Sign of autism at 7 months old? Or fluid on the brain?

[mommgee]

I never believed children under 12 months could exhibit signs of autism, but my 7 month old has recently regressed.

she could stand assisted at 5 months old, I held her with one hand and she beared all of her weight on her legs and feet.
she turned 7 months old 5 days ago and that was about the time I noticed when I hold her up, she tucks her legs up towards her body (like she did when she was 0-4 months old)
she doesn’t put her feet down to stand anymore.

I also fed her some banana porridge at 5 months old and she opened her mouth for it. I stopped feeding her purées though because the health visitor told me to wait until she was at least 6 months.
I started trying her with food again at 7 months old and she just played with the finger of banana and she wouldn’t open her mouth for it after I mashed it up either. She pushes the spoon away.
I tried her with weetabix mixed with her formula earlier and I had to get her to smile in order for her to open her mouth and then I shoved the food in. But she doesn’t open her mouth willingly. I’m so worried there’s something wrong. It’s as if she’s gone backwards.

she still sits pretty well, loses balance every now and then but she can sit unassisted, she rolls over a lot and she spends quite a lot of the day on her belly and rolling around after toys and objects.

I see her health visitor next week so I’ll have to wait until then.

im autistic and both myself and my partner have autistic family members.

she had a bump on the head over a month ago and her soft spot was raised and firm afterwards. I took her to be checked out and they sent us home saying she’s fine.
I don’t know if this is related at all but I’d rather her have autism than fluid on the brain causing brain damage and regression. Her soft spot has been slightly raised ever since but it’s softer now.

I’ve taken her to the drs about it and they scheduled an appointment at the hospital but it’s on the 15th of May!! It’s ages away.

if there’s any fluid on her brain wouldn’t it have caused damage by the time may comes? I’m so worried

@Valhalla17 100% agree.

Food is just for fun until one.

I wouldn't worry too much if she is taking her milk, playing with solids is normal and babies will gradually build on it and try more.

The standing thing, I really wouldn't worry. I have had 3 kids, one didn't even move, not crawling, not bum shuffling, not pulling herself up till she was 12 months old then suddenly walked 2 weeks later. She is now a strapping 13yo making me look like a short arse.

My second was crawling and pulling himself up at 5 months, then got lazy and didn't really start doing it properly again till 9 months old. Again, a healthy 11 yo

My third crawled at 5 months and walked at 9 months, as she was so determined to keep up with her siblings. I'm now white knuckling my way through parenting her, she's a force of nature at 10yo.

Solid food shouldn’t be started before 6 months because babies’ digestive systems aren’t ready for it.

After 6 months the best way to wean baby is to give them exactly what you’re eating, cut appropriately as per SolidStarts and mind the sugar/salt content, and leave them to it.

Role model how eating and mealtimes work and allow baby to pick it up as they go along.

It doesn’t matter if baby plays with it, doesn’t eat it, throws it - this is all developmentally normal and part of mealtimes. They should be stress free and no pressure 😊

If you are genuinely concerned about infantile spasms try to get videos of the concerning movements and then get urgent medical attention - it can often be misdiagnosed which is why videos are so important. Really hope it's not that, but if it is early diagnosis is very important. Hope it all works out ok.

@mommgee Just want to start off by saying that the fact you’re so worried about your baby shows how much you love them and want the best for them, it comes from the right place…so I say this really kindly that nothing you've mentioned sounds like autism to me.
It does sound though like you may be suffering from post-partum anxiety. I have it quite badly (am medicated) and it causes hyper-vigilance/unfounded worry when it comes to my DD1&2s health.

Reaching out to your health visitor about your baby's development and your own levels of worry may be a good idea 💐

Hi op. I was so anxious about my first child until he was about three. I worried like you. I’d say have a chat with a health visitor, but also think about your own potential anxiety, e.g. try to carve out things that help you relax/if possible do something nice just for you (not always possible with a baby!). But just also focus on your own mental health.

