Worries about ASD in 7 month old

[Wmoejg]

Hello,

I realise I sound mad talking about ASD at 7 months but had some concerns and am not sure. I'm not saying there's anything bad about ASD at all, but naturally as a parent signs out of the "usual threshold" can feel scary.

My 7 month old daughter is my absolute world - she's just wonderful.

Recently I've noticed signs that make me uncomfortable, just in the sense of I'm not sure what they mean and that scares me a bit. So I thought I'd summarise what she's doing/not doing and see what people think. I am generally anxious as a parent so am not sure if I'm over thinking.

About her generally:

• She's hitting all her milestones thus far, and seems ahead on some.
• she's started crawling at 7 months and is sitting, rolling, pulling herself up etc
• she babbles mamama dadada bababa etc and has babbled throughout with different noises
• she's generally a smiley baby and laughs and smiles at games
• she has a good relationship with her grandparents
• enjoys peek a boo
• she lifts her arms up to be carried etc
• is eased by cuddles with mum
• she makes eye contact and looks at people
• responds to her name when there are no other distractions like toys or tv

My worries:

• she's recently started shaking her head from side to side when she's tired and sometimes when she's cross. If I hold her cheeks lightly she does stop, but it still concerns me
• she claps her feet together when she's happy (my thoughts were is she stimming?)
• she doesn't always respond to her name, particularly not when she's busy playing or looking around
• she is happy to play on her own a lot
• she gets VERY upset in the car if she's had a poo and is sat in it, like hysterical tears (I thought sensory issues?)
• doesn't always respond to noise when she's distracted or playing

-sometimes when I seek out eye contact she's more interested in what's happening behind me and not necessarily me

I may be being mad but I wondered if anyone has any insight here.

Thank you in advance xxx

Op
yes you do sound mad

That's all normal behaviour.

@Poorlilthing haha ouch ok

She sounds like your perfectly average 7 month old baby.

@slapmyarseandcallmemary thank you. I'm a first time mum with anxiety, I don't always know the norms so it's good to hear that these can be considered average behaviour

@Mabelface thank you - it's hard to know as my anxiety is through the roof and I've not been a mum before and not known many babies so just panic a bit.

These are all very normal behaviours in a 7 mo, @Wmoejg

It's hard not to worry about your baby, particularly if it's your first! But it sounds to me like she's doing very well and you don't need to spend your energy stressing about these things.

Op you just sound anxious and like you're looking for things to be wrong. I hope you're O.K - your darling DD sounds completely normal. Try not to worry and enjoy your beautiful girl.

she's recently started shaking her head from side to side when she's tired and sometimes when she's cross. If I hold her cheeks lightly she does stop, but it still concerns me

Please don't stop your baby from perfectly normal movements

@coreas I only gently try to stop her because I'm worried she will hurt herself by moving her head so rapidly and losing balance, I get your point though!

@movinghouse23 thank you. Having her is the biggest blessing, but has unlocked some intense anxiety in me. I'm getting therapy though as I realise it's out of control x

@recklessgran thank you!! I think you're right, I am such a worrier since having her. I've got post partum anxiety and it's got out of control. I'm seeking help for it, but thank you for making me realise this is my projection onto her. She deserves more from me xx

I have two autistic children and one neurotypical, what you are describing sounds like normal behaviour for a 7 month old baby.

It doesn't however exclude autism, my eldest daughter didn't show any signs of neurodiversity until later in her development and (around age 2-3) and they were subtle so I didn't connect them until later when her junior school raised the possibility of autism, whereas my son showed signs as a baby.

If you have concerns in future you can raise them with your health visitor at her 1 year or 2 year check (the timing of these can vary by what area you are in). Nursery or school also can support later on.

I would say at the moment though based on what you have described that she sounds like she is doing beautifully.

On the shaking head front and not responding to her name or noises when playing, I would get her ears checked by the GP just to rule out any signs of ear infection as babies can do this and pull their ears when they have ear infections. The shaking head could also be teething pain, but sometimes babies do this for sensory reasons as it is entertaining to them.

@Choconuttolata thank you for your reply and your insight.

I'm a secondary school teacher so am used to looking out for signs in older children - but as a mum of a baby these signs are very different so it's hard to know what I'm looking for.

I did recently get her ears checked as I thought the same... but no infection - waxy though bless her! She is teething though which could explain some of the head shaking. I think she might have learned it when she was teething and now does it when she's tired or upset as it soothes her?

I think the non response to her name (although not all the time) was the big concern for me, and a trigger for me as it's horrible feeling like you can't communicate with your little one. But she does respond when she's not engrossed in play or with other stimuli in the background.

Thank you again.

@Wmoejg please don't think you're not good enough. You are your little one's only and best mummy and certainly loves and adores you. Over the last 16 months you have grown a new human and given birth to her and then nurtured her into the beautiful little girl you have today. Please be proud, and kinder to yourself. The first year is especially hard with your first as of course you want everything to be perfect. The trouble is that none of us know what that looks like and actually we're all faking it 'til we make it as the saying goes. You sound great and I hope all the encouraging posts you're getting will help you to feel less worried.

Dear Wmoejg,
i understand your concerns as we are parents always worry about every little issue regarding our precious little ones. I want to reassure you your DD from your description is developing absolutely fine. The behaviours of concern you are describing are typical behaviours of a 7 months old.
-Shaking head is a normal behaviour, I literally have a niece who is 8 month old and started shaking her head when tired.

• clapping feet together when happy would not be considered stimming as it happens in this particular context. Stimming would normally happen across different settings and more often than just when happy. Kids do have self regulatory behaviours when they are happy: clapping, jumping toddler when getting a new toy, screaming etc
• it is too early developmentally speaking for a 7 months old to respond to her name consistently or at all at this stage.
• playing alone absolutely fine at this age, she might only show short interest in her peer but not playing with them yet
• being upset in the car especially when she has dirty nappy- is a normal behaviour, I would be upset too in that situation and uncomfortable, the difference is I can control my emotions and know that this is only temporary which 7 months old can’t understand and just communicates her discomfort
• Doesn’t respond to noise when distracted or playing. This is also normal and happens with everyone who is preoccupied with something very fun or important.
• “sometimes when I seek out eye contact she's more interested in what's happening behind me and not necessarily me”- maybe there’s something more fun happening behind you )), depending how do you seek an eye contact with her. She’s still little and the world around seems fascinating and interesting so it is normal that she’s distracted by the environment at this age.

i hope this helped , she sounds great especially with all the things you described she does at this age x

All really normal stuff. I would put it to the back of your mind and enjoy your baby.