If your child is ASD.....

[ml01omm]

...does the younger the age the symptoms present mean they will be more severely on the spectrum?

DS is 7 months old, and is starting to show some signs that could mean a later ASD diagnosis.

DH &I are somewhat overly aware of signs, as DH is persuing an adult diagnosis of Autistic traits ( mild/HFA , what would have been aspergers under the old classification) and there are other males on his side of the family who are ASD too.

As DS is still so young, I was just wondering, if he is showing signs this early, does it mean he might be at risk of being more toward the severe end (level 3?) of the spectrum? Or did your child show signs as a baby but stayed mild to moderate ASD.

What signs are they displaying?

My child was progressing ahead of his milestones... he walked, spoke a few words etc before he was a year old, then within a few weeks he regressed massively.

You couldn’t possible tell either way at 7 months old.

You couldn’t possible tell either way at 7 months old.

I agree - it's too young. I wonder if you are symptom spotting because of your DH's (possible) diagnosis? In which case you may be reading too much into completely normal baby behaviour.

My child isn’t ASD, he has ASD. He is also an amazing child!

But your baby is 7 months. Enjoy your baby being 7 months don’t worry about what may or may not be in the future

7 months is very early to spot symptoms. Is there something in particular that is concerning you? I do think it's too soon really as 7 months old are really still at the very early stages of development and vary a lot. They also change a lot over the next 12 months so something they do now might not even be happening in a couple of months time.

The signs at the moment are:

1. Hand flapping - I originally didn't think anything of it, but lots of people have commented on it, which has made me start to question it.

1. semi-violent head shaking, (when just sitting normally)

1. has stopped babbling and just makes sqwarky dinosaur noises

1. He keeps putting his face/eyes really close to things, like when reading a book, he lowers his face to rest on the page, as if he was commically short sighted. If sitting on the floor he jack knifes in half and puts his face down to the toy on the floor in front of him. Probably not a great description, but its just a bit odd to look at.

1. He was late to roll and when he does it looks odd - it is isn't the cork screw roll but the weird leg/side movement like in this article - www.nytimes.com/1999/01/26/science/movement-may-offer-early-clue-to-autism.html

That sounds like a 7 month old being a 7 month old!

Parent of two autistic: Older child seemed more severely autistic when younger. Is in mainstream and doing well. Her younger sibling had less severe signs when younger but is quite severely challenged now. I don’t think you can ever really tell how they’ll develop.

All 7mo flap their hands

Are you sure he can see?

None of this sounds unusual for a 7 month old. I have 2 with autism, one I could tell at 10 months that she was different from her siblings, one that we didn't pick up until he was nearly 2, when he lost the few words he had. The one that we noticed earlier is less severe than the one we realised a bit later. I also picked up traits when youngest ds was about 7-8 months, he is now a completely neurotypical 3 year old. Sometimes if you are looking for something, or worrying about it, you will see it when it's not really there

@TheYearOfSmallThings

You couldn’t possible tell either way at 7 months old.

I agree - it's too young. I wonder if you are symptom spotting because of your DH's (possible) diagnosis? In which case you may be reading too much into completely normal baby behaviour.

Yes, I think we are symptom spotting to an extent, and really hyperaware.

I think its because DH struggled as a child and a younger adult, and its only now asan older adult and understanding why he is the way he is, that he is much happier and content to just be who he is without masking etc.

We don't want to DS to have to go through the same as DH, and want to be able to support and help him from as early as we can, hence being hyper aware.

Conversely DH's parents still refuse to see/ disbelieve how DH could have ASD, even though its now become very obvious when comparing DH to FIL, that FIL very likely also has it.

It’s worth monitoring and mentioning to your HV so they can arrange a referral if needed in the future. My dd is probably what you’d consider “severe” in terms of ASD. She’s 8 completely non verbal, incontinent, attends a complex needs school, cannot read/write, etc.
However, at 7m she was a typical baby, she hit milestones, babbled. At 18m she was smiley, sang nursery rhymes etc. Then she regressed, no eye contact, speech, very restricted interests and repetitive play which is still the case now. She was diagnosed at 3 in the end.
7m is still very early days, lots can change.

My youngest has a diagnosis of ASD and is classed as 'high functioning'. He was diagnosed at 3 and that was his diagnosis then - HF ASD. Looking back he was clearly autistic as a baby and was displaying sensory seeking behaviour from 3/4 months onwards. He was a very difficult toddler, frankly it was hell on earth. He had difficulties with speech and his understanding of speech so it was impossible to talk to him and he was a whirlwind of danger and destruction.
He is now 13 and attends an ASD unit which is part of a mainstream school. He is bright, articulate, talks non stop. He is still a whirlwind of energy and still a very intense child but has come on leaps and bounds.
Its difficult to know how your child will progress. You have to just do your best to fight for support and help from as early an age as you can. Keep a record of milestones or behaviours that worry you. Your son would probably need to be 3 before you could get any support with any concerns. And just do as much as you can to play with them and engage with them which I am sure you are doing anyway.

In the nicest way possible you are way overthinking this and I say that as a parent of three autistic boys aged 4 to 13. I get it, I've obsessed over signs and symptoms too, but it doesn't help anyone, least of all you.

Unfortunately the support system for these things is awful to non existent in many areas and I would highly recommend focusing on your sons needs as an individual person rather than as a label. He can't be Autistic Spectrum Disorder. No one can be ASD.

