Hi. I hope I am not going to cause any offence with this post. If my beautiful boy does end up with an autism diagnosis I will love him just the same. I am finding the unknown very scary currently and hoping for some guidance as to weather these signs sound familiar or am I reading far too much I to this. I have a 16 month old boy (just gone 16 months) who in many ways appears to be developing well. He is on track motor development wise he walks (although still a bit clumsy), rides his balance bike, climbs, squats to pick things up etc etc, fine motor skills appear fine for age. His receptive language appears on track for his age- he is able to follow simple instructions without gestures ie can you get your shoes and bring them to mummy, put that back on the table please, put that in the rubbish bin please etc. I think my main concerns are around his very inconsistent babbling - he seems to be very very quiet for his age and he only uses a few consonant sounds mostly ma and ba for everything. Occasionally he will come out with a different consonant ie pa, la but I then won't hear it again. His does however get his point across well he will point if he wants something or reach with his full hand. He will bring me his shoes if he wants to go outside and I do feel he understands a lot of what I am saying throughout the day. He does point to show interest in something also but this is not frequent and sometimes he just points but doesent necessarily look back at me to share and make sure I have seen it. He has very recently started to bring me a few toys to show me (without needing help) but again this is very inconsistent. He does call me mumumum, can say meow and moo when he sees a cat or cow, if he sees a heater or drink of coffee etc he will hold his hand out and say "hoh" for hot while looking at me to check in and I will say yes it's hot don't touch. He has recently started to imitate some simple sounds we make. He has always done a little bit of hand flapping when in his highchair which I know can also be normal but this is happening with increasing frequency when he is excited and he will also open and close his hands/fingers repeatedly. He has developed an obsession with picking up sticks/twigs whenever we are outside (which again I am aware can be normal) - he does not become upset when he needs to pit them down if we are going inside somewhere etc. I have also noticed that over the past few months he has been covering his ears to the sound of running water (bath or shower running) . He sleeps wonderfully 12 hrs at night and 2 hrs in the day. Eats well generally. Has always struggled with sand at the beach sensory wise but I know a lot of toddlers do. He has never looked at a camera when having a photo but does have good eye contact with close family members or when he is feeling comfortable. He loves hide and seek and will try to find me and say BA for boo and loves peekaboo. He is cuddly with very close family on his terms. If anyone says hello to him when we are out and about he basically freezes on the spot and has never smiled in response to a stranger at all. Whenever I discuss one of these things individually people assure me that it is normal etc but I am feeling that with the overall picture there is potentially more going on? We are on the waitlist to see a developmental paed but I am really wondering if there is more I can be doing at present to support him. The hands over the ears I find particularly concerning - but again I guess it is concerning me along with the bigger picture. He is so so quiet. Has anyone ever had a baby that has hardly babbled and gone on to develop language? He did babble a bit before he turned 1 and then I felt that it really dropped off which I feel incredibly anxious about.