Autisim or Not

Hi
Please help, I have an eleven month old boy who seems healthy.  Sometimes he ignores me when i say his name, he seems to stare into space.  He seems quite happy playing on his own.  I spend lots of time trying to read to him but he seems to lack concentraction and wonders off.  He is saying a few words, but does not say mama.  He has never been a cuddly baby, so i have always struggled to kiss and cuddle him.  He will just come over and get himself up on me for a cuddle now and again.  He is waving, clapping, but does not point to things.  I ask him to bring toys to me to get him to interact but he does not.  He is not walking yet.  When he is playing he rarely looks at me, and if he does its just a quick glance.  He has just started to smile at people he does not know, but i have to really work on him to get big laughs.  Do you think this could be autisim or am i panicking.

[888mom]

If you have concerns as a parent, address them with your pediatrician.  Find out what are appropriate time lines for children to do things.  If your pediatrician just dismisses your concerns and says don't worry, do stay on top of your concerns.  11 months is probably too early to tell.  Most kids don't say any word until they are closer to 15 months or so.  My daughter didn't say a single word until she was after 2. Pediatricians are now supposed to screen for autism at the 18 month visit and then again at the 24 month visit.  Is your son hitting all his milestones on time?  Waving and clapping are good.  My daughter did neither of those until she was after 2.  She also did not point to things.  My daughter was very cuddly with me when she was a baby.  Actually I couldn't put her down.  Some kids have sensory cravings for touch and others have sensory aversions to touch.  Sometimes having a craving or aversion is separate from autism.  

There is a website that shows milestones.  It's an autism website called First Steps.  There are a ton of them out there besides this one.  I just don't remember most of them since it's been a few years since I've looked.  My daughter missed just about every single one of her milestones, both physical ones like sitting, standing, crawling, as well as the talking ones.

Oh here's the web site:
http://www.firstsigns.org/healthydev/milestones.htm

[888mom]

Oh, forgot to add the website I listed above shows that pointing is part of the 15 month age milestone.  15 months is also their milestone age to use 3 words including mama and dada.  12 months is the age they listed as turning head to respond to their name when called. So I guess that is something as a parent to keep a watch on and see.  If he doesn't respond to sounds, having his hearing tested at some point when he's a little older might be an option.  They usually do that closer to age 2, though.  Again, ask your pediatrician lots of questions.  If you have a good pediatrician for your son, they should address your concerns and give you timelines for things.