Hi mums,
I just wanted to give mums a little bit of hope so excuse the long post.
My son had glue ear for a little period which results in delayed communication and social milestones however I was felt there was more to it. I even posted on here a few times worried sick. My son has always been okay with following instructions and is overall a really easy 20 month old however I was worried sick by all of his behaviour and google had me convinced he had autism. He is in speech therapy and In nursery, nursery workers say he is a joy and plays well however he would constantly do the following at home;
⁃ Tip toed walking all the time
⁃ No pointing, not much waving and clapping
⁃ Didn’t bring us items to show, or items to play with
⁃ Didn’t engage with us, no sharing or shared interested or shared enjoyment
⁃ Likes to only play with objects by throwing. twirling and dropping them constantly also liked wheels and anything that spins
⁃ Enjoys the same tv show over and over again, tv was on all day long most days (husband I were both working from home because of covid and I was pregnant again so it was a easy option)
⁃ head banging tantrum however didn’t last long
⁃ Taped his head with fingers out of frustration
⁃ No attention, constantly moving and jumping around - very hyperactive
⁃ Barely vocal
⁃ Wouldn’t engage with us if tv was on, wouldn’t answer to his name
Fast forward, i was looking for ways to help him so we turned the tv OFF completely for a whole week, and only had minimal TV the following 3 weeks - 1 hour or so while I’m cooking dinner etc. I also completely removed his dummy. I believe for my son and my experience this was key and the push he needed to improve his social and communication skills. What I’ve seen in the last few weeks has amazed me.
⁃ not much repetitive play, minimal twirling or spinning objects, playing with toys mostly appropriately.
⁃ Engaging in play, building blocks, peek a boo, chasing and other activities
⁃ Walking mostly normal besides when prancing around on toes
⁃ Following instructions almost all the times
⁃ Answering to his name almost all the time
⁃ Showing me toys, engaging with me constantly
⁃ Passing bubbles to me play with
⁃ Lots of clapping and smiling when he has done something well.
⁃ Stacking blocks with minimal help not just throwing
⁃ Gaining more understanding of instructions
⁃ More and more babbling and sounds
⁃ Attempting to feed himself with spoon and fork
⁃ Attempting to dress himself
My son still does not talk but I feel it is coming shortly, overall I now have a much calmer and engaging 20 month old. Although he doesn’t talk he is turning into a completely different child. His understanding of language is getting better day by day and he is constantly finding ways to communicate with me. All it took was to remove some bad habits like the TV (he was addicted) and dummy and get down on the floor and actively play with minimal distractions.
I hope this helps some worried mums with some tips and on another note I know that all these behaviours are normal toddler behaviours and I don’t mean to upset anyone.