Very early signs autism? What to do?

[Whitefluffyclouds]

My DS is just about to turn 7 months. I have been worried about his development since he was about 3 months. We took him to a paediatric neurologist when he was 3.5 months and she said he was fine, but I am still very worried that he may be displaying very early signs of autism, or other delay. I do realise that autism would never be diagnosed at this early age, but I have also read a lot about the benefits of early intervention and really feel that I want to do everything I can to help him. I love him so much and don't want to waste these early months while the brain is still growing.

The main areas of concern are:

• He doesn't respond to his name and it can be very difficult to get his attention.
• For a long time, he never looked at me while feeding. He does now look at me sometimes, and does reach up to my face, but has only done this for the last month or so and only does it sometimes.
• For a long time, I felt that he didn't 'recognise' me - eg. if DH got him up in the morning and brought him to me, he wouldn't even smile or look 'pleased' to see me. Now I feel that he does respond to me and DH differently from how he responds to other people (eg. bigger smiles), but I wouldn't say he displays particular affection for me or DH.
• He rolls in an unusual way - not in a corkscrew, but raising his head and using his legs to flip himself over. There is a study which was done in the 90s (Teitelbaum) which indicates that this could be a sign of autism.
• He does not imitate us ever.
• He does not make consonant sounds or babble.
• He is nowhere near sitting up.
• He has always been quite challenging to look after - cries a lot and does not like being put down very much, although he is a lot calmer now than he used to be.

Positives are:

• Sits well in highchair
• Eats solid textured food and finger food very well
• Can self-feed water from a sippy cup
• Smiles in response to us and strangers
• Laughs if we tickle him or do something funny!
• Alert and aware, loves looking around if I take him out in the pushchair
• Sleeps well (7-7 with a dream feed at 10)
• Coos, blows raspberries and makes 'aaaah' sounds

I would love to know what people thought, particularly if you have experience with autism, and also if anyone has any ideas about early intervention? We have an appointment with a doctor (not a consultant) at the community development clinic next week (GP referred us at my request although she said she wasn't worried) but I am guessing the doctor will just say it's too early to tell.

I agree with Miggsie about having to remember that AS is just that, as spectrum and a collection of traits. Some of them can be severe, others not & some are not present at all.
FWIW, DS hit nearly all of the milestones, he spoke absurdly early. He slept very badly & screamed SO MUCH as a baby. He reacted badly to all forms of over-stimulation & still (at 12) finds very stimulating environments difficult to deal with. Having screamed for the first five months, he then became very placid and was remarkably easy up until about 3, when he became the devil incarnate. He was extremely difficult from 3 to 6 and there has been a slow but progressive calm down since then - possibly because as soon as I had a diagnosis, I started implementing all sorts of strategies to help him. He is 12 now.
I only say this, because you will see my experience differs dramatically from others with ASD children. This must be partly why it is difficult to diagnose.

we started using Hanen type games with dd (who turned out nt) from 8/9 months (when she was sitting reliably) & ABA activities (motor imitation/receptive instructions/teaching her to play ... lots of hand over hand) from 12 months old. We started signing at the same time. At 15 months it was obvious that she was nt & her language exploded so I don't do any formal ABA stuff with her now though she loves to join in with ds1's 'work'

I'm planning on doing the same with ds2 (5 months) - he is very similar to ds1 .... impossibly smiley & happy, seeks out eye contact, 'chats' constantly, feeds well, sleeps okay, okay with motor milestones (ds2 is grabbing & putting toys in his mouth, can roll both ways but doesn't very often, not sitting yet) ... but he turned out to have massive language delays/disorder & an ASD diagnosis at 3 years old. I'm on high alert with ds2. If I have any concerns about his development between 12-15/18 months I will absolutely start a programme for him.

Thanks for the recommendations - I have ordered the Babytalk book from Amazon. I think I will try to find a baby signing class as well, although I'm not sure I'll be able to keep his attention long enough for him to learn. Also, not sure how he will learn signs if he doesn't imitate me...?

toadnotfrog - what could I find examples of Hanen type games?

Obviously I do realise that he may turn out to be NT or may have some kind of delay but not ASD, I do kind of feel that since I am going to be playing with him anyway, I might as well do something that might help, as long as it's fun for him as well! I would never want him to pick up on any stress or anything - although it may not sound like it from my posts, I am relaxed with him and do just enjoy him most of time.

He's a little young for baby signing now - I did a group at about 9 months with ds but he didn't get it then either. He started doing a couple of signs around 12-13 months.

Just wanted to add my tuppence;

my DD rolled like that and she has no autism signs

have you checked his hearing?

Your son sounds like mine at the same age. (He is not autistic by the way!)

He's now 10 and I think that the characteristics that our sons share(d) was just his personality and the result of being born ventouse. I can't prove the latter but I'd love to go back in time and take ds1 to a cranial osteopath and see if the effects of the ventouse could be "cured". Ds1 is still not a cuddly sort of child and is a lot more fiery than his siblings. Like many boys he was a late talker and certainly did not babble, coo etc.

