Could this be autism?

[MommaLM]

My DS who is 18 months old started shaking his head from side to side when he was maybe 8 months old and we thought nothing of it but over time we have started noticing other things. He constantly moves, he can't stand still, if he stays in the same spot he has to run on the spot, usually on his tip toes. He doesn't play with toys the way that they are intended, he tends to hold them and run about with them. With jigsaw pieces he does not attempt to put them in the holes, instead he enjoys putting them in a box and then out of a box and continues this for some time. He also enjoys going into his drawer full of clothes and taking them all out and then back in again and does this continuously for at least half an hour. His head shaking is more often than ever and is frantic, my DH and I are often worried that shaking it as frantically as he does could even injure him. He often fidgets with his hands, in a flickering manner. Even at bathing he has to lie down and splash the entire time whilst dipping his head in the water.
There are things that seem to contradict autism however such as he babbles (no words yet) and gives eye contact to people close to him, however if strangers come near him he puts his head down and covers his ears with his hands, he also does this in loud, busy or new places.
He has also had a few meltdowns where nothing calms him down but time and patience.
I am so confused so any advice would be appreciated.

Could be autism, my son is suspected autistic as he has a lot of traits but he does give eye contact. I know quite a few autistic children that give eye contact and only 1 that doesn't

The saying goes if you've met one autist child, you've met one autistic child. Autism shows itself in a number of different ways in young children.
My nephew does clicking, and is not great at eye-contact unless he is completely engrossed in an activity with a person.
No harm in asking your doctor, but generally too early for a definitive diagnosis.

The eye contact is the one thing that makes me think maybe it isn't and I am thinking too much into the other stuff but It is hard to ignore the frantic head shaking etc.

I went to my doctor last month and they have referred him to a developmental delay team to see what they think so hopefully that will answer it but we are still waiting for an appointment so it could be some time.

My DS also goes round in circles for some time. He is always slightly difficult to get to go to sleep, takes about an hour but he wakes up in the middle of the night wired for about two hours at a time.

I would take videos of the behaviours you are anxious about.