12 month old with red flags

[Eggy234]

I hope this is the right place to post. Hopefully someone can share their experiences if they have had a similar experience.

My son is 12 months old, he’s been walking since 9 months old, he claps, he waves, he plays peekaboo and is very chatty. If you ask him to clap, wave or play peekaboo without prompting he will, or start singing certain songs he will clap in the right place.
However he sometimes responds to his name, if he is playing it is so hard to get his attention. His nursery teacher even asked if he had passed his hearing test when he was born because she’d noticed it too. He does not follow my finger when I point. However this isn’t something I used to do with him as I was brought up thinking pointing is rude. He is obsessed with the buckles on high chairs and wheels on his pram.

Is this normal behaviour? How can I encourage him to look at what I am showing him?

He doesn't need to be able to look directly what you are pointing at. Joint attention is another form of communication. So for example, looking at a toy together or saying 'look at the dog' and you both look in the same direction.

You should definitely get his hearing checked though. Talk to you HV, she can refer him for a hearing check.