11mo failed ASQ 12 month review

[PeachShark]

My DS had his 12 month review today , he turned 11 months yesterday.

He scored in the black area on Gross motor, Fine motor, Problem solving and Communication but he passed Social & Emotional.

There were some things we were worried about but now I’m very worried. I am surprised he failed gross motor as he started crawling earlier than other babies we know and is very physical, just wants to crawl and pull himself up on everything.

These are the issues we have been worried about:

Doesn’t gesture. No waving, clapping, pointing, peekaboo - also been doing signing and isn’t doing any of these. Although seems to understand some of them.

Doesn't imitate noises or babbles regularly. Sometimes does but not consistent.

Rarely responds to his name but seems to be starting to more lately…

I put it down to the possibility that he was just really physical and focused in that area and so the other skills will follow soon but he’s not as interested.

He smiles, loves books and turning the pages, likes when I sing, likes his toys at home (for short period of time before back to more crawling/exploring)

In the assessment today he just wanted to crawl everywhere and wasn’t interested in the HV really or in the toys. He showed an interest in two other babies there but not for long, literally just wanted to crawl and pull himself up on everything.

The HV also worried me when she asked if he’s interested in lights and he seemed very interested in that sensory aspect of lights - I noticed when we’re in supermarkets and he’s in my carrier he stares at the lights a lot, but again I just thought that was fairly normal for a baby to be interested in sensory things but now I’m thinking is this more of a sensory seeking thing and could it be an indicator of autism with the other concerns we have.

I also feel like I’ve not given him enough opportunity to pick up on some of these skills for example I don’t often point to things so how would he pick this up. So I feel like I’ve failed him in that respect too.

Just looking to see if anyone has had similar experiences with their LO and with the 12 month review and what the outcomes were.

Thanks so much x

My son is 14 months and has always been focused on physical development - he walked at 9 months and is only really interested in walking around rather than playing with toys. He has a couple of things he’ll play with for a bit but then he’s rather just walk around.
He doesn’t have words yet.
My HV wasn’t concerned though as she just said some babies are just really focused on physical development and the rest comes later.

Thank you @Row23 that is very reassuring to hear. This is what I expected my HV to say but her reaction made me more concerned. I’m going to try not to worry too much and see how we get on over the next few months

I can understand you being worried @PeachShark

Did the HV say when she was going to see him again?

Did she give you any suggestions of things you might do or resources to look at too?

Thanks @CadyEastman she said she will call us in two months and told me to look at BBC Tiny Happy People for activities to support with his communication.

There are definitely areas that I feel I can do more of like modelling pointing and prompting him to hand me a toy. But I also am making sure to do a lot of other activities to support with his communication - I’m an ex primary teacher and also have worked a lot in SEN so I’d like to think this experience has helped me somewhat in being able to support him myself at home - lots of singing with actions, reading books, speaking to him and narrating everything, focusing on key vocab when playing like “push, open, spin” etc.

I had filled in the 10 month questionnaire when he was 10 month 30 days which was the max age for this - I did this because at 9 months we were barely ticking anything but giving him a few more weeks meant he was able to demonstrate more of the skills, but when I told the HV this she said we would need to fill in the 12 month one which had more complex skills so we filled it in there and then. I found a pdf of it online and turns out it can be done from age 11 months - 12 month 30 days - he was 11 months and 1 day doing it so literally the youngest age so I do think that perhaps in a few weeks we will see more progress in these areas. One of the questions was can he throw a ball which seems very advanced for a pre 1 year old to do IMO.

My heads a bit all over the place but I think I’ll just monitor closely and try not to worry too much and see how he progresses over the next few months. I’m actually quite upset at how the HV made me feel, particularly making the comment about the lights as if this was a concern, but talking to friends about their LO this sounds very common still at this age…

Sounds like you're doing everything right and it could just be him being young as you've said.

Sadly the HV service really hasn't been a priority for this government and I can see why you would be user but they are under so much time pressure I can see why these things happen. Not very good for you though

Have a look at the charity Speech & Language UK. They have a simple progress checker here, you'd probably need the 9 month one.

It if flags up any concerns you can book an appointment with one of their SLTs and they have done useful resources in their website.

Did the HV ask you to fill anything in before the next appointment?

If he's within the age range for the 12 month test you could fill that one in again and fill in the Social & Emotional Ages & Stages?

How did he do on the 10 month questionnaire, @PeachShark ? You can find versions online with the scoring sheet attached – you never need all yeses in a category to reach 'development appears on track', usually it's more like 4 out of 6.

Yes, technically he's just out of the age window for it, but if he's getting in the white categories on that, he's clearly not far behind. In that case, I'd try to put it to the back of your mind for a few weeks and try the 12 month questionnaire again after his birthday.

Any update OP. My LO failed all areas on 12 ASQ :(. HV doing referral