15 month old not pointing and prefer independent play

[DTXSHORTSTUFF]

Hi my LO is 15 months old and recently had a HV appointment she has advised some possible early issues and I'm unsure if I should be concerned

He can
-walk, crawl, climb and has really good motor functions
-eats with his hands, plays with toys, can pick them up, pincer grab and can walk holding toys.
-he's says mum, da and almost says milk, babbles a lot all different sounds.
-he also crys when dad leaves for work and is always happy walks over for cuddles and puts his arms up whenever me or dad enters the room
-grabs his drink and will drink it when he's thirsty as I leave it where he can reach it

He can't
-point to things
-wave or anything like that

And he does not like adults playing on the floor with him he likes to play independently and show you or come to you with his toys when he wants.

Should I be concerned? Or is my HV just being cautious as before seeing her I though he was doing really well for his age and now I'm concerned I've missed something... anyone else little ones like this ?

Did the HV ask you to fill in an Ages & Stages assessment and do you know which one she used? Was it the 16 month old ASQ?

It sounds as though your DS is scoring in the grey area in communication area? The tests aren’t designed so that all DC will score in the white for all areas. Most will DC will score in the grey for one or two areas. The advice is that if they are scoring grey in an area just to monitor, so it sounds as though this is what the HV is doing.

Did she book a further appointment with you?

Hi! Thanks, unsure of the form or anything she didn't tell me, and unfortunately the meeting dif get cut a little short and have to go back to finish as he was getting really stressed (it was nap time and very warm in the room) I understand watching him, it just felt very negative i feel as he is developing pretty well and she seemed to pick at everything and it felt very negative. Is this normal for HV do they tend to concentrate on the negatives ?

Sorry first time mum so all of this is new to me

I’m sorry that your HV came across as negative. Unfortunately the funding for our HVs has been really cut in recent years and a lot of HVs have a much higher workload than is really practical ti deal with day in and day out. Not an excuse but might be the reason that she wasn’t fully focused on your DS.

Before you go back i would fill in and score the 16 month Ages and Stages and the 18 month Social & Emotional Ages and Stages.

Let us know how you get on with both of those

Thanks and I can understand that :)

As a first time mum I had a rough pregnancy and rough birthing experience so I think it just felt a little piled on i guess I will have a look on both thank you for your help :)

I’m so sorry you’ve had a rough PG and birth. Did you have a Birth debrief?

I dont know what that is so I'm guessing not 🤣 I wasn't treated very well after my emergency C unfortunately a complaint was made 5 months after but I'm still working on my recovery I guess ❤️

@DTXSHORTSTUFFthis article explains a bit more about a Birth Debrief. Have a read. It might be worth you having one, especially if you’re thinking of having another LO