I'm worried my 22 month old might be autistic, can I get an opinion from someone experienced?

I'm very frustrated with my little boy and I was wondering if he could possibly be autistic.

First off, my child seems very happy and bright. He just doesn't talk. He also has an obsession with our vacuum cleaner. Every time he sees or hears it, he tries to take it apart and put it back together. The filter, hose etc. If he cant reach something, he'll push a chair up to it in order to reach it. He also sneaks popsicles this way.

What's concerning me is that he doesn't talk. He repeats mama mama mama, over and over and over. If he falls, he says owwie. If he drops something he says uhoh. If you pick him up, he'll point to something and say "What's that?" it's very hard to get him to repeat words. He also says yum if something is good. He waves and says hi to people. Everybody comments that he's so quiet and well behaved and it was really odd to see children that young so calm.

He's no pickier an eater than my boyfriend. They both hate the same things, but my baby doesn't say anything when he doesn't like something. He just doesn't eat it. He's also prone to tantrums if he doesn't get his way. He doesn't pay attention to other people, but he likes kids his own age.

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/autism/symptoms.htm I'm going by what I read here and the not talking by 24 months, obsession (vacuum) made me worry.

He'll only respond to his name half the time, he likes to cuddle with me and will scream his little head off if I'm not around.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs007.snc3/11440_184262248687_603158687_3915785_7273344_n.jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs442.ash1/24405_384137713687_603158687_4977570_8031140_n.jpg This is him laughing at seeing himself on the webcamera.

Please help.

[Jessica L Thomason Sassi, Ph.D., BCBA-D]

Diagnostic criteria for Pervasive Developmental Disorders (including Autism, Asperger’s, and others) include delays in social interaction skills, communication skills, and the presence of stereotyped or restricted behavior and interests.  Typically, a child around your son’s age would be just at the start of language acquisition (have a vocabulary of maybe 25-50 words, but potentially with poor articulation), so it is difficult to tell whether he really has significant language delays or whether his language will pick up in the coming months.  It’s also difficult to tell from a description whether he really meets the criteria of restricted behavior and interests – lots of typically-developing children have a fascination with certain sensations (noises, light-up or reflective materials, water play, etc.), so his interest in the vacuum cleaner isn’t necessarily abnormal.  Finally, tantrums and food selectivity are also pretty common issues with toddlers – not necessarily indicative of developmental problems.

Remember that there is some variability in what is considered “typical” development.  An in-person assessment is required to say whether your son really meets any of these criteria, so bring your concerns to your pediatrician so that s/he can help you determine whether your son’s development is typical. Your pediatrician can then help you decide whether further evaluation is warranted.