Hearing issue or sign of Autism?

[Susiejo77]

Honestly, I'm at a loss to what is going on with my son. My son is now 22 months old and currently is non responsive to his name but also when I clap behind his head, he doesn't respond to it and turn?

Bit of history, I remember taking him to the doctors when he was only 6 months old, as i thought he couldn't hear me, they checked the ears said they were fine and I put it to the back of my mind. Then my son started nursery and at 12month old that when I started to notice he wouldn't respond to me calling his name at pick up in the busy nursery room, if he saw me he'd come running, but if he had his back to me, or was side on then he wouldn't hear me/respond. We finally got him grommets at 17 months old, I was hoping for a switch on moment but alas this didn't happen, I remember him struggling to locate sound after the operation (he'd look both ways unsure where the sound was coming from) that soon settled down and we did see improvements in his concentration, wanting to take part in circle time and sitting still for longer - before he just wasn't interested, he did his own thing and wondered off, he started to join in on the nursery ryhme signs, clapping etc... although still not on demand and has started to point to things in books for me to say what they are, improvements were slow but we did see progress, like making more sounds babbling, I heard ffff's, shhhhh, sounds i'd not heard before and trying to say a few words - although they aren't entirely clear and mumbled 'na na' for banana and finally he didn't start responding to his name consistently until he was 20months old, I was so relieved I thought it must have been his hearing after all. Then, he got a severe cold and the was up until 4am in the morning struggling with it and from that very next day onwards he's not responded to his name again and now I've just tried clapping behind his head and he doesn't seem to turn or react at all to the clap. I'm so confused as to what is going on with him he seems to hear the tv?

My daughter had a hearing test at an ENT department of a large teaching children's hospital recently age 2. There were two people, one behind a screen. They did distract with toys, and played sounds from different speakers. She was rewarded with a short clip of tv.

In a different test altogether, a hv clapped her hands - a waste of time.

Get your gp to chase up your ENT appointment. That's what I did, as hospital said only gp could. However, we had ongoing severe infections that were concerning.

Is he still a patient of ENT if he has grommets? You could ask if he could be seen sooner..to be honest though our waiting list here is also long.

Tragicallyunbeyachted what a fabulous username. Carolyn would be so proud.

Yes the waiting game is very hard, and at 22 months it is very difficult as a lot of things are just common toddler behaviours and they all develop different areas at different rates. As pp have suggested I would push for the ENT appointment. With regards to autism, I highly doubt they'd look into that until the hearing has been confirmed and then its a very long journey. Try not to worry too much (easier said than done!) and just keep an eye on things in the meantime. In my area it was a long process to get professionals involved - they seem to try and wait it out a bit! Autism is difficulties with social and communication which you could technically say all toddlers have! You will probably see many traits in a lot of people but its really the big picture and a combination of many traits thats an indicator.
I'm only telling you about autism because its something I know a little about because of DS btw, not because I think your son has it. Nobody on here can give you that answer. That being said, I was convinced there was nothing wrong with his hearing and was right. And if his hearing was the first thing you thought was a problem then I would stick with your gut and keep pushing until it is checked and you are happy that the results are correct. My son may only respond to his name 50% of the time but he would definitely jump at pans being dropped!

Would just like to add that I am obviously not a professional in any medical field. Just going by my knowledge and personal experience.

KoalasAteMyHomework many thanks for this. I was ready to my DS this morning facing him and he was avoiding my eyes hmmm, then we had a tickle game and his eye contact was fair again.

In all honesty I first took my son to the drs at 6months because I thought he couldn’t hear me, I then put this to the back of my mind after they said it was all fine and then I started to notice him not responding /hearing me at nursery pick up, my immediate thought was ASD and I was surprised when they said he had lots of thick glue ear at the initial ENT appointment. No I’m thinking maybe the glue ear was a red herring.

Can I ask you what symptoms your son had? My son is a day dreamer but i did wonder if that was a trait he has learnt from having glue ear but now I’m wondering if what I’m seeing is a ASD absence, stares into space a lot.

I have just booked a private appointment with a developmental pedatrician to see what he thinks.

Thanks for all the advise

*reading not ready

As others have said, that audiology assessment doesn't sound particularly valid. Fingers crossed the NHS appointment will tell you more. In the meantime I know it's hard but try and enjoy your son just as he is right now, worrying is completely natural but until he's been appropriately assessed it'll be easy for you to think of the "worst case scenario" for you but it might not be what you think it is.... google and self-diagnosis are not your friend! Xx

Hi are you able to provide an update. My daughter is very similar and I worry whether she has hearing issues or asd. Thanks

ASD is, about joint attention or lack of
teisinc.com/blog/joint-attention-important/

Thank you for your response it is very much appreciated. My daughter has just had grommets fitted after nearly a year of glue ear. She is delayed in speech language and communication but I don’t know if this delay is due to the glue ear causing her to be behind or more.

I would say she hasn’t mastered joint attention but she does like me to be involved. She would always want me to go round a soft play with her. And not her dad, so I hope it’s not just as a tool to help her. If she plays she won’t engage me in play but will come back to where I am every 5 minutes as if to check in, have a cuddle and go off again. She dies copy me in play eg if I feed the doll a bottle she will copy. Poor a cup of tea etc. She does have poor eye contact though and only really holds eye contact if I sing nursery rhymes.