I apologise in advance for the extra long post.
I'm worrying Myself sick looking for every little sign that My Beautiful Baby girl may have Autism. It all started when I noticed this week that She moves Her hands and feet in sort of a circular motion and does a sort of grabbing reflex an opening and closing of Her hands particularly the left hand and Her movements can be jerky, I'm concerned this is flapping as its known in Autism. She's constantly on the move always fidgeting. When doing these movements if distracted or given a toy to hold these movements do tend to subside. She also Stiffens her legs and arms on occasions (only ever when She's lying on the floor, never when being held) and She does arch Her back, again when lying on the floor but She also does this when feeding and shouts, She does suffer from reflux so I have wondered if the stiffening of Her arms and legs and the arching of Her back could be in relation to this? But the very fact She has reflux also worries Me as I've also read that there's a link between infant reflux and Autism. She also scratches at surfaces alot which I've also read can be a sign of Autism. She's able to roll from front to back and back to front however only rolls one way? I'm not sure if this is something to be concerned about also? She doesn't nap very much in the day and has always been very alert, I don't know if the lack of naps is something to be concerned about and when She is falling asleep while being cuddled or when being fed She does a little grabbing thing or reaches for Your face, this is sort of a repetitive movement, again I'm wondering if this is a cause for concern and sign of Autism as I know repetitive movements can be or whether it's more of a comfort thing as it's only when feeding or going to sleep. She can stand aided however sometimes stands on Her tip toes or curls Her toes and I also know tip toe walking can be a sign of Autism however when attempting to walk Her feet tend to be flat more often than not. Another concerning thing for Me is She puts absolutely everything in Her mouth and tries to lick everything from shoes to carpet to Her toys etc. She also doesn't quite recognise Herself in the mirror and doesn't currently imitate noises although does Babble away and shout and scream to make Herself heard.
On the plus side She's 7 months on the 28th of this month and makes appropriate eye contact eg, when feeding, playing, being communicated with, She listens when being sung to, spoke to and also listens when people around Her are talking (as if taking it all in), She smiles appropriately, (eg won't smile at strangers until She's weighed them up and looked at Me for reassurance) laughs and squeals, has seperation anxiety and therefore shows attachment, She recognises familiar faces and voices, sits completely unaided and will reach for objects and can reach for objects with one hand or both hands, can roll from back to front and front to back and rolls right across the living room but only in one direction and sometimes one of Her arms gets stuck underneath Her but only occasionally, She is able to pick up objects with both hands, She is able to reach and roll for objects, She can hold objects and pass objects from one hand to the other, She enjoys being cuddled to sleep and cuddles in bed in the morning and is generally content. She's able to babble and says Mama, baaabaaaa, aboooo etc She can also weight bare and stand with assistance.
I know I did the worst thing possible consulting Dr Google as I'm now worried sick, it's mainly the hand and feet movement and the scratching surfaces that concern Me as I've read in Autism this can be stimming. I know 6 months is very early for a diagnosis but I'm just wondering if anyone else's Baby has done this and it was a normal behaviour or whether they turned out to have Autism. I just want to be able to do the absolute Best for My Baby girl and want the absolute Best for Her.
Any insight, advice, familiar stories or reassurance would be much appreciated. I've heard that early intervention is particularly effective but I have no idea where to begin even looking in to this.
Thank You do much in advance for reading.