10 month old not responding to name

[teomama]

Hi, my 10 month old doesn't always respond to her name. I am really worried and I am not sure where to seek help. On the 9th month developmental review, I was advised the NHS cannot offer assessment or therapy before a child is 2. I am happy to pay privately, but I don't know who could advise for such a young child. Any intel gratefully received.

Is her hearing ok? That would be my first port of call to get that checked?

Yes, thanks for asking that. We did a test and it's fine.

Does she sometimes respond? Or not at all?

She responds sometimes, I'd say roughly 30% of the time.

I'm not a parent, but my niece didn't always respond to her name. I think it's normal? She does turn around though or look at you when you say her name, but not always. She's now over 1 and getting better at responding more often, again not always. These things I imagine take time, their mind grows, get to know more things. They're always exploring, expanding, growing. And can be quickly distracted by what they're doing or by something else. So could either not want to respond every single time, or is distracted/concentrating on something else.

I mean I could say something glib about the fact that my 3 and 4 year olds don't respond to their name more than 50% of the time but I appreciate you're worried OP. Is there a reason this particularly is worrying you?

I think @Rosie22xx is right. At 10 months they are still working out that they are a person and that there is a world around them, and they are also so easily distracted by other things at that age too. I don't think it's unusual for them not to respond to their name consistently.

I know the name test is often discussed as an early indicator of potential dvelopmental delays, however those tests tend to look at babies from 12 months onwards. A lot of development happens between ten and 12 months, and not all bables follow the same developmental path, they do things in their own time often. So of course if you are worried talk to your GP, they should be able to highlight next steps, but I don't think I would be worrying about it until after she turns 1 year.

Thanks @katmarie, that's very reassuring x

Not trying to minimise, but I don't think this is something that would worry me at this age. My DD is a bit slower than many to do things but has no known issues, just takes her time. I don't think she responded regularly to her name at this age.

Hi @teomama could you please provide some update please.Goong through same phase with my 10month old and first time mom extremly worried.
any suggesstion/advice would be of great help.
thank you in advance.

@Saiaryal24 my daughter begin to consistently respond to name around 12 months. Give it a little longer. You can contact your health visitor to schedule a progress report for your child. It’s free and they’ll send you a questionnaire which you need to fill in and later bring the child to an appointment. Good luck mama ❤️