19 months old not pointing or waving

[Babykitty]

Hello!
My DS is 19 months old, still not pointing and barely waves only when he wants to (1out of 15 times). He babbles a lot, but doesn’t has any intentional words. I’m currently 5 months pregnant and so worried (I’m trying not to). I don’t know if it might be autism. He is really friendly and has great eye contact and responds to his name (7 out of 10 times). He brings toys sometimes. Understands when I say NO but doesn’t understand any other commands. He was evaluated and they said he is too young to give me a diagnosis, and for now is just a speech delay. He is on Speech therapy for a month now with no improvements. Has any of you been on this situation and then turns out fine? Or just a speech delay? I would really appreciate your feed back. Thanks!

Hi, do you know the M-CHAT test? It's a screening tool for toddlers showing red flags for autism.
Does your DS use any gestures at all? Is he able to join in nursery games with little actions?
I was in your situation more than a year ago, I feel with you!

I’d recommend the MCHAT too:

www.autismspeaks.org/screen-your-child

What is his understanding like? If you ask him to get eg shoes from another room will he do it without you using gestures to guide?

Hi! Yes I did the M-chat and I got a 4 medium risk. He doesn’t do any gestures. He does join nursery rhymes but not always. He brings books for us to read together. I really worries me that he is not pointing and talking intentionally. He babbles mamamama when he is upset. The only command he understands is NO. When he is in the mood and I tell him to give me something that he has in his hands he might give it, but not always, and not something specific. (If I tell him to give me a ball or a shoe he won’t understand) How is your child now? Thank you so much for your answer.

Hi! He only understands NO. If I tell him to bring me shoes or a ball he doesn’t seem to understand what I’m saying. I did the MChat and got a 4 medium risk. But I feel that some of those questions I answered No or yes but some of those things he only does it sometimes not constantly. So I’m not sure if I answered right. Thank you for taking your time to answer.

Sorry for not responding earlier!
Did you ask for a referral? 4 points on M-CHAT puts you on risk for autism unfortunately :(

My DS was very similar at the age now he's soon to be 3 and is conversational able to communicate his needs so considered HF but we have many social and behavioral issues now so it's getting more and more obvious.
If your child has some receptive language and is able to understand basic commands then most likely he'll be verbal.
I have a 15 mo old DD too, she shows more red flags so I really feel you.

I want to add something.
My DS' only way of communication was tantrums and cry before 22 months. Then I learnt about PECS, watched some youtube videos how to start with, and we started with the picture of his pacifier because it had got lost all the time and he could not tell us to help him find it.
After two or three weeks he started to use it to communicate, we added more and more icons and some months later he started to use words.
So pecs was a life changer for us.
Does your child recognise things from picture? If he does I really recommend tó give it a try.
I improvise a lot because we don't really have access to sevices in my location.

Hi ! Thank you for your answer. So did your DS got diagnosed with ASD eventually? What is HF? At what age did your DS started pointing? I’m going to try PECS. My DS is still not pointing, he started to repeat a lot of words and numbers, but still very little intentional talk, he can ask for grapes or milk and sometimes says mama intentionally.

It is such a worry, isn't it?! My son is a month younger than yours @Babykitty and not that far off what you're describing. It appears you cannot know until a child is 2/3 years old. Until then, it will be put down to different development rates. Given some of the stories on Mumsnet where kids have suddenly started pointing, waving and talking at 22 months, I understand why. I mean, after all, your toddler doesn't have a milestone map in their mind to adhere to! It's almost ridiculous to expect everyone to grow and learn at the same rate. Worrying nonetheless, yes I understand. As for M-CHAT, I am not a fan for a number of reasons. Firstly, that it can be applied from the age of 18 months to 30 is absurdly wide an age gap. How can we expect the answers to be the same for a 30 month old as an 18 month old?! Also, answers are never black and white. Many toddlers do things sometimes. That is pretty normal. Honestly, I pray my son suddenly starts doing things like he should so I don't have to be faced with these arbitrary measurements anymore

Hi! I know! Many questions on the M-chat I had to answer no because he only does it sometimes and I wanted to be honest with the answers so I marked no. I pray that everything turns fine for us too.

