Worried about possible autism signs

[danny43513451]

Ok, so this is probably another one of those paranoid parent posts, I apologize in advance if that turns out to be the case.
I'm worried about my 7.5 month old son (full term) not being very social. Here are some of the things that conern me:
He doesn't babble (does like to make a lot of noise, but no "da-da" etc just very long "aaaahhhh")
He doesn't respond to his name.
He rarely responds to our voice, especially when he's occuppied with some other toy. You have to work very hard to get his attention, and even then he'll do you us a favour and just glance at us for a quick second. Sometimes I feel he behaves as if we're not even there.
We can get him to laugh and smile, but usually have to work hard for it. It's easier for me than my husband though.
Doesn't really enjoy being held, he usually struggles to make us let go so he can go back to his other activities. He will tolerate being held on our shoulder though, provided that he gets enough stimulus from the surrounding enviornment (i.e. he wants us to move so he can look around).
Rarely seems to enjoy a game of peek-a-boo.
Makes no attempt to imitate.

Some of the more positive things...:
He started crawling at 6.5 months (like really crawling, on all 4s)
He is able to sit independently and is pretty stable.
He is extremely curious, always wants to move around and explore.
He is very adamant on progressing his motor skills - he's been constantly trying to stand up and pulling himself to a stand for the past few weeks.
He can reach for objects, pass them between hands, puts toys in his mouth.
Sleeps "ok", will usually only wake up once through a 10 hour night sleeping period. That being said his daytime naps are really short (30-40 minutes).
I think his hearing is OK because he will turn his head towards sounds that interest him (I guess our voices not being one of them).
Is able to focus on moving objects (again, if it interests him

That's pretty much it. Obviously in the internet era my main concern is autism. I know it's way too early to diagnose but I just hate the waiting game. We do not have any cases of it in the family, but my son did have a somewhat traumatic birth (21 hours in labor, vacuum assisted delivery).

Any input on this would be greatly appreciated! Anyone else have kids with similar symptoms? What was the outcome? Thanks a bunch.

We went to a really brilliant talk on autism. All of the other parents described horrendous tantrums - really uncontrollable, which are an indicator. But DS never had these. Instead he went into fugue states when distressed, which is also an indicator, but a rarer one.

As pp have said, pointing (both them pointing to things of interest to show you, and following a point) is key - it usually appears around 12 months but can be later (up to 18 months) and still within normal range.

OP there are things you can do even now to start to encourage more interaction - e.g. find a toy that you know he really really loves even if he doesn't do anything with it but put it in his mouth, and hold it out for him. When he reaches for it, you say the word (whatever toy is) loudly and clearly, a couple of times. Get right to his level and look right at him as you say it. When he reaches for it you say really enthusiastically "YES! Ball!" (or whatever it is).

Use same toy, or food/milk as a reward for him imitating you. So e.g. you put finger on your nose, then put his finger on his nose - when he does it you go wild with excitement and immediately give him the reward. He'll start to learn that copying you brings rewards.

In the meantime though I hope you can try not to worry too much, but keep an eye on it. If you're still worried at toddler age (14 months or so) go to GP, with list of all concerns. Even if you get fobbed off at that stage, you can go back again a few months later and may be taken more seriously.

Babbling, btw, often doesn't start till c.8months - do you have an 8month check?

gethuda good luck for your SLT appointment. Come to the SN board if you feel up to it - even just to help you through any assessments etc. Whether or not anything does turn out to be amiss, there are lots of posters who can support

Well your frankly awful spelling is off putting so perhaps you should 'pause for thought' whilst proofreading before spamming, no?