Early red flags of autism in 9 month old

[Louisewere]

Hi there,

My dd is 9 month old and over the last month or so I have really started to notice some behavior which could be red flags for autism. See list below:
1)hand flapping, particularly when excited
2)arching of back
3)pushing herself away from me when I pick her up
4)poor eye contact - doesnt like it when our faces are close together
5)poor response of name - 8/10 times she wont respond
6)a poor eater - loves pureed fruit, but not a lot else
7)not crawling yet, and has just recently been able to roll back to from, but only done this once- can roll front to back ok
8) generally quite unsettled and grumpy - rarely seems content
9) Had a suspected cows milk protein allergy when i bf her

So as you can imagine I am very, very worried. Just wondering if anyone else had a similar baby and what outcome was. I am going to mention it at her HV 9 month review next week, but I can imagine I will get fobbed off, as she is too young. Just need some support and advice!

Thanks!xx

Do mention it to the HV - because you are worried.

But everyone one of those things sounds very normal for a 9 month old to me.

1. hand flapping - normal (stimming isn't just hand flapping btw).
2. arching back ????
3. pushing herself away - maybe she is developing an ability to know of herself as a separate being from you - or maybe you need to brush yout teeth etc. (joke)
4. doesn't like faces too cloe together - neither do I it makes my eyes hurt as everything is out of focus (some autistic people have fabulous eye contact).
5. poor response to name - she's not a performing dog, maybe she is ignoring you - how often are you using her name?
6. poor eater - do you let her feed herself? Finger food/baby led weaning? how much variety is there? Maybe she doesn't like some things? appetite can decrease after growth spurts. Maybe her teeth hurt?
7. not crawling - only 1 of my 3 was at this age, and only just.
8. unsettled and grumpy - teething? reflux?
9. Cows milk protein - nothing to do with Autism - but could lead to: arching, discomfort and grumpiness, poor eating etc.

And my child with autism was the most content happy of my babies.

My son has got an ASD diagnosis and I can tell you that all children are so different.

The re flags for us were, a totally silent baby, rarely cried and liked being in his pram rather than being cuddled, totally content in fact, absolutely no babbling whatsoever (he didn't use actual language until 3) and he used to shuffle to find the hardest surface and head bang from 9 months old (he now pinches or slaps himself when frustrated).

A lot of the red flags for autism are perfectly normal developmental things for babies and toddlers, they are only red flags if they continue beyond this age.

@CaptainKirkssparetupee that's exactly what it is. If they continue after the toddler stage, hence it takes most of us a long time to get an ASD diagnosis for our children. My son was 7 before he got his and was originally diagnosed GDD until they could be absolutely sure.

Yep, schemas are another one that is a normal part of development up to about the age of 5, but some people with autism do longer.

The things you list are not red flags for autism at this age (and several not at all). Is there a particular reason you are worried about autism?

They don’t diagnose autism in girls to much later..

The hands flapping? She’s 9 months old!
Arching if back is good- stretching!
Pushing back from you- being cheeky
Poor eye contact? possibly poor eye sight and not focusing properly
Poor response to name- go back up to being cheeky
Poor eater- she’s eating so she’s just a picky eater
Not crawling? some kids just don’t crawl at all, ever..not even a bum shuffle. Explain in 2 seconds
Being grumpy- could still be teething
Cows milk allergy- perhaps? Jippybelly

just a normal baby then

Clues to watch out for autism esp in girls- they walk early, around 9 to 10 months old..they also scream a lot sometimes hours
My niece was walking at 9 months old we thought that was amazing until read an article that kids who walk so early are most likely to be autistic. She has autism amongst other problems
My daughter is also autistic but on the high functioning scale and was very lazy..
no two kids are the same but shouldn’t label children unless they’ve been diagnosed..and even if your kid is diagnosed with autism, is that a bad thing? Autistic kids are very clever

Any updates on this??? Please

Hi,

I know every child is different however my child did all the above…. The eye contact when sitting on my lap was my first concern…. I was right to be concerned, he was diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. I was told by everyone that there was nothing wrong with my child…. I was given answers like the one you have given. If I listened my child would not have got the help he needed.

Advocate for your child and always trust your gut…..

@Louisewere could I ask how is your dd doing now? Xx