Yes my DS was diagnosed after turning 2.
Proximal pointing he started at 16mo I remember I felt such a relief because I was already alert but he only pointed in books.
It's a good sign of your child can already express some of his needs by pointing!
M-CHAT has a.follow up version with more explanation you can take a look at it.
I agree with pp that mchat has it limitations but vaste majority typically develop ing children would pass

Prayers for you op. <3

Before anything else @Babykitty get his hearing checked if you haven't already. You'll be surprised at how much this impacts development, and even if he seems to hear he may not be hearing as he should or certain frequencies. My son is due an audiology assessment soon as a doctor by chance noticed his ears were extremely blocked in the mid-canal during a check-up. I've seen on other posts the impact of such hearing issues, with some parents devastated this wasn't considered or checked early on by those with medical training, i.e. GP, health visitors, etc.

Hi babykitty is there any change the last two months I'm in same situation with my19 months ds

Hi! My toddler is still not pointing and barely waving. But he is saying many words, he can count from 1 to 10, he is starting to understand simple commands ( pass me the plate or pass me the ball for example), he can name things in a book if I point it to him and ask him, he is asking for things he wants, milk, grapes. He has only started to point at books but with my hand. He is advancing slowly.

thank you so much for ur reply, i will wait patiently and will do my best for son.

@Babykitty Hi, could you please share any updates as i am on the same boat right now? Hope your little one is doing great

@Babykitty hi, is there any update on your little one now. I’m in exactly the same boat and worried x

@BBabykitty any updates??

@RREmumy any updates??

@mthrofflwr i hope @Babykitty won’t mind me saying so but I messaged her directly for an update and she responded with the following:

“My boy is still not pointing :(. But he is understanding more and following orders, he is currently 27 months old.”

I then asked if he was talking and she said

“Yes a lot more! And he points to things in books and sometimes (not that often) to things he finds interesting. He is also socializing a lot more and paying more attention when I call his name. I got him evaluated and they told me it was a global developmental delay but hopefully he will catch up to his peers🙏🏻”

@MMummylove89 thank you

Hi,
@Rorlaa
Could you please tell what sort of behavioural and social issues does your DS have? My toddler is 21 months, he doesn't wave it point but does babble alot and my HVs think he is probably HF. I can already see he is likely to have behaviour issues which is why I'm asking what issues does your DS have?

You mean currently at almost 4.5? Well he's a sensory seeker and he likes pushing limits all the time. He can't regulate his behaviors and can't resist to his constant intention to throw things and has rude verbal ticks and now splits. He enjoys pushing my buttons. Currently I'm really burnt out sorry. Otherwise he's conversational and clever, but the behavioral issues are destroying us.

@Rorlaa I'm sorry to hear that. I can totally relate to you. I'm glad at least he is able to communicate his needs. I hope mine can soon start to communicate as well he is currently 21 months and only babbles so far. Mine is really bad as well tbh. He hasn't been diagnosed yet as he is not 2 yet but HV told me the waiting list to see the pediatrician is 8 months, so that will be the end of next year. He understands when I say no but still insists on doing silly stuff like opening and closing the draws, biting my father randomly 😅. I don't know what he's got against my father but he always seems to be going after him lol. He is always shaking the hoover and blowing raspberries randomly. His behaviour is very appalling to say the least and I feel like he definitely knows what he is doing is wrong but either he can't stop himself or he does it on purpose. Did your toddler do all this when he was roughly around 21 months or before be turned 2? Have the teachers expressed any concerns in school regarding his behaviour?

Hi moms so so sorry for my late reply, my life has been crazy lately.
We had to move to the United States so that my son could have access to therapies and more things. My son was diagnosed with autism, now that he is 3.2 years old it is much more noticeable. He currently receives speech therapy and occupational therapy. He is understanding much more. He says some words (more, give me, no) he doesn't say them constantly yet, but he is advancing little by little. He has a lot of behavior issues, lots of tantrums (since he can't communicate well). He is still not pointing constantly, only to books and sometimes to things he finds interesting. He is not sleeping well either, before he was the best sleeper but know he wakes up @ 4 am and that's when the day starts. @Mummylove89 @mthrofflwr @Purejoy22