Signs of autism in 10 month old?

[Anxiousmum94]

I am convinced my little girl is autistic and can’t stop worrying about her future… she’s only 10 months old so think I sound a bit crazy when I share my concerns but she has so many red flags and barely scored anything on the ages and stages questionnaire (is delayed in all areas)

-She doesn’t respond to her name at all
-Very poor eye contact and difficult to get her attention at all
-No mimicking/ joint attention
-No babbling (occasionally makes some vowel sounds and squealing/ shouting/ raspberries) also doesn’t show any understanding of language
-No gestures e.g clapping, waving despite attempts to teach her
-Didn’t sit up at all until 9 months and is still not a steady sitter now, leans slightly to one side when in a high chair or pram that isn’t really supportive
-Doesn’t like being held really (except can calm her down sometimes if I hold her while walking around)
-Little interest in toys except things that spin or puts toys in her mouth, doesn’t pass objects between hands or hold 2 objects at once
-No separation anxiety/ lack of affection- don’t think she knows who I am
-Very fussy with food and seems to dislike certain textures/ lots of gagging and choking even on water

Things she can do:
-Started wobbly sitting at 9 months and can now get herself into sitting position but still can be a bit wobbly
-Started crawling at 9 1/2 months
-Smiling/ giggling since around 3 months, smiles when you bounce her up and down, tickle her, play peek a boo but doesn’t copy facial expressions or smile at me when I’ve been at work all day and say hi for example, recently started smiling in the mirror
-Can reach and grab objects (since 5 months) and holds her own bottle well since 9 months, can feed herself with a spoon if preloaded

She was also a very colicky baby who cried all the time she was awake for the first few months, ruled out allergies etc and tried reflux meds but nothing helped. Still has reflux which upsets her and still cries a lot if I don’t let her watch/ listen to nursery rhymes (which makes me feel bad but it’s often the only way to keep her happy, she’s not interested in playing with me really)

I have been expressing my concerns with her development as well as colic/ reflux since she was a couple of months old. At first I thought I was probably just anxious and keep getting told all babies are different but she does seem really behind and everything points to autism. My mum also has Aspergers and I received a diagnosis of dyspraxia aged 18 and believe I have ADHD, husband thinks he’s dyslexic but not diagnosed so family history of neurodiversity is there.

We were seen by the child development centre when she was 8 months and their main concern was her not sitting then and she was referred for physio/ occupational therapy. Said too early for SALT but I’ve been chasing them up about the lack of babbling.

I know she won’t be diagnosed yet but what are peoples thoughts? Am I crazy? Has anyone had a child with multiple red flags that’s turned out to be nothing? Do all these issues mean she’s likely to be severely autistic/ non verbal? I’m just so worried about her…

Thanks to anyone who has read my essay

Thanks, I’ve seen that some can be diagnosed as young as 2/3 but know we are still a way off. It’s difficult not to worry when she is delayed in all areas and has multiple signs of autism in babies, not just one or two things which would be a lot less concerning. I do need to stop worrying about her future though and just enjoy her for who she is whilst getting her any help I can get.

Hi @Anxiousmum94 just thought I’d reach out as my baby is very similar to yours, I wrote about him in several posts. in addition to all of the similar concerns he is also stimming a lot (arm / leg/ twirling) and I am really concerned. So just wanted to let you know I know how you feel.

My oldest is 4 and has a autism diagnosis. We also have a 8 month old and I have closely watched his development and compared to my eldest . My older son met most of his milestones up until he was a year old but then had a big regression. The main milestone he missed under a year old was babbling and imitating. He is still non verbal to this day. My youngest is 8 months and still is not babbling or imitating. I won't lie as I often think about it and over compare them both. At the end of the day I will just need to wait it out until it becomes a missed milestone. If it does then we know what to expect this time round. I know it's hard not to worry and sometimes you just have that gut instinct. I wouldn't change a thing about my oldest. He's changed my life for the better and made me see the world in a different way. It's bloody hard at times but he's completely worth it. With my youngest we will just have to wait it out and see how he develops

What skills did he lose with the regression?

He stopped making eye contact, stopped waving, stopped responding to his name. His sleep pattern completely changed and he stopped sleeping through the night and would only sleep a few hours at night. At lot of the interactions we would have with him such as peek a boo stopped too. We also noticed how much he was stimming and sensory reactions he would have.

It's really so hard to determine under 1 year old as some babies really just develop differently. By the time he was 15 months I knew for sure. This time round with my youngest I do have a gut feeling but I also know that it's influenced by the fact that my oldest is autistic. It's hard not to worry but it's a long journey to getting a diagnosis. It took us two years for his assessment because of waiting lists

One of the main signs that I noticed when he was around 14 months was his lack of receptive language skills. He simply didn't understand anything being said to him. He couldn't follow any instructions and paired with the fact he still had no spoken words or even babbling. Even at 4years old his receptive language skills are very limited. There is a lot to learn with autism and we ourselves are still learning.

