I was actually with a pediatrician yesterday and I mentioned some worries about my 6month old with her and she wasn’t concerned at all. She said what they would look for would be lack or avoidance of eye contact, lack of reciprocal smiles, lack of babbling, no interested in toys or exploration/siblings/pets and consistent repetition of movements. I believe responding to name is a 9-11 month milestone so I wouldn’t be concerned about that yet.
Rocking and hand/foot twirling is extremely common in babies as they are learning how their bodies move. It’s not so much what they do as babies, as it is what they don’t stop doing from being babies into toddlers. A lot of autistic traits are normal in babies as their neural pathways develop and they actually look for them as a sign of healthy normal development, it’s if they don’t stop by 18-24months that they would raise concerns or pursue investigation. That being said, if the HV sees anything concerning they should put you on a pathway.
ill probably get lynched for this, but I would also stay away from social media on the subject and groups. From experience, there is a lot of misinformation and people will claim that there are things their LO did as a baby that were signs of autism when they are simply normal baby behaviour, eg the other day I saw someone that said that their 6 month old chewing his hands was a sensory seeking behaviour that was a sign on ASD, when ALL babies mouth at their hands. All of a sudden, every parent with a 6 month old that viewed that - myself included - went into complete panic. I then tried calling my son’s name, feeding him to check for difficulties, and getting right in his face to check his eye contact. Naturally, he had a meltdown as to appease myself I complete overstimulated him! As well, I feel some people are extremely lonely when it comes to ASD as it is so SO isolating for the parent, so will almost subconsciously want others to be experiencing the same as a way of feeling they aren’t alone (I have had a parent admit this to me). Also, remember where socials are concerned that if you have enough views etc you can monetise, so people will say things that will draw others in.
you are absolutely doing the right thing in raising concerns and getting your HV involved as early intervention is key, but don’t let yourself go down the rabbit hole. Xx