Worried over Autism

[Poppeteer]

Hope it's ok to double post this here as I'm worried.


I hate to admit this, but i'm concerned, but I feel stupid for doing so when Halle is so young... and if dh saw this he'd get so upset with me.


Basically Halle was born at 37 weeks due to my pre-eclampsia. She was very jaundiced a few days later and had to be put under lights, as a result she was almost constantly asleep for the first few weeks.
It took a long time for her to show any response to sound, and i did worry she was deaf- but now she will startle at loud sounds and her hearing has been checked which is fine. Then I worried she was partially sighted as she could not acknowledge us at all in the first month or so.... the little times she did open her eyes she didn't seem to see much.... but this improved and now I know for sure she can see fine.

She smiles (see avatar ) and will laugh, but only if laying down or held in the feeding position.... and only for a short while... it's like she will smile then quickly look away- as if she is shy. She can maintain eye contact in this position too for a short while and if you are not looking at her she will really study your face- but if given direct eye contact she can only manage to look at you for a few seconds before looking away.
If she's held upright in a sitting position she will do everything she can to avoid looking into your eyes... that scares me....

She is fascinated by bright sparkling lights and will coo at them for ages if you left her to it.... no problems maintaining eye contact there.
Even while breast feeding, she seems to get uncomfortable sometimes if i look at her and will look away, or arch her back.

Which gets me onto the back arching, we assumed she had reflux and had been treating her for it.... but now.... I'm not so sure. The back arching can happen anytime, not just after a feed, she will go rigid and fling her body back....

Can someone pls give me any advice about if the avoiding close eye contact thing happens and doesn't mean autism??

I know she's so young, and I don't have any contact with other babies her age, but I just can't help but coming back to this thought.

Hubby thinks I'm sick and am just looking for something wrong with our daughter and I really hope I am... but our friends have a severely autistic son, and I know how hard autism can be.

 

[niknaknat]

Hun...Really....I should try not to worry!
You have a beautiful little girl and she looks very happy and healthy. Lack of eye contact and the other things you mentioned in your thread are all just normal reactions for a baby of her age.....I can look directly at my little boy (3 and a half months) and he will totally ignore me as if I am not there.
Autism or autistic spectrum disorder is very hard to diagnose even at toddler age so there really is no way you could know if your daughter has it...do you have any reason to think that she has?
My son( who is 9 now) is autistic and he was nearly 4 years old before I got a solid diagnosis and to be honest I didn't really think that he was any differant to other children until I started taking him to playgroup and realised how far behind the others he was.
The best piece of advice I can give you is to relax, enjoy your precious bundle while she is still a baby and try not to worry.
Good luck xx

 

[WhosThatGirl]

I have an 8 year old with high funcioning autism. He did not start to show any signs untill after age 3. Most children do not start showing signs untill they are 3-4 years old. I'm sure your baby is just perfect

BTW my son with autism has no problems not making any eye contact... many autistic children make eye contact.

 

[sassy_k83]

Hi poppeteer

don't feel bad about your concerns atleast you are aware of the signs which are always good to know. however just to echo what everyone else has said, Halle is just too young to be showing signs of Autism, I dont have an Autistic child myself but we have 3 autistic boys in our family on different levels on the spectrum, the most severe being my 8 year old brother callum. I was like you when my little girl was younger and anything unusual she did I would panic and would automatically think AUTISM!! because its in my family. I think its very normal for babies to lose interest and have quite short attention span compared with toddlers..... I wouldn't be concerned at all.

My mom and I noticed something different about callum (my brother) when he was about a year and a half.

 

[)i( sarah)i(]

Dear poppeteer
I am new to baby and bump and do not want to upset you or any other person who has replied to you but I feel very different about your post.Ever since my youngest son was about 6 months old I had concerns that he had Autism.Everyone I knew, his doctors , my family, my friends all told me I was crazy. They would say things like: " he is just being a boy and he will come around when he is ready" or " He is fine! he doesn't have Autism".I let everyone around me tell me what I wanted to hear but I knew in my heart that my son had Autism.He was just diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder on 4-27- of this year.He was/is 2 1/2.It is hard to diagnose young children with Autism because it has such a wide spectrum.I have not found one story anywhere that matches my sons "behaviors" and "symptoms". My son was hard to diagnose because he is so inconsistent( some day he seems "normal" other days he is in his own little world). What I am trying to say is that if you really feel deep in your gut that something is "wrong" with your child, don't let anyone tell you that you are sick or crazy.You are their mother, you know what seems right and what doesn't. Fight for your child, I wish I would have sooner. because i am new they wont let me put up link but go to talk about curing autism and generation rescue they may be able to help you. Good Luck

 

[sassy_k83]

I do agree with what sarah has said above. If you are really concerned definatley go and see your GP. I think you will find It will but your mind at rest.

best of luck xx

 

[massacubano]

I would not worry so soon. But, like said before me talk to Doctor and maybe he/she will put your mind at ease.