Hi - I am going to start this thread by saying I know that baby is very young and a lot of this I will have to wait it out for - just looking for anyone with any similar experiences.
DD is 6months born via emergency c section at 37 weeks.
I am concerned that she is displaying behaviour that could potentially indicate ASD.
- it is extremely hard to get her to look at you - you have to work very hard to get her attention. If she does look at you it will be very brief and then she will immediately look away - I also noticed at a young age she would only like to look at bright things ie the window or tv. She has been seen by eye doctors and there are no visual issues. Causing this.
- she has always been a ‘difficult baby’ I wouldn’t say colic but more like she was just very fussy from birth/ needing constant movement to keep from screaming - even now one of the few ways to engage her is by swinging her in to the air. Although she cries less I would still say that she is incredibly fussy.
- having started weaning I’ve noticed huge issues with textures - she will cry hysterically if any wet foods touch her hands or mouth (eg carrots or banana). She will hold dry cracker type food without the same reaction.
- She seems to be behind on motor skills - she lies on her back happily - but does not attempt to roll - she will briefly reach for toys but if you move them even a cm out of her reach she will just look away and suck her thumb.
- i am aware it is developmentally normal for babies to suck their hands but DD just sucks her thumb almost obsessively. Eg when she does briefly catch your eye she quickly puts her thumb in to her mouth when she looks away. Same thing in the morning when I take her downstairs to play etc she will lie on her toy mat ignore the toys and just suck her thumb.
- it is hard to communicate with DD - she will sort of coo but not really as a means of communicating - she will make noises in her cot when she wakes up in the morning but not if I talk to her or not really in response to me.
I am wondering essentially if anyone has experienced anything similar and what their outcomes were and if anything helped them to engage their babies. So far I have contacted the HV but been very disappointed with their response - ie to basically say that I am anxious but without actually assessing or even seeing baby. Obviously I am to a point but only because of what is mentioned in my post. Other people have commented on some of these things also - I tend to get comments such as oh she’s so observant looking around at everything etc - basically polite comment when she won’t look or engage with others.