We have a nineteenth month old son who we’ve been concerned about for several months. He was saying three of four words a few months ago but now has lost that ability. In addition, he rarely responds to his name. I know these are two classic red flags for Autism/PDD NOS.
Couple notes of interest on our son. He seems to be very social -- will look you in the eye when you have his attention (will maintain solid eye contact --- not just a fleeting glance), does not seem to exhibit typical autism behaviors (no constant lining up of toys, stacking of blocks, preoccupation with wheels on a car ----- plays with toys appropriately --- does seem to engage in some pretend play like talking on the phone, etc), no major repetitive movements although he will occasionally move his arms up and down and will walk on his toes. His motor skills seem good ----- can feed himself hold a pen and scribble, throw a ball, etc.
We’ve had him evaluated at Early Steps and at this point they did not feel he was on the spectrum. We also had his hearing checked through a pediatric ENT (interestingly enough when they took him in the sound chambers he responded (turned his head to the appropriate side) almost every single time they whispered his name. The ABA therapist who is working with him says he is very atypical for a child to be on the spectrum given his social skill sets.
All that being said, I don’t know what else this could be other than autism or PDD NOS and so I'm assuming a “worst case scenario” and have him in six to eight hours a week of therapy (ABA). He has begun to say a few words again since beginning therapy (mama, go, bye) a few weeks ago and has started to wave and say bye fairly regularly.
I guess my question is realistically could this be anything other than autism/ pdd nos given the lack of response to his name and the regression in language and if so what might it be?