Aw mine has never given eye contact or clapped or anything yet. No communication skills at all. Hope we don’t have the sleep regression, sounds awful. Glad your little boy is happy now though 😊

There is no one size fits all with autism. Every child is different. Some have regressions and some just don't meet the milestones. My youngest scored low on his 8 month assessment and my health visitor will be back out at 12months. Like your little one he has been much slower to develop. He's only just started to roll and sit up, no babbling or imitating and I've really struggled to wean him. Completely different to my eldest. You are her mum and know her best. If your gut is telling you something I would definitely go back to your health visitor. It took me a few attempts with my original health visitor to get them to listen and take on my concerns. Thankfully the health visitor I have now is much more understanding.

Seeing health visitor for 9-12 month assessment at the end of this month. I know she’ll score low on the assessment, but we’re already under CDC and have all referrals we can get so don’t think there’s any more they can do until she’s old enough for diagnosis

1. Write all of your concerns down and store it somewhere safe, you'll need it for the developmental history during assessment, write down anything unusual about pregnancy

2. Start saving, you may want to go for a private diagnosis when she is older or pay for counselling or therapies, ear defenders/noise cancelling head phones, fidgets, body socks, weighted blankets etc as she gets older it's handy to have a fund to dip in and out of

3. parent her as if she has ASD, be aware of the sensory issues in her environment, ie if she's having a hard time is it too loud / quiet, too hot/ cold, too bright/ dim, no point in talking an ASD toddler (or any toddler) through a tantrum as you just overload them etc

4. if she can clap, start to teach her sign language, Something Special is great for makaton signs and will massively reduce her frustration, signing uses a different part of the brain than speech or even pointing

5. This is the hardest one - parent the child you have not the one you expected, the amount of money I wasted on toys DD just never played with mostly role play ones and dressing up clothes (DD didn't get diagnosed until her teens). She was far more into construction and logic toys and things she could manipulate and musical instruments. DD was an excellent reader but never enjoyed reading has always been more into non-fiction than the many, many fiction books I bought to try and make her a reader.

Children with ASD do show affection, just not always in the way you expect. Keep an open mind and enjoy your daughter as she is.

@Darthwazette If you don’t mind me asking how did you know from your little one being a tiny baby? I’m very concerned about my baby but everyone says it’s too young to worry.

@Anxiousmum94 how is your little girl doing now? I’m having similar concerns here about my 10.5 month old DS. I know people will say there’s no point worrying but that doesn’t really help when you are worried!

Hi, sorry for the late reply. Probably not what you want to hear but she’s not made muxh progress. She started making some babbling like sounds around 14 months ‘year yeah yeah’ but then stopped and only occasionally makes babbling like sounds- she never imitates sounds and when she does babble it’s to herself rather than trying to communicate. She still puts everything in her mouth and this has got worse with her eating wood, she’s made a big mess of her cot! She’s 15 months and still can’t walk but motor skills have developed a little since my last post. She still doesn’t do any gestures. She globally delayed and I think most likely has severe autism

how’s your little girl doing now ? worries for my own little one x

Almost all of the things you describe (except the liking being held and knowing who I am) were true of my son until 18 months and aged 5 he couldn’t be more neurotypical. I don’t know if you need to be considering autism so intensely at this stage.

any update

Hey any update please x

Hey, did you have an issue with eye contact too as per above? X

Please reframe your view of autism. It is not having something 'wrong' with you.
Stop worrying. If your daughter has autism, she has autism: there's nothing you can do about it now as she far too young. Just love her, show her the world and help her learn.

We don't use the term 'high functioning' anymore.

I'd also echo this to be honest.

For anyone wanting some early resources that can help with development of communication whilst waiting for ASD assessment the Hanen More than Words book and resources are great. This was a useful course we went on. Our son was non-verbal and displayed lots of signs as a baby. He eventually saw SALT age 3, learnt to communicate via PECS and now speaks in full sentences, he has moderate support needs. The Hanen YouTube site has useful videos too, worth looking at before deciding about spending money on the book (see bottom of page in link). You can buy the book and accompanying DVD from this site.

https://www.rompa.com/more-than-words-from-hanen-book.html

I had commented earlier in this post that I suspected that at the time my 8 month old was autistic. At now nearly 20 months I am certain that he is autistic and he is on the pathway for a diagnosis. This time round I have obviously got a much greater understanding as my oldest is also autistic. I do remember the early days of discovering that he was autistic very upsetting but that was due to my lack of knowledge. This time round I know what's ahead. The best advice I can give anyone is to learn as much as you can to help support your child. Raising a child with additional support needs can be very challenging and you will need all the support you can get. I have two wonderful boys that are the light of my life. We don't do milestones in this house we just do things at our own pace and celebrate every achievement.

My little girl is now 21 months and I know she is autistic. She has developed slowly and improved with some things but we have been told she is globally delayed and put on the autism pathway. It is very difficult at first and still now tbh, worrying about her future. When I say I noticed something was wrong, it’s that I noticed she wasn’t meeting milestones and developing typically. There is no need to make someone struggling with a potential diagnosis feel even worse by telling them they are using the incorrect terms in my opinion. I am neurodivergent myself and my mum is autistic and it has caused us both considerable difficulties in life, without the worries I have about my daughter’s probable learning difficulties and that she may never speak and will likely find life very challenging. I am allowed to be worried about that, even though I don’t love her any less and will always try to embrace her differences and get her as much support as possible. As I said before, all that really matters is that she is happy but autism can make this difficult if lot can’t communicate how you feel and have sensory issues.