I have a 14 month old DS who I am desperately worried about. We are waiting to see a paediatrician but I don't know when the appointment will be or if anything useful can be done at this stage.
DS does not respond to his name, he makes barely any eye contact, he cannot follow simple instructions or seem to understand anything that is said to him. He doesn't look at me to request help or show me things. He scores 16 on the MCHAT at the moment (although it is supposed to start from 16 months so he has a bit of time to catch up).
His fine motor skills are good and I think his cognitive ability is fine. He can build towers, pull levers/push buttons to make toys work and is very interested in exploring his environment and the objects around him. He is particularly fond of radiators at the moment & seems to find them wherever we go. He likes to examine them carefully and turn the dials. He does say two words.
I do not know for certain that he will go on to be diagnosed with autism but I have been doing a lot of reading about the importance of early intervention. I don't want to sit watching and waiting while he gets worse (his eye contact has reduced noticeably over the last 5 months).
I keep reading about ABA & have just read the latest thread on here about it. We cannot afford a full time programme & DS is obviously too young to have 37 hours a week therapy. He still sleeps for several hours every afternoon!
I came across the RethinkAutism site. It promises a web based programme that can be done at home & planned around your child's individual needs. It is about 35 pounds a month if you sign up for three months. Has anyone heard of this or used it?
I have also started giving DS Behaviour Balance & fish oil recently. I've considered removing dairy & gluten from his diet but am reluctant to do that because of his age. Any information about this would be appreciated.
He does look in my direction & smile & babble at times & even comes to me for cuddles occasionally. This is done totally on his terms though, without direct eye contact, and he completely ignores me if he 'busy' doing his own thing. I feel like I am communicating with him through a glass wall and I am just so desperate to do something that will help me get through to him before he gets more behind in his development.
Sorry this has turned out to be quite long, I didn't mean it to be! Thank you to anyone who has read this far & who has any information that might help me.