Concerns about my daughter.

[DontWannaBeObamasElf]

My daughter is 14.5 months old. She can walk unaided however she has no words, doesn't point or wave, she can clap but mostly it's arm flapping. She doesn't seem to respond to her name as well as before and when it comes to her toys she just hits them together then throws them.

She'll look and move an object in her hand and just stare at it.

She loves books but is more than happy to sit herself with them. She has good eye contact and will beam when I look at her, she likes to find me when I hide and laughs a lot when she does.

She does make a "mmmmmm" nose and she seems to say "goh" a lot.

I'm waiting for my HV to call back and arrange an appointment to see her.

Also if I point and look at something she doesn't pay attention.

From your initial post the most alarming sign to me was the arm flapping. A specialist would be looking for delay or deviation from normal development and at your dd's age it is very hard to decide if a delay is significant or not but make sure you mention the arm flapping at the appointment with your Gp. That is if it is a recurrent feature, her usual way of expressing emotion and not just a one off.

It's how she claps I think? It's not all the time. She can't quite bring her hands together. She doesn't so it when she's angry or sad or generally at all, just when very excited and even then it's not consistent.

She does it if I sing "If You're Happy And You Know It" but ends with her hands clasped.

Just worked out your name. I think. Very clever. unlike me

Thanks

Whenever I read it in my head, Cher's epiphany from Clueless pops up.

I'm not sure if this is a good sign or not. For ages she would hand me whatever she was holding if I asked for it and fed me fake or real food then she stopped doing it. She started doing it again last night.

Yay

A few times this morning she has brought me a book to read, fed herself with a spoon and although she hasn't pointed, she has looked at what I have asked her to look at.

I can only echo what everyone else says. My DD was never a baby that liked playing with toys - others the same age who grab the from her and she wouldn't react. This worried me then all of a sudden she got interested. Likewise she didn't crawl. The all of a sudden at 10.5 months she bum shuffled, cruised at 12 months and went from 2 steps to walking independently at 13 1/2 months.

My DD is now approaching 17 months, she wants to talk and its annoying her. She babbles a lot but only has a couple of recognisable words. A lot of my friends at telling me their babies can say x amount of words. I smile and nod politely but tbh I tend only believe the ones I've witnessed and can understand myself!

Get her checked out to be on the safe side and soothe your nerves just in case :)

I'm becoming obsessive now. If she wants something she'll take it to me or walk over to it if I ask where something is. If I switch on a toy she'll take my hand to it if she wants it again and for Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes she'll use my hands but not her own.

She likes things that spin but will just look for a little bit and just now she's walked in circles round a toy.

Could I just point out to anyone reading that may be alarmed that arm flapping is completely normal behaviour in young children.

Is it really?! I feel a bit better now. Thank you.

Both mine have arm flapped a lot!

It's a good sign that she has good eye contact and is communicating, if not verbally a great deal.

I used to get concerned that my DS didn't point or wave when all the milestones said he should have been. I've since realised he has to see the point in doing something and want to do it - he cannot be coerced. Ever. It's like he's saying "I'm not a performing monkey!" He's a completely normal 3yo. My CM's DD is now in her 20s - she didn't say a word until 2, and when she began talking she was stringing whole sentences together straight away. It's like some babies skip crawling and go straight to walking.

You're right to get your DD checked out though.

And yes, DS flapped his arms.

That makes me feel a lot calmer. Like I've said if I ask where something is she'll get it. I've been thinking lately that why should she point if she can't get it herself?

*if she CAN get it herself.

I'm welling up. She was looming through a book and I asked her where something was on the page and she put her finger right on it. It's not consistent but she did it!

*looking.

Sounds like she is independent and like someone else said, not a performing monkey. My DD was exactly like this :)

Hope you are feeling more reassured.

She's started making mama and dada sounds again! Still working on pointing and things but she just looks at it or goes over to it. She still sounds very nasal unless she's saying the mama dada sounds.

Any further news from docs? All sounds good

No still waiting for the audiology appointment to come through. I did speak to the GP about referring her elsewhere so she's on a waiting list but he said there wouldn't be much point as they like a hearing test to be done first.

I'm just astonished. Although she's always liked to play peek-a-boo she would just pull blankets off of our heads or her own and laugh. Today was the first time she had ever actually hidden herself. She was taking a cushion up to her face and laughing as she put it down. So proud! She did it for ages!

All sounds like really good stuff!let us now how appt goes

Still no appointment through yet, however I just don't know what to think anymore.

We were out yesterday, she saw two people she has never met and moved one arm up and down, so I guess she waved and she copied and laughed at a little boy.

Then later on her uncle was eating a sandwich and she pointed to it. Is she just stubborn?!