Hi all,
I've become concerned that my wonderful daughter may be displaying signs of Autism. The biggest concern for me at present is the lack of babbling. She blows raspberries, grunts, squeals, but it's rare for us to hear anything that sounds like a vowel-consonant combination. She also doesn't imitate or vocalise back-and-forth. As for repetitive behaviours, she likes to extend her arms and move her hands and feets in a circular motion, mainly when sat in her high chair.
Her gross motor skills are very good. She was fully crawling by 6 months, and now she is pulling to stand on absolutely anything, she rarely sits still. She has 8 teeth. She learned to clap at around 7 months, did it a lot for about a month and has rarely done it since.
Some positives are:
•Great eye contact
•Smiles a lot, is a happy baby
•Lifts arms when she wants to be picked up
•Great sleeper, has slept through the night since 2 months
•Great eater, she feeds herself well and will pretty much eat whatever food we give her
•Responds to her name consistently so doubt hearing is the issue
•Recognises the names of some of her toys, will look directly at the item when I ask "where is X?"
•Is wary of strangers
•Becomes upset when I leave the room, will try and crawl after me
•Actively seeks me out for comfort if upset.
•Likes to interact with most toys, is interested in whatever her brother is playing and wants to join in
•Will smile for the camera when I point it at her and say "say cheese!"
•Sometimes looks in the direction that I'm pointing
•Good object permanence, will search for hidden toys
I know 8.5 months is very young and she has a lot of time to develop, which I tell myself constantly. I'd just like to hear from those who have been in similar situations, especially in regards to the babbling.
Thought it would be worth adding that I am seeking help for PPD/PPA, which I believe is a big factor in my worrying. Thanks for reading :)