15 month old, autism? Or am i being silly?

[Nickname1234567]

Hi all.
I dont know whether i am being silly as my son is still very young and when i mention it to anyone (including health care proffesionals) i just get by passed with its a stage or he is to young to tell. Im not sure what else i can do as nobody seems to listen about my concerns. I am pretty worried.
Basically here are a few things that my 15 month old can not do:

• He can not talk or say any words (he has done some babbling in the past, but no longer does it :().
• Does not respond to his name and never has done. He will only turn his head to things that he likes such as “pink fong” or a nusery rhyme.
• He does not copy my facial expressions, or even understand what facial expressions mean, he doesnt understand if i am pretending to cry or if i am laughing, it does not affect him.
• He does not like loud noises, or shouting, and gets startled easily.
• He does not like to play with other children. I have took him to play groups since 3 weeks old, he does not like going near other children he prefers to play on his own. The only thing he does is take the toys other children are playing with! He thinks that everything is his own.
• He does not understand things such as give it back, put it down, bring it to me or could i have that. He just looks through me.
• He can not wave, point or get what he wants.
• He wont eat much solid food, he hates lumpy food, spits it out or is physically sick.
• He will play with only parts of things, he loves balls and wheels, particularly wheels on pushchairs.
• He rarley laughs and doesnt smile much.
• He walks around on his tip toes occasionally. (He did that all of the time when he first started walking)

So now things that he can do!:

• He can walk (has done since 10 months)
• He can give “high five”, and put his hands up to “patta-cake”.
• He can climb.
• He can kick a ball.
• He understands that when i am doing round and round the garden that i am going to tickle him, or if i say incy wincy spider he puts his arm out for me to pretend a spider is on his arm.

I am just wondering if anyone on this site has any advice for me, and from what you see above, is this normal? Does it sound as if he has some form of developmental issues here? Or possibly autism? Or am i just being paranoid, Or is it just to young to acknowledge or know if he would have? I love him to bits and i try not to seem as if i am comparing him, because i love him whatever and it doesnt matter what he can and cannot do, but i feel like if he needs help then i need to seek it for him.

Thank you x

A lot of things in your first list are developmental normal eg not playing with other and playing with things rather than toys.

How was his 1 year check?

Working in the childcare industry j know that each child develops at different paces. Children tend to 'parallel' play until around 2 years old.

They will not assess any form of autism or Aspergers etc until the child is 3 years+.

This is usually then referred to a company called provide (around here in Essex anyway) who will assess and help.

Maybe speak to your health visitor for some speech development help etc?

15 months old dont play with other children.

But get his eyes and hearing checked and Look up the m-chat.org/en-us/page/take-m-chat-test/online

Ask hv to arrange a referral to check his development.
If all.fine happy days
If any areas of concern you can get help
There are specialist speech and language therapists who can work with you on feeding issues and give advice on that side of things

babyp dd was diagnosed with autism a week after her second birthday so your understanding is wrong.
I knew dd had autism when she was eight months old, she was referred to a paediatrician at thirteen months and referred for a multi disciplinary assessment for autism at seventeen months following chromosome tests and tests for mitochondrial disorders being clear.
OP keep a record of your concerns, some of your behaviours in the early list are what would be considered red flags but that's not to say your child might have autism as he could very well grow out of them as he gets older. I would though arrange for hearing and sight tests and self refer to speech therapy in the meantime.

You can do an ASD checklist on line. Print it out and have it filled in ready for his 2 year check. Keep a diary of all the behaviours you have noticed. Give this to the HV too at the 2 year check. You may have to be firm in your request for assessment.

I did all the stuff above and DS was diagnosed at 2 years and 3 months.

A lot can change between now and him turning 2. But in case it doesn’t change, and you are still concerned re ASD, it’s best to have written records of behaviours.

As pp have said, get a hearing test done ASAP

@fleshmarketclose oh that's the way it is usually around here. We've had people refused for a referral as they're too young.
Impressive they can help kiddies earlier.

babyp I have a very good GP which helps enormously, she was happy to refer when I listed my concerns.

Hmm it does sound concerning when you look at it all together

He sounds a lot like the children I work with I'm afraid to say. But he is still very young x

That’s categorically not true that they won’t look into to autism till 3+. They absolutely will. I had concerns from a year old and my son was referred at 15 months and diagnosed with autism at 2 and a half. A lot of what you say could be totally ‘normal’ but it might not be. I was fobbed off initially but I knew something wasn’t right and I pushed for a referral to a paediatrician/child development centre and I’m so glad I did as I was right.

It is unusual for a child to be diagnosed before three because all very young children exhibit typical autistic behaviours. It's just that neurotypical children develop past those behaviours. I actually think it is slightly irresponsible to identify it too early and risk labelling a child who could develop typical behaviours. Also autism is a lifelong condition and regardless of whether your child behaves the way they do because they are autistic or not they are who they are. So if I were you I would raise your concerns with the hv or gp but don't be surprised if they say it is too early to assess. And then relax it doesn't matter if he is assessed now or in two years or five years. He is who he is and you can encourage appropriate behaviour and development regardless of an autism assessment.

Autism is a diagnosis, not a label.

As with EVERY lifelong condition or disability the earlier it is diagnosed the sooner strategies and interventions can be introduced.

Illnesses are diagnosed autism is not an illness. And my point was that you don't need a label to manage behaviour. You can still access support for a child's early development without autism being identified and go for assessment if necessary when they are a little older. I speak from experience I wasn't terribly well informed when my dd was 2 and I pushed for early assessment only to be told that she was displaying behaviours that weren't that unusual for her age group it took 8 years for her to be assessed again so I am advocating for waiting until a child is old enough that their behaviour cannot be fobbed off.

My ds was referred by the Hv for assessment at 15 months. He sounds similar to your ds and a lot of what you’ve put on your first list.
He was delayed on 2 things in his sogs assessment at the development check. We’re going through the process at the moment.

I have to disagree with the pp- early intervention is absolutely key to ensuring you and your child get the help you need. If you have any concerns then please please don’t adopt the ‘wait and see’ method - it’s really not in your child’s best interests if you think there may be some delays.

They don’t just diagnose children on your way so - they will assess and assess and make sure there isn’t a physical cause (eg hearing) but unless you actually make your concerns known then this help won’t be offered.

I had similar concerns about my DS3, mainly because of delayed speech and social skills. For him, the development leaps between 2 and 3 years were significant, and he no longer displays any of the ASD red flags. He is still a bit behind his peers in speech and some social aspects, but is catching up well.

That said, I’d agree with PP and recommend you explore all support available: we’ve had great help from HVs, SALT, the area SENCO (who works with his nursery) and paediatrician (who we’re due to see for a follow-up in a couple of months). You may not need it, but some referrals can take months, so no harm in getting the ball rolling.

I have to say that although I know of people being turnt away it is those with parents not wanting to acknowledge anything or being in denial.

The fact you're fully aware and willing to push to try and get the support you and your child needs is the first step 🙌🏽

No harm in asking.

Hello @Nickname1234567 I know
This is an old thread so you may not
Even see this but i would like to know how your son is doing now? My dd is sounds very much like how you described your son, she is also
The same age as your son when you posted this msge.