15 Month Old Development Worries

[Sophie1956]

My youngest son is now 15 months old but cannot pull himself up to standing postion or cruise yet. He started crawling at 12 months and will stand for short periods if I hold him steady but often resists and simply lifts his feet up. He has no words at all - not even mama - he sometimes blows raspberries and makes repetitive noises but that's all. He can clap his hands but doesn't point or wave. He will now eat some finger food but usually still has to be spoon fed and doesn't try with the spoon at all - he just bashes it off the table, drops it and cries.

At 8 months he developed meningococcal septicaemia but was successfully treated and discharged from hospital without any physical disabilities. I'm worried now that his delayed development is due to the disease but saw my HV at 12 month check and she advised to be patient and see if he catches up. I'm concerned that by just "waiting and seeing" I'm letting him get further behind.

Any advice or similar experiences?

I think it's too early to say. He sounds a lot like friend's DS (now almost 13) who had meniningtis in his hip at 9 months (doctors swore it was only his hip, not his brain) but parents think now has had developmental problems for it, not formally identified until he was 11 (finally statemented). Not sure that anything could have been done at this age, though. Everything you describe is still in the normal range, ime.

You could try reposting in SN section.

I would ask GP for a ref to a paed; you have an inkling that something is ''not right'' and shouldn't be fobbed off

Bypass HV

On the one hand, my brother was like this according to my parents, and he turned out to be a healthy and bright boy without any difficulties. At 18 months he just started to walk & talk and went apace from then.

On the other hand, my friend's maybe was the same, saw doctors at 12, 15 & 18 months, and was repeatedly told to wait and see. He was eventually diagnosed with cerebral palsy at 24 months & my friend believes he missed out on support & physio during this time due to the delayed diagnosis. I am no expert so can't comment on whether "waiting & seeing" did any harm (fwiw he is now in school and doing fine, though the early years involved quite intensive interventions like leg splints & Botox).

No harm in seeing your doctor again I imagine, but it doesn't sound to me like there is necessarily cause for concern yet. What age did he sit up? Does he play with toys & books etc?

Baby not maybe, sorry!

He sat up at about 5 months & before the illness at 8 months he was starting to pull himself up to standing position using his cot bars. He has very recently started to play more attentively with stacking cups and shape sorter (hoorah!) but often still just puts everything in his mouth, books included!

Got further appointment with audiologist next Monday as they wanted to re-check for ear damage - first set of tests showed his hearing was ok but I think it's standard to double check in these cases.

I know he'll probably just do everything in his own sweet time but it's hard not to worry a little bit & there really doesn't seem to be much information on what to expect from a child recovering from meningococcal septacaemia...

i would talk to gp and get referred to paed. bypass the hv, they know nothing and everything is normal to them (because every baby is different, isn't it ).

it could be nothing but it could also be something. and to be honest, not standing, no pointing, waving etc at 15 months would worry me. how does he communicate with you? do you think he understands you?

How long was he ill for? My friend's ds was ill for 6 months and had a developmental delay. Now at nearly 5yo his pronunciation is still a bit behind, but he is otherwise a normal, bright child.

An paediatric occupational therapist should be able to advise you. Get a referral from your GP if you're worried.

Thanks for all the support, I'm going to book appointment with the GP - I don't want to come over as a neurotic mother but at the same time this has been causing me a few sleepness nights lately as more time passes and he seems to be getting further behind, obviously if there is a problem I want to do everything possible to help him reach his potential.

His communication/understanding is quite limited - he's more like a 9 or 10 month old in that respect. I make an effort to talk to him and encourage his verbalising as much as I can but not sure what else to try. He is a very sociable baby and plays happily but not at all at the level my eldest ds did at the same age eg build a little block tower, do pretend cooking or scribble with a crayon.

He was ill for about 6 weeks & discharged from hospital with a clean bill of health. At the time I was not warned of any potential consequences of his illness, just advised to contact hv if I had any queries...I've got loads of questions but she seems unwilling or unable to answer.

make a list of all your worries/concerns and take it with you to GP. it is very easy to forget to mention important things. maybe also worth taking your partner with you. IME, you will be taken much more serious if you bring the dad along as well (and things are less likely to be attributed to neurotic mum syndrome).