Can one year olds show signs of autism?

[jordkr1995]

Hi,

My daughter turned one in December.
The health visitor came to do her evaluation of how she’s doing and has asked for a recall in a couple of months. These were the results:

communication - 20/60
gross motor - 40/60
fine motor - 60/60
problem solving - 20/60
personal social - 40/60

They said they would send us activities to do with her however these have not turned up.

She is a lovely child but theres things people keep pointing out that just get into your head. I just want honesty on if they are insane or its me? 😂

currently she’s started walking and does normal things a one year old should do i think.

however people have noticed the following:

tantrums and random screaming
no eye contact
leg and arm flapping
focusing on smaller details instead of the toy itself.
Doesn’t respond to name
likes watching the same thing be done over and over again.
Fixated on little bits on the floor or the thread in the carpet.
Not very loving in regards to wanting to be held or anywhere near her.
Shes not babbling much

I’ve tried everything i can think of to get her to engage with me. From next week I’m sending her to nursery to see if they can get her to come along. ( i know all babies are different and come on at different rates)

im just wondering if anyone else’s child does any of these and everyone has said its fine or am i letting too many people into my head?

Then my OH keeps saying she’s special and its driving me insane. I just keep saying until a professional tells me she’s ok or Autistic just leave it be. However im sure as all you moms know the worry that you’re not doing enough for your child is heart wrenching. I’m loosing my mind as its being brought up daily.

sorry for the long post and rant. This has been ongoing for months now.

I think my nephew might be autistic. He's only 9 months old but:

He does what I can only describe as repeatedly 'wringing' his hands
He struggles with feeding generally and gags constantly on purees
He's transfixed by the ceiling light
He's not great at responding to his name
If he's looking at you, he's more 'staring' than engaging
Smiles are rare
He isn't sitting up too well yet but spends a lot of time on his back kicking his legs rhythmically

But mostly it's just a 'something's off' type feeling.

Serious autism is often spotted earlier via medical professionals with unusually compliant children. One of my DNs used to literally just go to the corners of any room he was in (or behind his Mum’s legs) from the minute he could shuffle & apparently that was a red flag.

For kids who throw tantrums it’s not always a clear yes / no answer at this age because sometimes parents don’t do essential activities needed for kids to make eye contact / become sociable because they tantrum if that makes sense? Keep a diary & ask the health visitor for a checklist of age appropriate activities you should be aiming for & regularly test him yourself to see if he improves.

Gp referred dd for assessment at 13 months, she was diagnosed the week of her second birthday. I suspected at four months and knew at eight months. Dd was incredibly passive, you could put her down anywhere and she would stay unmoving and silent. People often mistook her for a doll in the pushchair as she sat bolt upright, eyes forward not making a sound. She rarely smiled or laughed and never cried. She didn't distinguish me from anyone else. I remember leaving her with my friend for a couple of hours, I walked in and she was so comfortable and never acknowledged my return. She used to pat everything rather than play with toys. She was "too easy" she didn't explore or make any demands.

Hi OP, how is your little one doing now? Any updates?

I couldn't disagree more.

It has been proven by numerous studies that Early Intervention is key and (contrary to advice above) there is plenty you can do to change outcomes for children with ASD.

We knew DD was on the spectrum by the time she was 9 months old.

She started therapy (Pivotal Response Therapy - basically child led behavioral therapy) when she was 24 months old and we read, took countless courses and did play therapy with her daily.

As a family we decided early on that the only thing we were comfortable with was evidence based approach intervention.

My advice is research and arm yourself with as much information as possible.

In my opinion it’s not too young at all to tell - I knew from approximately nine months. Not for definite obvs, but highly suspected.

from those scores, I definitely don’t think you have anything to worry about - you really don’t.

@IBelieveInAThingCalledScience

this is good advice but I’d be cautious. We do OT, SaLT and play therapy with our little boy - OT has been more effective than anything else in showing immediate results.

it’s hard doing play therapy with an autistic child (at least I find it hard) as they can have very limited interests. My little boy can do things but sometimes won’t. If forced, it becomes very upsetting. Portage have been quite forceful at times by hand leading him - I don’t agree with it all and she’s never done it since. We tap into his interests which are limited but he’s making steady progress.

he’s happy and the three of us have the tightest bond - we love him so much. He’s literally the happiest person I know. Behind in typical milestones but it’ll not be forever.

