Early signs of autism in 6 month old?

[RosaM12]

I know I shouldn’t worry, and I know it’s too early to tell but I find myself wondering daily if my 6 month old baby has autism.
i work in a school so see how amazing children with autism are, but then worry that if he is.. where on the spectrum? & what does his future look like?

I’m looking for some similar experiences to signs that I notice in my son. Did you see the same? Did your child end up with a diagnosis?

His hands, arms and legs move A LOT. Constant. When in a bouncer or just sitting on my lap, he rubs his feet together. Then when lying down, he lifts and bangs his legs down or kicks them. He twirls his hands and waves his arms up and down. When he gets excited, his arms stiffen. I can not stress enough, how this is constant. I think the only time he does not do it, is when he is asleep.
I watch all other babies at baby group, and he stands out with how much he is moving. Also it’s so different from his sister or anything I’ve seen in family member’s babies.
Eveything goes in his mouth. Even when he doesn’t seem to be teething and not just toys. When we were sat at a table, the table had to go in his mouth.
He is also a terrible sleeper. Still wakes every 2-3 hours if I’m lucky.

But, then on the other hand, he does smile, babble, respond to his name. He maintains eye contact. He can sit up on his own and roll.

I know it sounds so silly. It wouldn’t change anything but there’s just something in my gut…

Oh god please make this stop

🤔

I have an autistic daughter and your baby actually sounds more like my non autistic children.

What am I missing?

Girl, just enjoy your baby - 6 months is too soon to tell

Just enjoy your baby’s cuteness. Stop trying to see issues that most likely aren’t there anyway.

Poor baby. Stop critiquing them

I’ve got 5 kids. 3 with autism. Your son sounds as normal as can be. You are worrying because you see autism at work. Just for goodness sake breathe deep and stop seeing traits in your son which aren’t there!

I can’t believe I’m reading this. Maybe you should look at you possibly gaming anxiety. He may well be, but there is nothing you said that couldn’t indicate this, especially the part that he’s 6 months and is doing moral baby things. Each bay is soooooo different.

does anyone in the comments have an autistic child?

i do and i worried at 8 weeks and every month after that and guess what? I was correct

he has lots of positive traits that suggest hes not- eye contact, smiling babbling, responding to his name (i would be more concerned if he wasnt doing those things) lots of babies are terrible sleepers so thats nothing to associate with autism yet (as hes only6m). Again putting things in his mouth (very age appropriate at 6m)

its good that hes moving around (it sounds more like hes exploring rather than stimming at this stage)

i would try and seek help regarding anxiety about the future as you shouldntbe contemplating his future etc until a bit further on down the line. Keep an eye on your concerns of course but comparing him to his sister is not helpful (2 diff kids completely) so try to focus on these things..so that you are able to enjoy him!

you are mother and mother knows best, maybe visit a Hv with your concerns about baby and they can reassure you?

Wow these coments are harsh to a worried Mum.

I've felt the same at times due to my job too. But I've decided I guess time will tell and all I can do is to support rich development opportunities where possible and allow baby to develop as they are.

Kids aren't diagnosed usually until at least 3/4 because before then potential signs can be perfectly normal baby/ toddler behaviour. Yes, you'll have some kids that show signs and go on to be diagnosed. But there'll be loads of parents who wonder and it was just a phase and the kids aren't autistic.

Enjoy your child. Don't worry now. Sure, be aware, help them grow and develop but your baby is just a baby right now.

What age did you see any signs or then get a diagnosis. OP is over panicking but I’m really interested in your input having 5 kids x

Well, my ND children did all you are describing, but I think that's just normal baby. Please don't worry or compare at six months old.

Aside from responding to her name and sitting up independently (she can sit if placed in sitting position) you have described my 6 month old to a tee!

I am also very aware at groups of how active and wriggly she is. At Baby Sensory she is waaaay more stimulated by the visuals than the other babies and responds by babbling and moving more. It’s exhausting and intense and I have had similar worries to you, but what can I do at 6 months?

There are phds and difficult husbands on both sides of mine and my husband’s families that we think these days would probably be diagnosed. All we can do is keep an eye and get support for whatever we uncover. As a teacher, you will be aware that most children have supports in place to meet needs long before a formal diagnosis.

I thought something was wrong with ds from very little, I was in several mum and baby groups of similar ages and he was so different - fretful, couldn't be distracted, seemed to hate noise and some textures. Didnt exhibit the behaviour you describe though.

The main worry was around 6-9 months when he never rolled or moved or reached for toys and did minimal eye contact and was just generally very unhappy.

All of my friends and family kept telling me he was perfectly normal, just like their baby, in fact their baby was worse, etc, etc. They were just trying to stop me worrying. I contacted the health visitor when he was about 10 months old, she came and tried to interact with him and then referred to child psychologist, diagnosed Asd before 12 months.

Your baby is too young to diagnose, and early diagnosis isn't helpful anyway, it's not like they can treat it. Try to put it to the back of your mind for now.

Just for a different take, I sensed there was something 'different' about mine rather than 'wrong'. They're not wrong, they just do things a bit differently and are a bit more interesting. :-)

It’s too early to say and you wouldn’t be able to get a referral through your GP yet.

My son is autistic and I did feel he was different to other babies. He was a bad sleeper but more than that was extremely clingy and cry/screamed for hours at a time. Very bad colic and would scream until he fainted.

@NinthBestOption did you get a private diagnosis? I’m amazed you could get one before 12 months. It took my son over three years to get his diagnosis through NHS and they took input from his teachers and had several sessions meeting him.

My kids were on the move, constantly. My mum says I was the same, even when being held.

We're all NT.

6 months is so young.

Hi op, he actually sounds really normal. Being super active, he’s developing his nervous and sensory system, as he should be at this age. The more a child moves at a younger age, the more these systems are developed. The tensing is excitement! There’s variation though, my younger boy was no where near as active. Their personalities have remained as they grew.

The sleep is very normal too. My eldest was worse. He’s not autistic.

“i work in a school so see how amazing children with autism are.”

What is wrong with you?! It’s a disability. The instances of savants are incredibly rare. So now are autistic children amazing??

I’m a mother of a severely autistic child and people like you make things so much harder. The therapists who delivered the diagnosis that my son was severely autistic were bizarrely so excited to share the news and were shocked that we (my child’s father and I) were not happy about it. It was the weirdest thing.

I’ve been injured so badly by my “amazing” autistic child that my eye is permanently damaged. I’ve had to have a dentist rebuild one of my teeth because my “amazing” autistic child broke it.

I’ve given up my career. I haven’t slept normally for years. It has utterly broken me as a human being. The violent rocking, the vocal stims, the meltdowns are not anything to be celebrated. They aren’t amazing they are a result of a nervous system at war with itself.

At six months it’s far too young to determine whether or not your child is disabled.

Delete your post.

Will it change anything at this point if they are? No. So enjoy your baby and let it go for now. And please don’t do the whole “autism is amazing” trope. For those of us dealing with children with profound SEND it’s really offensive.

Surely not.

Only a minority of children are autistic, some of those, mildly so.
Relax and enjoy your baby. He will be what he already is.

Concentrate on keeping him healthy and well loved.

Vaccinate him so that he doesn't develop ramifications from grave childhood illnesses.
Feed him nutritious food.
Teach him to sleep longer.
Play with him and let him learn of the outdoors.
Ply him with loving family interaction.

Consider diagnosis at an older age if you are still worried.

My NT kids did everything your describing. My autistic one did none of these things. Please just enjoy your little one as at 6 months old he is tiny and waking in the night is fairly normal.