continue p to interact and chat with your child and encourage them to have a go at new age appropriate things. if you do remain concerned have a chat with your HV or GP.

Far too early to tell.

Really just enjoy the time with your baby. Why do you feel the need to label him at 10months (or 8.5m in realty). Have fun it goes so quickly.

He is 10 MONTHS OLD.
Why are you trying to label your child already?
What could a 10 month old child possibly do to make them autistic?
wtf.