If it helps to hear a bit of my story, my child didn’t walk until 17 months. Regressed at 2 months, when he seemed not to be doing things others were doing (or rather, that my unhelpful mother suggested he ought to be doing, hmmm). I remember taking him to the gp to check whether he was brain damaged (I’m not actually joking). Many other things worried me, and I remember seeking help on lots of issues (e.g. I worried about his head quite a lot, when he was under 6 months, prob linked to his difficult birth, with forceps etc… recall looking into getting him one of those helmet things to reshape his skull). To put in context, he’s now 13, has a lovely shaped head 😁. But also, he is extremely bright, very sporty too, really happy, with loads of friends.

I was basically very anxious. I don’t think im autistic, but I may be a bit adhd or similar, and am prone to depression. I found it got much easier once he was older since I was able to see that he could DO things, and was able to talk with him too (it’s hard when they don’t talk). This will hopefully be same for you.

Incidentally, your child sounds very healthy. there was zero weight bearing for yonks. And he was a very messy eater… Good to check things out, but (on balance) largely most children are in fact fine.

As a PP said, it is lovely that you are such a committed and concerned parent.

However, I would really recommend you speaking to your GP for support with your own anxiety. You have been to A&E four times for this and they have said she is fine. You have to trust that she is ok.

You sound overly anxious. Literally nothing to me says autism. All sounds like normal behaviours

@MelaniesFlowers the only problem with eating what I eat is the fact that I don’t eat meals often, I usually just have a bunch of snacks throughout the day

i did steam some carrot batons and I put one on her tray in front of her in the high chair and I ate one in front of her, she just squeezed it but she didn’t seem to recognise it as food.

is it possible she will just start putting it to her mouth eventually? She played with the weetabix too and it went everywhere lol but it kept her entertained for 10 minutes. She did get a try of it when I shovelled it in and I thought once she’s tried it she will start opening her mouth for it but she didn’t.
I don’t want to force her. I guess I don’t know what I’m doing, my thought process was that she will realise she likes it and she’ll willingly open her mouth next time but that doesn’t work I’ve came to see.

@Valhalla17 which part is unsettling?

read my recent reply to the other person about the food.

we all make mistakes. Ive got no previous experience with babies at all.
i was told I was messing up by not feeding her solids so I tried to get her to taste a bit, hoping she realises that she likes it and next time opening her mouth voluntarily. But she hasn’t done that, so I have given up trying it.

of course I’m going to be anxious if her soft spot is raised, which it still is till this day. I personally don’t think it’s normal.

And after reading the replies of course I’m not going to force it anymore, it’s made me realise that it’s not the right thing to do. I was trying to persevere to see if it would work out which it hasn’t. I’ll just leave her food in front of her and let her play with it, fingers crossed she decides to eat it one day.
I’m doing the best I can.

Op maybe use this time to start getting used yourself to eating meals at set times rather than grazing. The best thing for a baby is to eat with others and see you eating normally. Agree with everyone else, standing isn’t something you need to encourage, she’ll do it on her own in her own time. Speak to your GP and/or health visitor and see if they can give you any extra support of guidance.

When you say she has regressed, is it just physically and with food or is she showing less interest in everything and you ? Does she do any repetitive movements with her hands and has her hand use in other areas than holding food remained okay?

@Eyerollcentral yeah I was seeing starting her on solids as an opportunity for me to start eating healthier too, I want to make her healthy food and I thought the best way to do it was to join in.

she watches me eat every time I put something in my mouth, she’s really curious. But I haven’t sat at the table for years. I eat in the bedroom.

would it be okay if I moved her highchair upstairs at meal times and I could sit on the bed eating food with her? Or is it most beneficial to be sitting at a table?
we live with my dad at the moment which makes things difficult in terms of being downstairs.

@pigwood she has regressed in terms of strength in her legs and she seems like a tiny baby again, when I pick her up her legs scrunch upwards instead of being straight out and she’s unable to put force on them to stand

but in every other way she seems like her normal self. she doesn’t suck on her bottle as firm as she used to either, she used to have a very firm grip on it.
she rolls around a lot and has a lot of strength in other areas so it seems to just be with standing up.

