# What were the signs - ASD?



## Demotivated

Hi mommies

I have a 14 month old boy and I have bombarded the Baby&Bump forums with endless queries on him recently. He has some communication delays for sure. I am trying to understand here what were the signs you saw when your child was a toddler and what should I be on a lookout for? 

Speech delays and Autism usually go hand-in-hand i believe, so just want to be aware of things in advance.

TIA


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## alibaba24

Sometimes a speech delay can cause autistic like behaviour. But that does not mean the child is autistic. My daughter had some traits throughout pre school and they are all but gone now age 6


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## willow25

Hi, my daughter made almost no noises as a baby - no babbling etc, and only said a couple of words before 2.5, but when her language development exploded she struggled with comprehension. She was, and still is a very fussy eater, very poor sleeper, she can't self settle, or stay asleep, she really struggled with peer interaction, but has always been very engaging with adults, toileting has always been a difficult area for her, she has very limited imagination, but is very good at using scenarios she has seen be replayed, her language is very echolalic - again using learned responses and sentences when she can't use her own words to communicate. She has meltdowns when things go wrong, and I mean out of control, self harming episodes that can last hours - not to be confused with a tantrum. She has many sensory difficulties, noise, light, smell, and huge over reactions to pain, including any personal care she needs - hair brushing is a constant nightmare. We can't attend a lot of public places etc soft play because of the noise and being to close to other children. I could go on and on lol, but there's some to start you off with . Have a look at the national autistic society Website , it's very helpful


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## medic76097

Maybe look at what milestones you should be hitting instead. A speech delay isn't truly a delay till they are almost 3 and not talking. At 14 months it would be ridiculous to think a baby has a speech delay. They don't talk at one.


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## Blue12

At 14 months my dd didn't have any words either. Part of it was because she wasn't hearing properly even though it appeared that she was hearing perfectly. Have you had their ears checked? My dd got tubes put in at 14 months and then had a burst of language.


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## Demotivated

Blue12 said:


> At 14 months my dd didn't have any words either. Part of it was because she wasn't hearing properly even though it appeared that she was hearing perfectly. Have you had their ears checked? My dd got tubes put in at 14 months and then had a burst of language.

Hi there..

He responds to his name ( well nearly 80-90% times), listens / reacts to even slightest of the sound, starts dancing as soon as he hears music, so difficult for me to think that his ears are not working fine.. :(


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## Demotivated

medic76097 said:


> Maybe look at what milestones you should be hitting instead. A speech delay isn't truly a delay till they are almost 3 and not talking. At 14 months it would be ridiculous to think a baby has a speech delay. They don't talk at one.

Thanks Medic. The fact that he doesn't have a single word (except Mama) worries me. He is also not pointing with his index finger (points with whole hand, or waves).
I have read everywhere tht most kids have 1-2 words by now. all he has is gibberish..all the time..
I am waiting for his 15 month checkup on 2nd May and also hoping that he ll have some comprehension by then, but i have kind of resigned myself to fate now..


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## medic76097

I feel for you. But remember that no one in elementary school is known by when they started to talk....I wouldn't worry. Kids love at their own pace. And there's more pressure now then 20 years ago. And most of us all turned out ok without speech delay or autism diagnoses


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## alibaba24

Demotivated said:


> medic76097 said:
> 
> 
> Maybe look at what milestones you should be hitting instead. A speech delay isn't truly a delay till they are almost 3 and not talking. At 14 months it would be ridiculous to think a baby has a speech delay. They don't talk at one.
> 
> Thanks Medic. The fact that he doesn't have a single word (except Mama) worries me. He is also not pointing with his index finger (points with whole hand, or waves).
> I have read everywhere tht most kids have 1-2 words by now. all he has is gibberish..all the time..
> I am waiting for his 15 month checkup on 2nd May and also hoping that he ll have some comprehension by then, but i have kind of resigned myself to fate now..Click to expand...

he does have a word he has mama. thats a word right?! lots of kids do not point at this age because not all babies go by the book. they are little people with unique brains. do you not read the part on these milestone guides that state PLEASE DO NOT WORRY IF YOUR CHILD IS NOT DOING ALL OF THESE THINGS YET. THEY ALL LEARN AT THERE OWN PACE.


I feel so sad for you that this precious time with your son is being consumed with your anxiety over this like i mentioned on your other thread..


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## Blue12

I know what you are saying for sure. My dd could hear well enough to follow commands " go get your shoes" "go put that in the garbage" and always replied to her name also. But when having her hearing tested it showed that her hearing was affected enough that it made her have difficulty to articulate the words back to us. (I've always had troubl with my ears too so I know what it feels like to hear but not hear if that makes sense. It doesn't hurt to check ears and rule things out. I know from a number of people's experiences when their child was being assessed for speech or asd they always did a hearing test first to rule that out first since that's an easier "fix" so to speak. 



Demotivated said:


> Blue12 said:
> 
> 
> 
> At 14 months my dd didn't have any words either. Part of it was because she wasn't hearing properly even though it appeared that she was hearing perfectly. Have you had their ears checked? My dd got tubes put in at 14 months and then had a burst of language.
> 
> Hi there..
> 
> He responds to his name ( well nearly 80-90% times), listens / reacts to even slightest of the sound, starts dancing as soon as he hears music, so difficult for me to think that his ears are not working fine.. :(Click to expand...


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## lusterleaf

I got my son evaluated at 18 months. He had no words, did not respond to his name, did not follow one-step directions, had a fascination with opening/closing doors and cabinets, would spin while looking out the corner of his eyes. Just a few things that made me get him checked out.


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