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

My son has hydrocephalus and also infantile spasms which developed into more typical epilepsy. Symptoms of hydrocephalus include accelerated head growth which is usually pretty obvious plus irritability and general upset.

The spasms are harder to detect. My sons started with eye twitches and rolls and then he started movements with his arms like he was 'dabbing'.

OP your baby hasn't regressed.

Your baby is just not dealing with solids the way you think she should, that's all.
That's okay, it's your first baby and of course you worry about them. I had four babies (many years ago) and they all ate different things at different times. None of them was the same. Just because your baby ate puree a few weeks ago, it is not regarded as regression because she doesn't want to eat puree now.

She doesn't put her feet down to stand because she's too heavy and she hasn't got the required balance skills to do it yet. Your Health Visitor can advise you but one of my babies didn't stand until 12 months and she's perfectly healthy. Younger babies have a reflex which makes it look like they're standing but they'd fall down immediately if someone wasn't holding them.

As far as the soft spot is concerned, you've had it checked and there were no concerns. If your baby had water on the brain there would be more symptoms (irritability, vomiting). Probably the appointment in May is just for your reassurance.

If your baby is autistic it is not the end of the world. You're autistic and so am I, and so are two of my children. I hope you manage to start eating at the table yourself (for each meal, not just once a day).

www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/what-to-feed-your-baby/around-6-months/

@mommgee have a look at Rett syndrome . I had everyone brushing my concerns off during my daughters first year, and she regressed and it turned out to be this. I think at the very least you need to ask for a drs referral to the child development unit. At least then anything worrying can be ruled out, or more investigations done if needed

I have 3 sons with autism and 1 with hydrocephalus. You sound like a lovely mum who is trying her best. One of my sons was showing signs of autism at that age, although he wasn't diagnosed until he was 8.

Food before one is just for fun...
My 23 month old still has fun with his food even now it used to stress me out too but he eats when he's hungry and is very fussy with what he eats I've just accepted it now.
He has also mastered skills then moved onto something else and stopped doing what he was doing before. It's not regression, it's just some babies can only learn one thing at a time, it's never forgotten, it'll come back when they want to start doing it again. He was late crawling (12 months), standing (13 months) and didn't walk until 16 months, and is still not talking apart from the odd word.
He's fine. I wouldn't worry about her development OP she is still a baby baby, you said she's sitting and rolling, that's really good!
If you're worried about her soft spot call GP and ask to get it checked again to put your mind at ease.
Try not to worry, you sound like a good and caring mom, I'm sure she is fine, do update us plz x

Regression is normal although what you have described sounds like she is developing normally.

However, my autistic DD did show signs of autism at the same age (and younger) so never rule something out based on a birthday. At the same time, whilst genetically your child will have higher odds of being autistic, there isn’t anything you have said that has made me thing there is a concern.

The shuddering and your health anxiety is another issue and one I think you should both be seeing someone for. For your own peace of mind, I would see if your child can be seen sooner. It might also be helpful for you to talk to someone about your worries as well.

Thank you for the lovely comments

I just want to add, if I didn’t make it clear, it’s not that she doesn’t stand anymore as such, she just doesn’t put her legs down in general. She curls them up to her body like she did when she was a newborn.