17month old development advice

[MummaLeonax]

Please may I have some advice, I am in the process of getting my 17month old son checked for autism by the pediatrician next June, I was just wondering if anyone could advise me with helping him learn to babble I've been trying to copy when he makes noises to see if he copies back, sometimes he will laugh but other times he doesn't even acknowledge, I'm so worried that he won't speak, he is such a happy boy I just want the best for him and to help him as much as I can, as I know the wait to be diagnosed is a long time.
Thank you kindly for taking your time to read. x

I've heard Hanen's More Than Words recommended a lot to support speech development – it talks about all the skills around communication that underlie the obvious speaking bit.

Have you tried Makaton or baby signing? Many children (autistic or not) can sign before they can speak, and as long as you always say the word as you sign it, it should encourage speech, rather than hinder it.

You might also want to repost this on one of the Special Needs boards – they can be a bit quiet, but there are some very experienced and helpful posters there.

I highly recommend calling speech and language UK, its a charity that do a free advice call from speech and language therapists.
Get onto your HV to do an ASQ and ASQ-SE to see if you can push for any referrals now, including seeing if a service called portage is an option (they have a much shorter waiting list than NHS services do).
Great job starting on copying what they're doing, that's actually a great therapy called intensive interaction, this is a great explanation on how to use it https://www.leedsandyorkpft.nhs.uk/advice-support/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/02/An-Introduction-to-Intensive-Interaction-2019.pdf

I'll be honest and say, focus on getting referrals, yes to look at a diagnosis but mainly access everything therapy/support wise you might be eligible for.
My son's almost been waiting 2 years for his diagnosis but it's not going to change anything as we got all the support things in place without it.