You need to model the behaviours for your child to learn them.
Sitting at the table, eating your food while she has the opportunity to play with/feel/taste food given to her will help her learn about eating, food, meals, interaction around the table, etc.

I'm wondering if the shuddering could be a stim?

I told my friend when my son was this age that I thought he was autistic and I was correct.

Make a note of things you notice and mention it to your health visitor now.

Nothing u described is concerning....you would worry if she doesn't make eye contact or responds to name

Have you always been anxious over your own health or is it just your baby's?
Definitely eat at a table next to your baby. It is not a good idea to feed a baby in the bedroom. This is definitely a good time to start eating normally yourself.

@TheShellBeach im only anxious over my baby’s health because I have every reason to be. Raised soft spots aren’t normal. It’s been raised for over a month now. Could be signs of hydrocephalus.
the shaking and regression in leg strength has came on since then.
can’t see how I’m being unreasonable here

and if it’s most beneficial to her then I’ll eat at the table with her once a day

Sorry I have to come back to this. I think you need to be clear about what you are asking here and what the issue is OP.

You have asked about autism and people have said there isn't much to be concerning and you are arguing about her head injury which clearly has nothing to do with potential autism.

If you think she is autistic, yes she could be, but realistically there is nothing concerning about the leg/food thing.

If you have concerns about her head take her back to the GP.

Don't conflate the 2.

@bikiniisland im talking about her swollen soft spot and how it isn’t normal. I’m saying that all of this behaviour began since the head injury.

i perceive her behaviour as abnormal - the shaking and shuddering, the sudden lack of strength in her legs, not being ready for food all of a sudden despite wanting it 2 months ago.

im not saying autism is caused by head injuries, which it obviously isn’t. I’m saying it’s either a potential early sign of autism or she has fluid on the brain (hence the seizure like movements and swollen soft spot) but I’ve tried to get help from drs and the hospital and they clearly aren’t thinking much of it

Response to Valhalla :

we all make mistakes. Ive got no previous experience with babies at all.

i was told I was messing up by not feeding her solids so I tried to get her to taste a bit, hoping she realises that she likes it and next time opening her mouth voluntarily. But she hasn’t done that, so I have given up trying it.

of course I’m going to be anxious if her soft spot is raised, which it still is till this day. I personally don’t think it’s normal.

And after reading the replies of course I’m not going to force it anymore, it’s made me realise that it’s not the right thing to do. I was trying to persevere to see if it would work out which it hasn’t. I’ll just leave her food in front of her and let her play with it, fingers crossed she decides to eat it one day.

I’m doing the best I can.

The regression happened over a few weeks (though we didn’t recognise it at the time - she was clingy/unsettled - and this explained not being willing to sit, loss of eye contact, less vocal) then she started to have single spasms and progressed rapidly to clusters. She was diagnosed and on treatment within 4 days of her first cluster and within about 3 weeks of the first vague feeling something was wrong and in that time she lost 6 months of development which took her 18 months to regain. I am probably being triggered by your use of the word regression but it is not normal for babies to regress and that is distinct from not making progress in one area because they are concentrating on a different skill. Over and over again we see parents and caregivers labelled over-anxious and not being taken seriously.
Having reread your initial post it sounds like she is still engaged and interacting and making physical progress so perhaps you have nothing to worry about. It’s hard to find a balance between anxiety and being observant of changes.

I think people with autism/ autism in the family are always looking out for signs. My brother is autism and most of my family show signs including myself and a teacher literally had to say to me to stop when on my third child I was basically asking her for the same things I'd asked for the other two. I have heard of babies regressing, in fact my friend's baby stopped walking and went back to shuffling. She spoke about it every day for months and when the baby started walking again she started crying as she was so relieved. We all worry op, but at the moment whether your child has autism or not does not matter. You just need to look out for milestones as your health care worker will and you move on from there. Concentrate on enjoying the baby time, it goes too fast!