I have 2 teenagers in SEN school . My middle child (a girl) will likely never live alone without support.
I separated from their father and now have an 11 month old with a new partner. He does not :
Babble
Point
Wave
Raise arms to be picked up
Imitate sounds or mouth shapes e.g. sticking tongue out
Have any receptive language skills. He has no idea what I am saying and I am confident of that.
Things he does that are red flags to me
Vocal stimming
Clapping but as a stim
Repetitive behaviours e.g. obsessed with winding and unwinding the hoover and rubbing a wooden spoon across the floor all day whenever we aren't out.
He scored one point for language and communication at his 9-12 months check which was responding to his name. He knows his name but not who mammy is he stares blankly if you ask where is mammy . He loves swings at the park and when he sees them he hums really loudly and kicks his legs. He is a very smiley baby. But he constantly makes this humming sound.
I have tried makaton we do 4 or 5 new signs a week as this was how my daughter communicated until around age 6. At present he hasn't used any signs and i arent sure he understands either.
The "wait and see" approach really isnt one I am happy with because of his family history and I have also seen that neuroplasticity is up 50% before 18 months so potentially we could really help change future outcomes by putting things in place NOW .
Is there anyone who has had a baby slow to talk and displaying other behaviours but turned out not to be any issue ? It is ruining my enjoyment of his babyhood because I know how challenging life is for my older 2.