I wouldn't worry about the things that you listed until he was older (nearer 2 years old) because you'd be able to get his vision, hearing and other physical things tested.

you can get Hanen books, but they are expensive. might be worth ordering them in to your library.

I think you are doing the right thing - you are going to be interacting with your ds every day, so arming your self with the core communication skills is never going to do any harm.

I am trying to remember what age I took dd1 to baby signing - probably from around 10 months or so is my guess, possibly even a bit later. it is really just lots of singing nursery rhymes with added signs, tbh. I can recommend the Singing Hands dvds (again, lots of nursery rhymes, with makaton signing as well) - and the ladies are lovely too! (I took dd1 along to one of their classes as a reward for working so hard with her toilet training, when she was about 5! she still remembers the day, and was awestruck to she her idols in the flesh )

Thanks everyone.

crazygracieuk - DS was born ventouse as well after a long labour. I did take him to a cranial osteopath a couple of times when he was 8/9 weeks old but he (DS) absolutely hated it and screamed the whole time, so haven't tried again!

silverfrog - thanks for the DVD recommendation, your DD1 sounds great!

My DD has just turned 7 months and is very similar, except she doesn't roll at all, and has no interest in solids (but that's another thread). She very good with eye contact and babbling, but she's a girl.
MY DS1 was terrible with eye contact, he was also quite a crier and became over stimulated quickly.
DS2 was also similar developmentally at the same age.
Both DS1 and DS2 (now 3 & 5) are completely normal little boys.

I actually wouldn't trust your instincts on this one.
He sounds completely normal and I'd try really hard to put it to the back of your mind.

Incidentally, both my boys sat at 8 months, crawled at 11 months and walked at 12 months

You should always trust your instincts.

Anyway its all speculation, we cannot compare children from what is said on here. I could describe my DD and say she doesn't like eye contact and doesn't play with other children and someone could say ' sounds like my shy child'. And vice versa.

Always trust your instincts.

Incidentally my DD has ASD and is also a 'normal little girl' :)

7 months is young and I don't think anyone can tell over internet whether there are early signs of autism - I realise now having one ASD and a younger NT child just how incredibly obvious it was that the older one was not developing typically even from 6 months - though no idea what would have happened if the order had been reversed, would I have just made up or believed excuses about them 'all being different' etc.

The reality though is that our culture is still not able to be honest with parents about the fact that every year a small percentage of babies will not meet milestones or be 'typical' and that this is actually quite normal - though very hard for the parent. Given that many parents are fobbed off with excuses about 'waiting and seeing' even when they have a non verbal 2 year old, it's not likely an hv will see you as anything more than a neurotic 'mum' so don't go expecting cameras lights action as far as intervention or help is concerned. You will be better off following the advice on this thread to get things going - whether there are issues or not.

Regarding baby signing, ime 7 months isn't early to go along to a class. We started when DC was 4.5 months - and there were much younger children there.

The classes were a good social thing for DC and for me. Agree with silverfrog that the classes are lots of nursery rhymes and games with signs. The classes are designed to be stimulation for the children, and an opportunity for you to learn signs you can teach at home.

I didn't have a DVD, but it could be useful. Be aware that there are at least 2 types of baby signing: BSL-based and Makaton-based. Something Special on cBeebies is a Makaton programme.

Young babies don't learn much from seeing a sign a few times during a class, so don't worry about your child picking up / not picking up signs directly from the class. Babies learn though lots of repetition anyway so you need to sign with your child at home.

At first, I chose just a couple of signs to do at home - milk and nappy - as I felt it would be useful if DC could let us know about these. DC did start to sign these two things about 6 weeks later, but DP & I had signed several times for every single change and feed, and we kept it up after DC started to sign. Other signs were learned from us signing along to songs and when speaking.

Some mums were a bit disappointed that their child wasn't signing quickly or liked signs like bird or tree, rather than food, milk, nappy, etc. A lot depends on the child - some never sign - though most of the mums complaining readily admitted they didn't sign at home at all. However, many of these same mums are still going to the classes because their DC enjoy it, and the mums have made good friends.

My DC did pick up some more signs, but having learned to talk, doesn't use them much now.

Sorry this is epic...I just felt that there's no particular need to wait to sign and it might be nice to start something specific to help with communication because you are having to wait and see for so many things just now. Please don't be disappointed if your child turns out to be one who doesn't sign - some children never do - whether NT or not.

@Whitefluffyclouds
How is your son doing now?

@Whitefluffyclouds hi. May I ask how is your ds doing now?

@Whitefluffyclouds could u give us an update please x

@Amish20a few people have asked the OP for an update and she hadn’t come back yet. Do you think it’s worth starting your own thread? You could talk about your own concerns and get some support and maybe advice?