Worries/concerns about 17 month old - autism?

[worriedmumma22]

Hi there.

I’m not sure if anyone can help me or tell me where I need to post or how I post (I’m new here)!

I’m getting more and more worried about my lovely 17month old little boy and some people have mentioned he may have some autistic traits. I have health visitor coming on Thursday but wondered if any of you lovely mums could share what you think or your experiences please.

what he can do:

He points, claps and waves but on his terms. He does high fives, can blow kisses. He can point to body parts if I ask him where they are and can point to people if I ask him where they are, likewise pointing to things in books if asked where the cow is for example. He can make some animal noises. He responds to his name 80/90% of the time and brings me things and will show me things when he’s playing although is mostly happy to play on his own doing his own thing. He follows commands if I ask him to bring something like a book or a certain toy he will get it and bring it to me, he can get his shoes etc. he knows what things are and feel he has a fairly good understanding of what I say to him.
he does cuddle his teddy monkey and will give him a drink if I say the monkey is thirsty.
he likes books, especially with flaps.

concerns:

he doesn’t talk, babbles but no real words except for maybe 2. He makes noises constantly but very random noises

he has recently started to walk on his tiptoes but not very often and spins in circle but again only recently and not very often.

he’s not overly fussed by other children, will watch them but not necessarily play with them, he does try and give his little cousin a drink and follows her.

he’s recently started to not be interested in playing with toys for very often, flits from one thing to another very quickly (not a very high concentration span) also doesn’t push cars along will just pick them up and sit them back down etc

He isn’t very affectionate unless poorly or tired.

he’s quite repetitive with some things, he wanders around the house a lot opening cupboards and playing with things he shouldn’t like the washing machine or the remotes
he doesn’t play with cars properly, doesn’t push them.. will pick them up and look at them and then put them back down or look at the wheels.

he loves buttons and will press them all the time, I think this is why he loves the remotes. He tries to push things that are circle and look like buttons but are infact not.

we had a hearing test a few weeks ago and they told us he has mild glue ear in one of his ears and will see him again in 3 months but that there’s not much that can do right now.

could this be related to behaviour/speech?

do you think I have any reason to be concerned or am I just worrying because other people have made me?

thank you in advance for your replies and sorry for the long post.. I just want do the best for my boy and I can’t stop worrying

Hi!

Firstly (and I know it’s easy to say) try not to worry so much. I know it can be daunting when your child maybe isn’t developing as typically as you would expect but if he has autism it’s part of who he is and no amount of fretting will change that.

All 3 of my kids are autistic, as am I, so we have been through it all. One thing I would say is take other people’s opinions with a pinch of salt. There is a lot of misinformation out there and even more ridiculous stereotypes. We are not all tiptoeing mathematicians who can’t make eye contact.

There is a saying. If you know one person with autism you know one person with autism - meaning we are all still individuals! Without knowing your boy it would be hard for me to say if he is neurotypical or not. Some of the behaviours you mentioned sound familiar (like the love of cupboard doors :)but there are lots of similar conditions with crossover “symptoms”.

My daughter has glue ear too which can mimic autism traits and confuse things. I would say give him another 6 months of observation and you should be able to tell one way or another.

One last piece of advice is to push for a referral now if you think it’s needed. I don’t want to worry you further but your in for a long wait for a diagnosis either way. The sooner you get the ball rolling the better.

Feel free to message me anytime to chew my ear off. I dont like to brag but I also have a college qualification in this subject 😏

@Neuroillogical thank you very much for your reply. I do try not to worry so much and enjoy him but as you say sometimes that’s easier said than done and I’m a worried anyway unfortunately!

how old are your children? And if you don’t mind me asking how did you know they were autistic? Was it quite obvious or something you realised over time? Sounds like your an amazing Mumma!

also you say about trying to get him referred for things now? Where would I start with that? Sorry for all the questions I’m a first time mum and have no clue where to start with stuff like this or where to go.

thank you again for your reply, I really appreciate it

Sorry in advance for the essay….

10, 4 & 3 and they are all different! With my eldest we had no clue tbh, he was super intelligent, never missed a milestone so he was not on anyone’s radar. It was only when he started school that we gradually started to notice things. Mainly he would cry a lot over anything & was very particular. Also started to struggle at school socially. It was the GP who suggested autism and as you do, we researched the hell out of it and we couldn’t believe how accurate it described him.

With our middle child, we were much more aware. Typical baby at first but then around about 1 we noticed a few things. (like he would stuff his mouth full when he ate or look at things really close up but we tried not read too much into it. Eventually he started missing milestones, mainly speech. ( he was non verbal till just past 2). Around 18 months is when things started getting more obvious- he was very repetitive, would line up his toys rather than play, lots of sensory behaviour, no eye contact, total indifference to anyone that sort of thing. Would make repetitive noises, spin around hand flap etc.

Youngest was the most difficult to work out (girls are typically different anyway). Again seemed typical at first and then started missing milestones - mainly speech and she didn’t walk until 2. Had glue ear too which confused things. When she was around your sons age we still wasn’t sure so we gave it a bit more time and eventually she started showing that same repetitiveness & social issues (she too loves a cupboard door!)

As I said, no child is the same and they can show all or hardly any signs. The main thing to bear in mind is how they interact and communicate socially and whether they have repetitive behaviour (or a need for routine). The first two are hard to work out but I find the repetitiveness is usually the giveaway!

Referral process depends on where you live but first point of call is usually GP. I would write down all your concerns (because as soon as you get in there you will forget under the pressure 🙃) . Next step would be referral to community paediatrics. If they feel there is grounds they will refer on for full autism assessment. Just so you know, if they feel anything else is necessary (like speech therapy etc.) they can also refer for that. You don’t need an official diagnosis to get any of that help.

And don’t be silly, ask away! I’m happy to help 😊

Have you done the m-chat screening tool for autism?
I am in a similar boat in regards to worrying about autism but from your description your child sounds very much typically developing. It appears he communicates by pointing and uses gestures which is what children with Autism struggle with as autism is a social communication disorder. Children this age are very much repetitive so I wouldn’t worry about that.
Its the mchat score that’s important and there is a follow up too online if he fails it. The ASQ is a good screening tool too to look at over overall development.

Hi 👋
any update please ?