15mo not pointing

[WorriedMammaBear]

Apologies for the long post but I'm not sure if I should be worried about my DS who turned 15mo a couple of days ago.

He waves when we say bye-bye and claps if we say clap or if we clap but at the moment he has no real words apart from babbling and does point to show things of interest or point if he wants something.

If he wants something that is out of reach he will try to grab it but as soon as he realises he can't get it will give up and move onto something else rather than trying to get my attention to get something for him.

For what it's worth, he sat up at 9months and crawled/pulled to stand/cruised at 10months and still isn't walking or standing independently.

I spoke to both the GP and HV who told me to contact them again at 18months but I can't help but worry that he's behind or perhaps need some additional help.

Doesn't point**

Forgot to add he doesn't follow simple commands like "pass the ball" or "get your shoes"

Pointing is not delayed until 18MO after which my understanding is that it's a fairly sensitive marker for ASD. He has plenty of time yet to get it. Just keep modelling it but try not to ask/make him do it. It's not really a skill which can be taught in that way as such but he has to develop the social skills and imitation skills to do it. A website called www.teachmetotalk.com gives some really good explanations about speech aquisition etc and simple games to play. I think he has time yet before you need to worry though. I would just keep going with lots of tactile and shared attention games and talk lots to him but just give him chance to respond. Resist the temptation to 'make' him say words just for the sake of it. It will just frustrate both of you if he doesn't have the social skills to really understand what you want. You could do things like give him a choice of 2 things though (for example what snack he wants) and give.him chance to point to one or even say it. Realistically I don't think any professional services are going to be able to suppport him until he's much nearer age 2 unless he has strong evidence of GDD which it doesn't sound like. You could do the MCHAT screening at 18MO though (a quick screen for risk of ASD easily found on google) and contact HV if this raises any concerns. I'd definitely do this if he isn't pointing by this age and finding some ways of communicating with you if not talking or if he doesn't seem to understand a few simple instructions or body parts etc. The only thing it might be worth doing in the meantime is getting his hearing screened. Good luck. He sounds lovely. I wouldn't worry too much just yet x

Thanks @Jannt86. I'll definitely check out that website. And love the idea of presenting him with two choices to pick from - I used to do this and he would select with his whole hand (not sure why I stopped doing this )

I guess my worry is autism as I've already looked into the MCHAT (thinking it was from 16months) to see what he's potentially missing. It currently seems to be pointing, shared interest, simple instructions and walking .

Will wait and watch for now ...

A LOT can happen in toddlerland in 3 days never mind 3 months and MCHAT is only really valid from minimum 18MO so I would take it with a huge pinch of salt right now. My 2.5YO seems to learn stuff in 'bursts' and will suddenly start doing things. I was worried about her coz she didn't really babble until almost 12MO. However she doesn't shut up now haha and is developing some of that threenager sass Yesterday that involved her adding 'actually' to the end of a couple of her statements and look at me like I'm stupid Trust me there's every chance you'll be on here reporting the same thing in a year or so lol but just be vigilant. X

Thank you so much for the reassurance. I really hope he does go through a burst of development soon as he hasn't really been demonstrating anything new for a couple of months now. Funnily enough he learnt to pull to stand, crawl and cruise along the sofa in the space of a few days. Your DD sounds adorable

Quick update - my DS started pointing with his index finger in the last few days both to signal towards something he wants and also to show me something of interest. Just wanted to reassure anybody that may stumble across this that some babies point later than others but still before the 18m mark.

Thank you so much for the update @WorriedMammaBear.
Can I ask, did your son start by pointing with his whole hand and then move to pointing with his index finger only? My DS is forever raising his hands in the direction of different things, as if to say 'hey Mum, look at that', but it's not with his index finger, but rather his whole hand and his fingers spread...

My LO pointed for ages with whole hand. She was pointing intentionally I'm sure from about 9MO but took til nearer 14MO to point with one finger. She is 3.5 now and there's still some minor issues with pronounciation but her vocab and understanding are if anything quite advanced. I don't think whole hand pointing is a concern but I'd still be looking for finger pointing by 18MO x

Yep, my LO started pointing with his whole hand with fingers spread before it turned into an index finger point (almost overnight I think). It sounds like your LO is nearly there and as easy as it is to say try not to worry

@Jannt86 @WorriedMammaBear
Thank you so much for the reply.my DS is still doing a combo of whole hand pointing, and then other times index finger pointing. Did your LO's do a combination for a period of time?