Signs of Autism or delay?

[operarocker]

Hey mommas. I have an amazing happy almost 13 month baby boy - he’s my world! But I’m worried about his development. So I figured I would come here for guidance, help, reassurance, etc.
I think my son is super smart, starting at a couple months he understood so much. But recently he’s been worrying me. Here’s my worries:
He doesn’t say any words yet. He babbles like CRAZY though. I mean almost none stop sometimes lol. He says mama and dada but I’m not sure if he’s made the connection yet or not. Sometimes it seems like he really knows who dada is (even though he’s with me ALL DAY.

He barely looks when I call his name. I could be yelling James (his name) right in front of him and he just won’t look most of the time. I feel like though if anyone else calls his name he looks 75% of the time. He goes back and fourth between responding well or not at all. And I don’t get it!!
He started walking a week before his birthday, but still chooses to crawl and cries when we make him walk.
He gets upset over a lot. I mean I get it, typical baby behavior. But it seems like he gets too upset.
He randomly stops and just starts pushing everything away and closing his eyes. It’s strange.
He won’t try to say any words I say. I say “say mama” at least 100 times a day and he just ignores me.
He used to point out things in his favorite book now doesn’t anymore and never wants to read it before bedtime like we always do.
He doesn’t understand no. Or just doesn’t listen. One or the other.
Doesn’t listen to most simple commands, does some.
He barely makes eye contact. He will sometimes if I have him laying and I’m changing his diaper. But it isn’t for long. If you’re a little further away from him though he’ll make eye contact for longer than he usually does.

He has meant most of his milestones on time. He just recently started clapping and waving - which he loves to do now! Once I say yay he starts trying to clap and it’s just so hilarious and adorable.
So he clap, wave, point at things (and people, always pointing at people when we’re at the store lol). He likes being held sometimes and cuddled. Other times he’s like nope lol. He’s been babbling like crazy since 5 1/2 months. He loves engaging with other people and laughing and smiling. He crawls crazy fast but crawls different, like a little spider monkey lol. He plays by himself awesome and always gets into things. He will share his food with me. Listen and look at SOME books when I read them. He plays with some of his toys the right way when he’s not trying to ge into something he shouldn’t. He likes to stack his blocks and his cups. He really likes figuring it out. He’ll play peekaboo with the blanket sometimes. If you say come here sometimes he will listen and come. He gives you kisses when you say give me kiss! He’s been doing that for awhile now. He knows where nose is and almost mouth and eyes!

He’s such a sweet and happy baby boy. And me and my husband are so blessed to have him because he’s our rainbow baby. I just can’t help but to worry. You’d think I would know what to look for because I’ve been a toddler teacher, preschool teacher, and kindergarten teacher before! But it’s just so different when it comes to your own child.

If you read this far - thank you so much for taking your time to read this! Any advice, insight, support, and suggestions are welcomed!


*Also I did contact Easter Seals today to see how I can get him evaluated. I’m just waiting for a call back. His doctor was not considered at all at his 1 year check up though.*

 

[DobbyForever]

Hey!

So I will be honest, and around 12-13 months is when my mommy radar went off. They will not formally evaluate until a child is 18 month. The test is really designed for 2 year olds though. I suggest doing the MCHAT test and ASQ-3 tests. MCHAT you can do online, the other you can download but would do on paper. The ASQ will give you an idea of general milestone development. The MCHAT is more specifically ASD.

Keep in mind that ASD is a spectrum. So there’s no 1-2-3 boom checklist he has it. But big generalizations (keeping in mind not everything has to be true to be on the spectrum):
1. Are you noticing regressions?
With my son, he said hi and bye at 6 months. Then suddenly stopped. I didn’t hear him say bye again until last week (19 month). We had texture regressions with food and sleep regressions.
2. Are there developmental delays?
Particularly in communication. My son’s first word was not until 17 months. Babbles a storm, but no words until then. He was also the last one to walk at his gym class and daycare at 13 months. He does not even acknowledge other children.
3. Is there overreaction to “normal” stimulus?
My son cries when people clap too loudly. He bangs his head more frequently than his peers. He pushes kids when he gets jealous that his favorite caretaker is reading to them.
4. Are their problems with change?
My son will not tolerate any change to routine. This was ultimately why he was diagnosed. When my mom went on vacation, he shunned her for three weeks. When you put his jacket on but don’t go outside, he bangs his head. If you don’t eat right at the same time, he throws a fit. He only plays with three toys out of a house full. He only eats like three types of food. If I move the furniture around, he will be upset for days. If I pick him up from daycare later than usual, he is upset for days. He only watches the same videos and reads the same books.

Also for eye contact their vision is still developing. I did take my son to see an ophthalmologist and he is near sighted, so they think his hit and miss eye contact is related to that.

So everything else the developmental pediatrician said could be from trauma (dad was abusive/we split) or just his age but the routine things.

I just started working with BHPN/ES. I have Kaiser so I went to his pediatrician who gave me a referral to the developmental pediatrician who diagnosed him then referred me to BHPN. But I brought up ASD concerns at 12m then again 15m but they will not test under 18 months to be valid.

Hope that helps!