Odd behaviors

[BeautifulD]

Hi, I wonder if any of you can help? i have a beautiful nearly 20 month old son. From about 10 months I've had this gut wrenching feeling that something just isn't quite right with him.
He didn't crawl or move really from a sitting position until he was a year old however he walked shortly after.
From around six months he's rocked in his high chair gradually it's gotten worse and he rocks a LOT. This morning he rocked for almost an hour straight.
His speach is slow, he doesn't say very many words. He says mum a lot over and over in fact but he always says it like he's going to ask a question so when I say yes baby he will repeat mum?
He has EPIC tantrums which will result in either him hitting himself in the head, biting pinching hitting me or throwing something. Some times I can diffuse the situation but mostly I can't.
He HATES loud noises, for instance he's terrified of the Hoover now, that's a reasonably recent thing. Even my electric whisk and coffee machine freaks him out.
He has NO fear (apart from said noises) he will climb things all day long if he falls he'll just get right up and do it again... and again.
From what I've noticed he plays along side other children and Will not play with any of us. I keep trying but he will just throw the toys/cars/bricks what ever it is I'm trying to engage him in.
He's also so repetitive, He never gets bored of doing the same thing over and over again... for instance the kitchen cupboards he likes to open all the doors then empty them as soon as I put it all away he will notice and around we go again. He also has an obsession with plug and light switches on off on off on off for ages he can be doing that. No matter how much I tell him no and try to distract him he will go straight back to doing it.
He's just started walking on his tip toes too and he's doing it more and more frequently...
I hope someone can help, I'm not sure really where to turn. When I try and talk to my husband about it he constantly brushes it off as the terrible two's Which I suppose he could be right. I'm exhausted he just doesn't stop from the moment he opens his eyes to the moment he goes to bed! I have to constantly have my eye on him if not he's out the back door of which he can un lock himself!
Do you think it's worth taking him to the Dr or speaking to the health visitor? I just don't want to be brushed off.... thanks in advance x

 

[Dezireey]

Well a lot of the things you mention such as repetitive behaviour, speech problems and dislike of loud noises imply autism. The only way you will know for sure is to get him tested and speak to your health visitor. Mum's usually know best when it concerns their kids and best to get things validated by a professional rather than keep worrying. Don't think there is all that much that can be done just yet at 22 months but as he gets older, then more help and better diagnosis can be given. Hopefully he is just struggling with communication and / or is frustrated. Good luck.

 

[misspriss]

But a lot of the things you mentioned seem perfectly normal to me as well. Late sitting/crawling is pretty individual to the child. DS never crawled. Your child is only 20 months. My DS is 23 months, and he has just now picked up a lot of words, probably in the past 2-3 months.

DS used to not be scared of noises, but recently he has become scared of them. Even not too noisy things, like kitchen appliances, my electric sweeper (not loud like a vacuum), etc. He hides from them! He used to help me vacuum, to put it in perspective.

He has no fear of things like heights or anything either, even if he has fallen from somewhere before, he will keep doing it. DS also loves opening cabinets are doing light switches/plug ins, but we have babyproofed the cabinets and outlets and he can't reach light switches. But he will climb on the furniture just to turn them on and off.

He also walks on his tip toes for no apparent reason some times, not terribly frequently but he does it more than I'd expect.

He doesn't go to nursery or spend much time around other children (I wish he could get more interaction, but I work). I have noticed he kind of plays by himself around other kids, but I don't think it's an issue.

The assessed my son for autism at 18 months and had no signs of it. The things you mentioned could be signs, I'd definitely bring it up to your doctor, but they could also be completely normal toddler behaviors.

 

[Reid]

I would speak with your health visitor ask her to come and visit you at home explain the concerns you have with your son's development / behaviours.
She will put the wheels in motion for any additional support you're child needs whatever they may be xx

 

[BeautifulD]

To be honest although I've had that nagging feeling I have also seen it as possibly normal terrible two's / toddler behaviour it's just now the tip toe walking added into the mix that I've started to wonder more and more if his behaviour is normal x

 

[BeautifulD]

My health visitor is coming out on the 9th so I'll speak to her then.
I think what I'll do between now and then is keep a note of his days x

 

[Reid]

My health visitor is coming out on the 9th so I'll speak to her then.
I think what I'll do between now and then is keep a note of his days x

That's a really good idea also any behavioural thing he dose that you want to ask them about say the rocking for example video it and show her
My son was referred on for salt at his 30 month check he wasn't talking much at all and still really not alot now he's nearly 4
He's also under a pedestrian who he sees every 6 months she suggested we put him forward to be assessed for autism and yes he acts like a normal 3 year old but has the most epic tantrums which have just came about in the last 2 weeks his speech and language is the most obvious thing.
We had him in mainstream nursery but after 6 months of phone calls on most sessions to get him after 30 mins we were able to get him moved to a more specialist nursery and they are absolutely fantastic anyway I'm banging on a bit here sorry lol I guess what I'm day is the sooner you get the right 1s evolved the better it is for your child and there's a lot of help out there xx
Are you in the UK ?? We're in Scotland x

 

[FAB mama]

He could grow out of some of those behaviors and it is still a little early for speech, but with the way you describe it, I do think it's worth getting video of him and speaking to a doctor or health professional about it. It probably is too early to diagnose anything, but keep records of it.

 

[pinkpolkadot]

It's hard at that age because a lot of it is just toddler behaviour so it's hard to tell what's 'normal'. My DD1 who is now 3.5 has been displaying some similar behaviours to your DS (repetitive speech and play, tantrums, fear of loud noises like lawnmower but no fear of much else) plus some more.

