14 month baby could he be autistic? Worried mum

[Bhai12345]

• doesnt like cuddles since 3 months. Never rested his head on my shoulder . Prefers playing on floor.
• twirls his hands and feet when very excited, holds breath for a second.
• babbling but no words. No words for objects. No gestures apart from crying if hungry etc.
• Only combat crawling. walking wobbly with help. Learnt to sit at 9 months. Prefers to look at person next to her if held.

He can do following:

He knows how to point in books and if given a choice of 2 things, but wont point by himself if say he wanted his water sippy cup

He knows his name.

Always make eye contact when playing etc but could be better if close up.

Loves nursery rhymes and does the actions. Likes to clap, wave hi five when asked to. likes peak a boo. Can point to parts of his body.

Understands instructions.

Will show toys by making eye contact and raising them to me.

Happy when people around that he is familiar with. Very alert to people in the room. He wont just be consumed by toys will be interested in environment. We had stranger anxiety phase which has improved.

It doesn't seem like autism to me. All the development is normal. The only thing is not liking cuddles, but some babies are like that.

Sounds normal to me too

I wanted to add that when spoken to, he says huh (to indicate he heard me) only babbles to himself not when spoken to.

2 weeks ago he could say mummy (didnt now what it meant) but stopped saying it. No other words said. Now when asked what a cat does, he goes mehhh. so when i ask him to say mummy he keeps saying mehhh.

You sound overly anxious OP. Is there a reason why you are so alert to autism. DD is also 14 months. She combat crawls and will stand if supported but has no interest in walking. She has a few words but doesn't say them all the time. She randomly said tiger a week ago but refuses to say it again! DD loves the cat and will announce 'ca, ca,ca' when he walks past but wouldn't have any idea what noise a cat makes.

Please stop it. Enjoy your baby. Every single thing you have said is developmentally normal.

Now I can't say your child isn't autistic, but actively looking for it in a 14 month old baby is ridiculous.

I have to agree with what others have said. 14 month is probally too young to be thinking autism, sounds perfectly fine to me. They learn words but dont say them constantly and dont always understand what they actually mean once they have said them. Of course if your worried you can speak with your health visitor but I think your child seems to be doing exactly what other 14 month olds do xx

It's so difficult at this age as they all develop at different rates.
We did suspect our daughter very early on. She is 5 now and we are still not certain. However, ASD is present in my side of the family, we feel it best to ensure we have bases covered. If she is then she is high functioning Aspergers and as she progresses we can help her with techniques to address uncomfortable situations. If she is not, then we don't have any regrets about taking cautious steps.
She does have an IEP at school, they help her with the social side as academically she is fine.
My son is 3, I would describe him as neurotypical.

I would add, as a mother you just know something isn't quite the norm. There's a lot of generalisation out there with regards to ASD. Although there are familiar traits, each and every case is unique. Traits don't necessarily indicate autism but as part of the larger picture they can help to diagnose. I would say start keeping a 'loose' diary as if you still feel that he requires assessment in years to come then this will come in handy as evidence to help towards a diagnosis.

In the meantime, enjoy him and try not to worry too much as it is early days.

Nothing you can do about it if he is autistic. Go to the health visitor or gp if you have worries about development.

It’s great that your little one understands instructions, does actions to songs, enjoys peek a boo, shows his toys to you, does high fives etc. That all sounds absolutely spot on. I wouldn’t worry about speech yet. He’s babbling and has understanding and those are the key things at this age. It’s pretty normal for a young toddler to do something like say Mummy and then a few days later stop saying it for a while. Same with crawling, walking. They’ll do it and then sometimes just seem to have forgotten they did it for a while.

Some babies aren’t particularly cuddly from the start. Others are like little barnacles and want cuddles every waking moment. Also at this age happiness and excitement are often expressed physically by kicking legs, whizzing arms, waving hands about. They’re like crazy puppies. I remember DGD throwing herself on the floor and squirming and crawling around like a mad thing (she was a confident walker by this time) in utter excitement and happiness when a much loved relative came in through the door.

Your DS apart from not being a cuddly little boy sounds like he’s doing all the things you’d be looking for at his age. I won’t say don’t worry, because you seem worried but nothing you’re describing sounds concerning.

Hiya thanks for getting back to me. No one has mentioned autism to me but hv referred him to a complex needs communication assessment. 18 week wait. As he makes no communcation with me as to what he wants thats what the hv said was a concern. Thanks you everyone. When I go to baby groups all babies are walking showing things to mums, cuddling and my baby doesnt do this.

hv referred him to a complex needs communication assessment

At 14 months!!!

Was that a typo?

Sounds totally normal to me. My daughter basically said nothing at that age, although she did start picking up baby sign. Now she is 2.5 and talks non stop.

Similarly many many children don't learn to walk until older than 14 months.

The only thing I would say is unusual is the no cuddling, but some kids (and some adults) are just like that.

Thank you for such a kind message for reassurance.

No not a typo. There is a 18 week wait so I guess by then if he is behind least he will have been assessed.

Re the cuddling, my nearly 3 yr old dd has always been, and still is, completely anti cuddling! Or pretty much any physical contact. She didn't walk until she was 17 months either. She's definitely NT.
Apparently I was the same as a baby and toddler and I'm still standoffish when it comes to physical contact.