My boys' father also pursued a diagnosis as an adult, with a strong history of autism related diagnoses down the male line. He bitterly regrets it. Of course that might not be the same for your husband but on this side he was looking for some degree of understanding about himself and his behaviours that didn't come with the diagnosis, not least because he quickly realised that all autistic people are wildly different from each other anyway.

The spectrum doesn't run from 'mild' to 'severe' - it just doesn't work that way. It's more of a 'web'. There is no effective way to assess a baby on these traits, nor is there any way to predict 'how autistic' someone might be, that's something that has a flow of change, much like the growth and development of any other human.

To use an example the diagnosis report of my eldest son was completed when he was 6 years old, almost none of the information in that report applies today. Is he still autistic? Of course. In the same ways? Not at all. The report and diagnosis itself offers absolutely nothing useful to the support he needs today.

When my now 6 year old was 2 he was diagnosed autistic alongside a chromosomal duplication, at the time you'd think he was a genius, taught himself to read, times tables up to 15, non-verbal and communicated only via magnetic letters on a whiteboard. Now he could talk for Scotland and spends the majority of his time playing daft games and avoiding homework like most other kids his age. Most of his 'genius' got lost along the way, he barely remembers any of the things he'd once repeat 800 times a day. He's still autistic, he still struggles, just in completely different ways than he did four years ago.

My now 4 year old has the same diagnosis and same duplication. He is what you might call 'severe' in that he is barely verbal (on par with an 18 month old at best), not toilet trained, sleeps a maximum of 5hrs a night (broken) and has for as long as I can remember. He is attached at the hip and needs constant focused attention. I would be naive to think he won't be like that forever, but equally I'd be a bit daft to assume he'll always be that way, because he's only 4.

The labels of ASD/autism/aspergers/HFA/severe autism don't actually help anything. They offer a vague understanding of some struggles that some people might face, which frankly is not much different from saying someone has an unnamed physical disability. Without the information of the individual person and their experiences, a label of ASD offers no more insight than any other you could pick out of thin air. Each experience of autism is as unique as the person themself.

7 months isn't too young to be aware of potential signs.
For us it was a lack of social interactions that tipped us off. By 9 months I was on high alert - no waving, clapping, eye contact or response to name.
We had the start of babbling and ma ma da da noises then at 13months total regression and silence until 2.5.
By 3 we had a diagnosis of asd with speech and language issues and sensory processing difficulties.
However a year and a half on and the development is absolutely crazy. You would not believe it was the same child at all. People who haven't seem them for a year due to the pandemic are utterly shocked at the change.
As with any young child there is no way to predict how they will develop and mature because it isn't one single thing that's a fixed 'issue' (I can't think of a better word but I don't mean it in a negative sense!).

I noticed some traits in my baby Ds but traits of ASD are common in babies it doesn't mean they have asd, but as it goes, Ds has shown more signs as he's gotten older, we are now waiting for assessment, and possible diagnosis.
Ds is nearly four, is a lovely boy, ASD will.mever take that away but he struggles alot with speech, eye contact and socially around others. I don't know if this helps, he's due to start pre school but hoping he will be able to do well in mainstream with support.
Try not to worry and enjoy your baby for now, he's still too young for an assessment for along while yet so try not to worry, hard I know as I've been there, but worrying won't change things. Hope I've been of some help.

We don't want to DS to have to go through the same as DH, and want to be able to support and help him from as early as we can, hence being hyper aware.

Very understandable, but also consider the risk of jumping the gun and pathologising completely typical behaviours. Your OP seems almost to take it as definite that your DS has ASD, when the reality is he may not.

People are not ASD.

HTH.

My understanding is that what people refer to as "more severe" is probably more likely to mean "has an accompanying learning disability". So, more people who have ASD have a learning disability than the general population, but clearly not all the people who have ASD also have an LD.
And a learning disability CAN become apparent at around this age but not all people with a LD, have ASD, either.
But all the traits you mention are things that 7 month olds do! I can't remember what the typical age for rolling is... but if he's doing it now that seems fine.

I'm not a big fan of functioning labels especially in very young children. Autistic children are on a different developmental timetable than neurotypical ones, and can change so much as they get older. I think professionals agree, which is why they scrapped aspergers and classic autism and introduced "autism spectrum disorder".

I also think age at diagnosis is a misnomer - it probably has more to do with awareness of autism traits in the adults supporting the child (parents, teachers), easy of getting a referral and waiting list times.

FWIW my eldest did the violent head shaking thing at 6 months. I've no idea if this is a normal baby thing, but I've never seen another baby do it!

She didn't roll or crawl as a baby.

She has ASD and dyspraxia.

I also think age at diagnosis is a misnomer - it probably has more to do with awareness of autism traits in the adults supporting the child (parents, teachers), easy of getting a referral and waiting list times.
To some extent this is true - two children with the same features at 4 may be diagnosed at 6 or at 13 depending on awareness etc.
But children who are diagnosed at 3 are usually those who also have delayed milestones etc.

It's definitely worth keeping an eye on how he behaves. Young children tend to go through stages of some odd behaviours like head shaking, funny noises, fixations with certain toys etc. It doesn't necessarily mean anything right now but perhaps if several of the things you've mentioned remain a long term habit it's worth noting.

My son used to hand flap often, in front of face. It turned out he had very poor eyesight. If he's flapping and looking at his hands get his eyes checked.

You mean has ASD not is ASD.