5 month old - Early signs of autism?

[Firstimemam]

Hello,

I’m usually just a quiet user who silently reads all posts but I’m starting to get worried about my little one. This does not mean I don’t love my baby, I do and he is the light of my life but I thought I reach out and maybe you can tell me what you think. I’m not even sure if this helps but I just need to pour my heart out as I haven’t talked about it.

Louis turned 5 months yesterday and since birth, his eye contact has not been great. All the mummy eye gaze people talked about, I didn’t get for the first 8 weeks at all. He then slowly started looking at me when on his back in this moses basket and I was looking down on him (if that makes sense?), it has got slightly better but it’s still only fleeting and there is no stare, he is not interested in faces, not mine, not my husbands if he gets into our field of vision, I do get a lot of smiles but he wouldn’t be looking for my face, I have to move my head to be in his field of vision.

He has not rolled over once and won’t use his arms in the way the other babies use their arms, they lie by his sides rather than are in the air in an anti gravity way unless he wants to reach for something but even that is limited, he only grabs whatever is above his chest and belly, if I hold it over his head or anywhere beyond his shoulder, he wouldn’t reach for it. He does grab his feet and gravity then makes him roll onto his side. When he has the toy in his hand, he wouldn’t play with it or shake it, everything goes straight to his mouth, sometimes without him even looking at it.

He doesn’t like being cuddled, he loves being carried over my shoulder or outwards facing, he hates the cradle position when being held. He likes to stand on his little feet and look around and seems to be very curious.

He doesn’t understand peek a boo, I tried it many times and hoping it’ll still come. He just seems so different to all the babies in the baby classes/ groups. I love him to bits but it he turns out to be on the spectrum, I would like to help him as soon as I can. I like being in control and find it very hard to just wait and see and not be in control.... this has turned out to be a really long post but just needed to get it all off my chest xxx

[BlackeyedGruesome]

hearing was tested when they were born.

[BlackeyedGruesome]

before one there were definite signs.

sensory issues: some sounds terrified him
he was interested in wheels. as soon as he could sit himself up he used to lean forward over the front of the pushchair and watch the wheels turning. he liked going over manhole covers that were bumpy.

he never pointed or asked to be picked up as a baby.

he was sensative to touch from the day he was born.

with dd, I can't remember much. she also did not ask to be picked up, she did not point either. she did like peekaboo.

[Ambydex]

He is very young. Maybe keep an eye out on his hearing and eyesight. Hearing difficulties have a similar profile to autism in toddlers, and there are a few things that you've said that could be consistent with a child seeing the world a bit blurry.

My NT child, who was always way ahead in the social measures in early years, spent much of her first few months staring lovingly at walls and never really played with toys. I was relieved when her little brother came along and would play on a mat like the textbooks said. As it turned out, the eldest was very much NT (and quite sophisticated socially as a preschooler) and my textbook baby was autistic. It's early days and it sounds like you're doing all the right things either way. Enjoy your little boy.

[Firstimemam]

Thanks everyone! You’re completely right, there is no point in worrying as what will be, will be but it’s easier said than done as I’ve always been such a worrier! I’ve seen a pediatrician but they just brush you off at this age which I completely get to be honest.

And yes, i do try to do all the things he likes, he doesn’t always like his pram so I always have the sling with me, I know he sees more and likes it - he likes looking at the trees and the world around him, he likes m&s & all shops ( so much to see) he loves swimming, so we go every monday, he likes the teething rings that have water inside and I keep them in the fridge as his face is priceless when it goes in his mouth and he realises it’s cold, he likes all toys that light up, so got a few more from the NCT sale, he likes when I sing to him, it also helps a lot with the eye contact as he really looks at me then, if I need a break, I put him in his cot as he’s got his mobile in there which he really likes - win win! I really do love him more than anything and I’ll be there no matter what.

Thanks for all the lovely messages, I didn’t expect to receive a response at all but this helped me, honestly xx

[LightTripper]

I didn't really see any differences in my DD but it is really early and I know there are a lot of variations in "normal". So although I know some parents look back and say "I knew" (or even know at the time if it's their 2nd or later child) for the rest of us it's pretty hard to tell.

I know waiting is horrible (I had a bit of this with my DS as we had just been told DD was probably autistic so I was watching him like a hawk and didn't enjoy his tiny babyhood as much as I should), but do bear in mind that in terms of helping him as soon as you can, the things you would do to help him if he did turn out to be autistic would be all the things you are doing already (trying to engage him, showing him that the world is interesting and fun, trying to find out what he likes and getting involved in doing that together with him). You read these websites about autism and the importance of "early intervention" but don't forget that a lot of those websites have a lot of money invested in trying to get parents in the US to sign up to massively expensive "treatments" (where the jury is really still out on whether these are a good idea or not ... there are some concerns about long term mental health impacts, and whether these very intensive interventions are actually just teaching kids to mask their autism rather than how to navigate the world better as an autistic person).

I know saying "don't worry" isn't very helpful, but try not to worry too much. DD is lovely and very happy, we have a very happy family life. The important thing is to engage with him on his own terms, start to understand what he enjoys and get involved in that, but it sounds like you are doing all these things already. If he doesn't like peek a boo work out what he does like and do that with him (so he learns that you are helpful to him and make his world a better and more interesting place). Maybe try giving him a range of different things to mouth if that is what he likes, and make a game of that. Maybe put stuff in your mouth too so you can share the experience with him (I may be going a bit far there but you get the idea!). The fact he is already curious about the world is a great sign of an interesting little character in the making!

[Alwaysgrey]

I picked up signs in my dd at that age. I didn’t know what it was but knew something wasn’t quite right. She was diagnosed at 6 and her sibling later at 4. I’d keep some notes and mention it to your hv. Has he had his hearing tested?

[Punxsutawney]

My son is being assessed for autism at 15 so I'm probably not a great one for early signs but looking back now there were indications from when he was quite small.

I'm not sure if 5 months is really too young to be thinking about autism though. I think your best bet would be to relax about it as much as you can and just keep an eye on how he develops. Maybe your health visitor might be able to give you some advice on development. They are really so tiny still at five months that so much can change as they grow. Try not to worry too much.