Baby/toddler with poor communication and eye contact - alternative explanation other than ASD?

[PinkFlamingosAllInALine]

My daughter will be 14 months old next week and has never been very interested in me (or anyone)
Her eye contact is very poor and you can't really get her attention unless you're singing or trying to make her laugh. She still doesn't respond to her name and doesn't point. She never seems to want to communicate anything or get our attention. She makes babbling sounds but not in a conversational way, not directed at us. I don't think she understands much. However she will copy the actions in nursery rhymes, wave hello/goodbye, clap, copy gestures like "shh". But she tends to look at your mouth or body rather than eyes. She's just had a hearing test which she passed with flying colours. She has also started bringing me things, sometimes if she wants me to do something with them but usually she just gives me a toy and then walks off again!

Obviously this all sounds a bit like ASD, and I know that's a strong possibility, but there aren't any other signs. Her play is very typical, she is equally interested in most of her toys and doesn't get fixated on anything. No evidence of repetitive behaviours, sensory issues, she sleeps well and eats a varied diet with no problems. I know this could change though.

We are seeing the paediatrician but it's a long wait. Would love to hear thoughts in the meantime as I am getting a bit worried.

No advice for your question although she's still very young so may display those behaviours in the future.

In terms of communication, if she can sign 'shh' and clap then you should look into baby signing, BSL, makaton, Mr tumble etc as she may prefer to communicate that way for now. DD signed from 6 months and it reduced a lot of stress and frustration as could communicate what she wanted. You can even make up your own family signs you don't have to use official ones.

I don’t think you can tell one way or the other in a lot of children at thst age. My son was eventually diagnosed at 6 but he didn’t have the typical signs when he was younger, he pointed, gave eye contact, met all milestones etc. Looking back there was some repetitive behaviour. Things became more obvious when he got to year one

I would just go with the flow. My eldest son never made alot of eye contact and still doesn't. Could be on the spectrum but has always achieved above average in everything, made friends etc. Been top of the class so we havent worried about it. I would try and enjoy this time. If shes healthy and happy- not having big meltdowns then even if she is autistic it could be mild. If you're concerned speak to your health visitor or GP. Good luck.

@PinkFlamingosAllInALine How is your son doing now?

Hey, sorry I see this is a dead thread but in case you're still finding things aren't as they should be...

I had lots of similar concerns for DD but it turned out she was just shortsighted - we had no clue and felt very guilty about it all. Once she got glasses it was like a light turning on and she caught up on all her milestones within a few months. Being her mummy is incredible now and my anxiety is down at normal-mum levels.

It's still early days for you guys, I hope you get a similar story 💛

@CorpusCallosum
Wpuld you mind telling me What were your concers when your DD was 10 Months old?

I'd had concerns since shortly after birth but didn't obviously attribute it to her eyesight.

Over the first 10 months she'd do things like:

• poor eye contact
• looking away from mirrors
• behind in babbling/speech milestones
• no sound imitation, inconsistent gesture imitation
• slightly behind with gross motor milestones but good with fine motor, self feeding etc
• equal level interest in people and objects, would have intense fascination with an object and could happily occupy herself with an activity for 30min without social interaction. Could be very difficult to distract from an activity she was focused on.
• she did, and still does, look at things closely
• when she started nursery at 11mo (they have CCTV you can log on to) I'd see her always be the last to move between activities. I genuinely think she just couldn't see where everyone had gone.

Finding out what was going on was traumatic and a relief at the same time. On the one hand you don't want them to have a health issue. On the other hand I knew there was something going on and felt vindicated. Now we know what we're dealing with and can support her appropriately she's absolutely flying.

Hi @PinkFlamingosAllInALine how has your little one come on?

@CorpusCallosum Hi, I’ve just stumbled across this post as my dd2 is 12 months and delayed in most areas except fine motor skills and she was referred for an eye test by our paediatrician. The result was that they believe she is short sighted but said the test was hard to get an accurate result so they will do it again when she’s two. It just feels like we aren’t sure if this is the reason for her delays. What age did your daughter get glasses?