I'd argue that forcing any kind of therapy is the antithesis of "child led".

DD is 11 years old now and to this day therapy sessions are one of her favourite activities (as they should be).

Play therapy at home is just about identifying any opportunity and maximize it. I don't think it ever felt or looked like therapy to her.

@IBelieveInAThingCalledScience absolutely, definitely the sun. Our play therapist is wonderful but portage worker, who does similar stuff, wasn’t as great with the child led activities - she was adamant sometimes she wanted him to stack blocks for example. Our play therapist however was able to teach him to stack cogs very easily - same skill but different method.

It's hard to know when you have to advocate for your child, especially when discussing it with professionals isn't it?

OP, I'd just like to add that in my experience the diagnosis can be a bit imaterial in the early stages (unless of course you need it specifically to access services).

A few experts advised us early on to focus on DD's needs in the first instance and it was the best advice we had, frankly.

The worst advice we had was "wait and see, all children develop in their own timeline".

I think early intervention, if done right, can't hinder, so even if turns out your child is neurotypical you will have support her language and social skills and nothing is lost.

In fact, I found we ended up modelling language etc. with our young DS (who is NT) and he responded wonderfully too.

I used to work in Portage and the Portage workers described above should absolutely not have done hand-over-hand or “forced” any kind of play! That’s the opposite of what we’re taught. I found that most parents said they started to realise as their child turned one which I think is why autism is sometimes attributed to vaccines (coincidentally). I focused on sharing attention (copying their play and then extending it to see if they notice), copying the sounds they make, playing with sensory toys and encouraging physical activity (to help to regulate them). It should all be child led. Some parents felt a bit “silly” at first but it soon becomes second nature. One is too young for a diagnosis but there’s no harm in these strategies whether she is autistic or not.

Hi! Wondered how is your baby now? I’m freaking myself out about my baby girl behaviour. Probably googled too much and so many things points me to autism..

She is 13 months old and doesn’t babble (espoused to two languages). She grunts and moans (having actual molars coming through) lot and make noises. Doesn’t wave or clap but she points now. I can ask few things around ‘where is ..’ and she will point. She smiles at us and respond to name most of the time though not always.

Although she eats well she only eats purée. Doesn’t really ever mouth on toys but only her finger so we have to spoon feed her.

I think I’m so desperate for some reassurance I think mums.

Hey what signs did you have by 9 months please?
would appreciate a response x

Hey Bex I hope you don’t mind me posting a while after the original thread, what things made you suspect at 9 months please?
I would appreciate a response x

Hey Jordkr please can I ask how your baby is now? Would appreciate a response I’m in a similar situation thank you

Hi thanks for asking.

she has been confirmed to have autism.
she’s much more settled now but there’s still clear signs.
she’s talking now 👏🏻
the doctors and medical professionals have commented on how smart she is too. x

Hey,

She has been confirmed to have autism.
She also needs grommets for her ears.
Shes talking now and we’ve found ms Rachel and Mr tumble to of worked wonders for her.
The medical professionals have said how smart she appears.
She can name all the animals, count to 30 and her ABC’s. She can identify numerous types of shapes.

touch from her is very limited but when she does it’s just more magical. Two months ago she finally said mama.

she’s under speech and language still at the moment to help her form sentences. She’s very routine structured. We found sending her to nursery early has really helped her on a social aspects with new people.

she’s a joy. It’s been challenging but thankfully the medical professionals picked up early so we’re able to adapt to her x

Sorry this is a tad late me seeing this.

my little one was obsessed with wheels on prams when we were out and about. He’d never look at other people we were walking with. Little eye contact even when feeding. Didn’t understand how to use toys typically, or didn’t want to. Weaning was an interesting journey 😳. I had a feeling pretty early on - everyone thought I was mad, but I always knew my little guy was autistic.

Hi hun, do you have an update? Xx

I’m a bit battle weary but yes, if you know then you know. The issue is very often that as autism runs in families it’s all very normal until it isn’t.
Both my autistic youngsters were similar to both my husband and me, and our families. Autism runs strongly. But because I could relate to them and anticipate need they were extremely well settled infants. The cracks didn’t really start to show until reception year when they had to go to school. Then it really kicked off.

Did you see the update from last year?