I’m worried my son has autism and I’m not doing enough!

[MummaHud]

My little boy is 13.5 months old corrected, he was 2 months early, so advised to go by corrected age for milestones.

He’s still not waving or pointing, but claps… will clap if he likes something, will copy our clapping, will clap if we sing happy and you know it. He also copy’s other gestures, just not waving or pointing.. he finds it funny when I wave, he will look where we point too though.

He has some words, ‘Ball, Flower, his sisters name, Dada, Mumma’

He will come if we call him, but if he’s busy / playing his response to his name is hit and miss..

His eye contact is okay, if we are playing and something goes right he will look around the room to make sure everyone else is clapping him 😂

He loves taking glasses on and off peoples faces & crawls up to people like grandparents when they come into the house.

He will notice if we come into a room and gets upset sometimes when he sees us leave it.

He hates his hands being held & he’s obsessed with wheels, balls ( throwing, kicking, rolling ) and he’s just started to walk.

He’s fine with foods, but he likes to be fed rather than feed himself, he loves cuddles with milk still and he sleeps incredibly well…

Isn’t bothered by sounds or textures.

He’s currently awaiting a review for glue ear he had at an audiology test 3 months ago.

A post previously a mum told me to seek an asd test because he doesn’t wave or point, so I feel terrible I’ve missed something & he’s not getting the correct learning / support he needs.

Thanks for any in sight / advice xx

You do realise every child is different . Stop putting yourself and your baby under so much pressure and enjoy him without having to label him .
I do say this very nicely . I have a Grandson who’s very nearly 1 and he hardly says any words and doesn’t wave etc but I’m not going to worry unless we have too .
They grow up soooo quick .

He is only 13 months. You need to relax. If speech doesnt progress by 2.5 then id seek help. Earliest they will asd assess where I am is nursery year (unless very apparent severe LD)

I’ve been an autism specialist for over 20 years and from what you’ve said here, I don’t think there’s any cause for concern. He follows when you point, he has some words, copies gestures, no sensory differences. I wouldn’t worry, he’s very young when you consider his corrected age and the fact he’s had glue ear means he’s not heard as many words as a baby without glue ear.

He sounds like his development is appropriate for his adjusted age. Please, just enjoy him, he sounds gorgeous.

You have posted so much about this. Your baby is being a baby. Enjoy it because it seems like you are wasting the baby years obsessing over every movement. If your child is autistic this obsessive behaviour won’t change that it will just mean you have missed the precious baby years by driving yourself up the wall over it. May I suggest you speak you a GP about it becsue your obsession isn’t at all normal and if you seek some help you may be able to relax and enjoy your baby

This is good advice.

He sounds totally normal for his age. What I will say from experience is that glue ear can mean hearing is not as good as it should be so he may just not be hearing that well. This may clear up or he may need grommets put in but it is easy to make better.

OP, I mean this kindly. What reassurance do you think you're going to get from this thread that you didn't get from the many, many other threads you've started about this?

No one on MN can tell you with any degree of certainty whether your child is Autistic or not.

You need to get help for your Anxiety. Please. For your child's sake.

Your health visitor will be the best person to talk to about your concerns.
Some children will do some things faster or slower than others. It sounds like there is a lot of things your child is doing so try not to worry about the pointing which is just one thing.
Try not to over analyse and look for problems that may not be there. I am sure as they get older if there are any worries they will become more obvious and once they start nursery then other adults will also pick up on any developmental delays.

You keep posting about this and nothing anyone says seems to reassure you. You really need help with this obsession.
You’re missing enjoyable time with your son with this anxiety you have.
Do you read the replies?

He’s sounds like a normal boy. They do develop differently to girls, they are less independent. No child reaches goals at the same time so it’s difficult to compare.

My DS never pointed, he was prem and it never really caused any concern. He used single words, then almost over night was talking in sentences.

More importantly DS had intermittent glue ear which meant his response to our voices was intermittent. It may also explain why his speech development was in leaps and bounds rather than gradual.

DS was/is very bright, and even now at 20, he grasps concepts and words rapidly and needs no explanation. I think this is why he never really pointed, he didn’t need to. He has amazing retention of knowledge and language and rarely needs to be shown twice. He’s basically a bit of a know it all but is reluctant at times to admit it. At times I do wonder if he is on the spectrum but school and SEN were never worried and put his quirkiness down to being very bright. The fact that he usually hides his ability suggests that autism isn’t an underlying feature. He often dumbs down to fit in and has no problem socialising although can be a little intolerant at times.

Impaired hearing can slow down development, DS really bloomed after treatment but his early hearing loss made him reluctant to contribute prior to treatment because he wasn’t always sure of what was being said. It was seen as shyness but I think it was lack of confidence after not being completely sure if he had heard the question correctly or maybe not hearing it at all.

I had the same problem ( glue ear) and struggle to process speech if I can’t see someone’s face. Early on you learn to process speech by filling in the gaps when you don’t or miss hear a word, sort of lip reading. It’s a bit like reading a book with words and letters missing but using the shape and context to interpret.
I can often hear words clearly but my brain doesn’t process the word without the visual prompt or the context. I work in healthcare where we wear masks a lot of the time. It can’t lead to some funny conversations.