We had discussed it before but brushed it aside as she is very social and ahead development wise but pre-school flagged it up very soon after she started so we went to see the HV and have been referred.

I think if you are worried it is definitely worth mentioning it to your HV even if it just so they can keel an eye on him

 

[MummyMana]

I have a brilliant "poster" that outlines the differences between a tantrum and a meltdown which you may find useful, especially when explaining the behaviour to health visitor etc, but I can't work out how to upload pictures on here from my phone...

 

[alibaba24]

my advice is to jot things down. theres lots of things in your post that say Autism but the problem is lots of Autistic behaviour is quite normal for toddlers. I was talking about some of my daughters odd behaviour at age 2 to an ed psyc. He said that toddlers go through these phases that may look like Autism but its just a developmental phase. When the child gets stuck on that phase/behaviour for a very long period of time and never grows out of it then its an issue. I also think theres alot to say about gut instinct . mummies are rarely wrong so good call on phoning the hv x

also record him. I wish I had more videos of my daughter now i need to see how she was at an earlier age

 

[Butterfly89]

Some of these signs would catch my attention if he were older (say 4 or 5). But for his age, these can be normal developmental stages. Repetition is very normal, their brain is forming pathways and it can take repeating many times for them to understand action/reaction. He sounds a lot like my son (2). He only sat up after 8 months, crawled at 11, walked at 18 months!! Despite numerous doctor trips. He loves to turn light switches on and off, open and close the same cupboards, throw his bin of plastic cups to pick them up then throw again then pick up... etc, rocks in his high chair. He also has the no fear issue. He climbed a bench the other day, fell off, I just narrowly caught him but he still scraped/bruised his cheek... cried, got over it, went back to do it again til we moved the darn thing lol. Same with the couch... he will take a little tumble (it's low) then get up and do the same thing. He hates loud sounds and cries if I turn on a blender, if someone laughs too loudly. He only got over the vacuum when he bought him a toy one and basically did exposure training where we'd turn it on for a few seconds, act happy and positive, then off.

Children don't really play together until the age of 2.5-3.5, that's quite usual according to the ECE at the playgroup we go to. My son stares and walks away when an older kid interacts with him, or ignores people when he's nervous. He's just naturally shy. But with us, he's suddenly emerged into a real little kid lately and has started pretend playing, and using toys. He still tends to throw things more than play though.

I had a LOT of concerns because of some of his behaviours and "quirks", and social challenges, but the OT I had him assessed by said he's very average. The doctor said the same, and so did a friend who is also an OT and been in the field for 30 years. So I'm pretty confident that so far everything is ok.

When "they" say to watch abnormal speech patterns such as always asking as a question, it's referring to an older child. A lot of the signs of autism just can't apply to a toddler.. It's moreso that normal toddler behaviours should sometimes not be present by a certain age (say school age) so that is when it's a worry, not that they are doing it at 1 or 2.

All that said, don't let anyone make you feel silly for having concerns and pushing a doctor for answers!! My friend has a daughter with autism (2.5) and I've seen her flourish over the past 6 months since she got a diagnosis and started therapy with an OT and speech therapist. Her major signs were no eye contact, didn't like affection, had meltdowns in new situations or any change in routine where NOTHING could sooth her, banged her head and cried in an unusual tone when she was over stimulated, didn't repeat any actions (waving, smiling, pointing, etc), no words by almost 2, and didn't interact at all with her parents. But now? She is beginning to speak one or two word comments, loves hugging and kissing, plays simple games, interacts with movies and people, smiles, it's just wonderful.

Sorry so long! This just hit me because I had all the same worries. I'm still keeping track of any unusual behaviours, but I'm really amazed at his progress in the past couple months, all on his own.

 

[misspriss]

Oh yes I just realized a lot of things DS says come out like a question, especially "more" and "water"...almost always come out "more?" and "water?" never worried me.

 

[southernbound]

Everyone else pretty much has it nailed about talking to a professional ANY time you're concerned, but if it makes you feel better I would like to share my personal experience as a weird kid.

Apparently, according to my parents your post about your son describes me as a child to a T (and several of these behaviors I still have to purposefully avoid) and so they had me tested for autism and I came back not on the spectrum, but rather an auditory learner (rather than say, visual or kinesthetic) which is unusual and can cause fear of noises (I was terrified of the toilet until I was about 7 and still don't like loud, repetitive noise).

Even if some of these things extend past the toddler phase, as long as everything else is progressing normally, theres a good chance he will just be a quirky kid and will learn what isn't socially normal as he grows up. I walked on my tip toes until I forced myself to stop at 12 and I still find that I do it when I'm stressed. It's just a tic and no one really notices. I still like repetitive actions because it's easier to "hear" my thoughts when my hands are busy doing something simple and repetitive.

My DS is 15 months old, sat up late, walks on his tip toes and is fearless and his doctor basically said to keep an eye out for truely worrisome things, but some quirks are just innate.

I'm kind of rambling here but long story short, while I would get him checked out, not all quirks, even if there's a lot of them, point to being on the spectrum

 

[kirstybumx3]

If you ever have any concerns I would say get them checked out just for your own peace of mind.
However, Rio does a lot of the things you have said. Repetition, no fear at all, crazy tantrums and he's also recently started walking on his toes a lot but I think it's just because he never realised he could before and quite likes it.

 

[BeautifulD]

Well my lovely hv came and she says he seems fine to her.
I agree now, he's just quirky like his dad Obviously I'll keep an eye on him though thanks for all your replies ladies x