Aa
development
I'm concerned about my sons gesture development. He is 15 months old. He didn't start babbling until 8 months. He started showing/giving me objects at 11 months. He started really reaching for items around 12 months although he reached for items months earlier that were close to him. He started waving at the end of 14 months. He recently started pointing at pictures in books and using his index finger to touch toys. However, he won't use his index finger to point to things that are out of his reach. Instead he just reaches with his hand. He won't clap. If I try to put his hands together to clap he pulls them away and gets upset. He enjoys playing hide and seek and watching me do peek-a-boo, but he won't do peek-a-boo himself with his hands. He is saying a lot of words and repeating words. He doesn't show any other signs of autism, but I'm worried these items I mentioned above could be early signs of autism. What are your thoughts? I've discussed with my doctor and he doesn't seem to be concerned, but of course I am.
You know how they say hindsight is 20/20? Well, looking back now, my son was different from birth. When he was put in daycare at 4 mos, little comments from the daycare workers made us think he was the "fussiest" one of the bunch in his age group, which I'm sure he was. When he was able to sit up on his own, I don't remember the age, but he was in the appropriate age level for this, he began to really investigate toys, but not use them as they were intended. He would turn them over to try to understand how they worked. He would constantly look for the imperfection. He was facinated with "tags" for a while, you know the bar code type. He found spinning wheels was enjoyable and if you took it away from him, he would become distressed.
At his well baby visits, he would always hit all the milestones, some of which he was ahead of other children (like words). The lone exception was pointing at 12 months which he really didn't do until he was about 2. I remember that when he started to crawl, he would go really fast and look at the wall while crawling. At the time we thought "oh, isn't that cute, he's trying to see how fast he's going". Nope, what he was really doing was what is called a visual self-stimulatory behavior. He still does this quite often, looking at things either out of the corner of his eye. He was also facsinated by credits on movies which we thought he was trying to read them but no, this was also a visual stimulation. My son does not flap his hands like a lot of autie kids, his stim is mainly visual.
He didn't sleep through the night until he was 16 months old, although I know of lots of kids who are autistic that had no problems sleeping the first two years. He never shared things with us until he was about 2 years old. He was extremely fussy when taking him to a store as an infant. I don't mean fussy like a person with a normal child might be talking about. When my son cried, it was like someone was putting a knife in his stomach. It was blood curdling and it was constant. He was probably crying from all the normal sensations that most infants have to learn to adjust and adapt to (gas, strange food, body movement, unexpected noises and such). However, to an autistic child, their ability to adapt to unique stimuli takes longer and they react to changes much differently than normal children. Much different than the whiney cries you hear from normal children. All along, the doctors said everything was normal.
At his 1 year old birthday party was when I really "knew" something wasn't right. There were other boys there his age and they were just SO different. It was like my son was drunk or high looking and they were alert and adventuresome. When I have looked back on the video I made that day, you can hear me pointing out the differences and how amazed I was at the other boys. I told my wife afterward and she got mad at me. My mother in law and my own mother thought I was wrong. Being a new parent, I listened to others, especially the grandmothers who had 9 children between them. I figured they surely know better than me, a new Dad.
I also chalked up a lot of his temperament to my wife. He seems to have her same level of patience (short). I still think this is part of who he is and normal for him. However, the adaptive behavior is far worse than any child I have seen, under most circumstances.
At 17 months, my son was talking in sentences, not often, but one sentences really sticks out in my mind. He pointed to me and said "You my Daddy". He hasn't used the word You properly sense. He now thinks his name is You.
By 19 months, he had lost his ability to identify objects and basically stopped talking for about 2 months (following the flu vaccine). Now I'm not blaming this on vaccines so don't get me wrong. However, it was very coincidental.
Let's fast forward to where we are now. My son is talking in longer sentences, up to 9 words (he's 3.9 years old). His pronunciation is better than almost all the other boys and a large number of girls in his class. He loves his classmates, he reads at about a 1st grade level, can read literally hundreds of words, can verbally spell about 50 words and can do simple arithmetic. He is loving, has obsessional interests, eye contact is better, he asks questions, joint attention, knows all the planets, and smiles, giggles, loves his mommy and daddy, lies all the time to avoid punishment and is generally a good kid with a good heart and a gentle disposition with other children. And he is VERY AUTISTIC.
After having so many deja vu moments with him, I discovered that I too am autistic and have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I also found out that my nephew has Asperger's, his diagnoses hidden from the family by my sister.
Learning about my own autism has made me a better parent and advocate for him. It's funny, looking back at my old childhood pictures, it was clear that I was autistic. However, the diagnosis was very clear cut in the early 70's and I wouldn't have been diagnosed with it back then because only classic autism (also know as Kanner Autistic) was diagnosed. In 1994, the diagnosis was broadened to include autistics like myself and my son. I don't know if he will be as high functioning as me, but he is certainly smarter than me at that age I'm sure of.
Whatever happens, always remember that this is the same child you held in your arms after his birth. Nothing has changed. Early intervention does wonders too! Also, autistic children have many strengths that normal people do not have. Harness those strengths.
One really good assessment tool for a child at 18 months is called the M-CHAT which you can do. Here is a link: http://www.utmem.edu/pediatrics/general/clinical/m-chat.pdf
Here is a link on how to interpret the test: http://www.firstsigns.org/downloads/m-chat_scoring.PDF
I hope this helps. If you would like to discuss further, you can email me at foxglovenursery ....at....mac....dot....com
At his well baby visits, he would always hit all the milestones, some of which he was ahead of other children (like words). The lone exception was pointing at 12 months which he really didn't do until he was about 2. I remember that when he started to crawl, he would go really fast and look at the wall while crawling. At the time we thought "oh, isn't that cute, he's trying to see how fast he's going". Nope, what he was really doing was what is called a visual self-stimulatory behavior. He still does this quite often, looking at things either out of the corner of his eye. He was also facsinated by credits on movies which we thought he was trying to read them but no, this was also a visual stimulation. My son does not flap his hands like a lot of autie kids, his stim is mainly visual.
He didn't sleep through the night until he was 16 months old, although I know of lots of kids who are autistic that had no problems sleeping the first two years. He never shared things with us until he was about 2 years old. He was extremely fussy when taking him to a store as an infant. I don't mean fussy like a person with a normal child might be talking about. When my son cried, it was like someone was putting a knife in his stomach. It was blood curdling and it was constant. He was probably crying from all the normal sensations that most infants have to learn to adjust and adapt to (gas, strange food, body movement, unexpected noises and such). However, to an autistic child, their ability to adapt to unique stimuli takes longer and they react to changes much differently than normal children. Much different than the whiney cries you hear from normal children. All along, the doctors said everything was normal.
At his 1 year old birthday party was when I really "knew" something wasn't right. There were other boys there his age and they were just SO different. It was like my son was drunk or high looking and they were alert and adventuresome. When I have looked back on the video I made that day, you can hear me pointing out the differences and how amazed I was at the other boys. I told my wife afterward and she got mad at me. My mother in law and my own mother thought I was wrong. Being a new parent, I listened to others, especially the grandmothers who had 9 children between them. I figured they surely know better than me, a new Dad.
I also chalked up a lot of his temperament to my wife. He seems to have her same level of patience (short). I still think this is part of who he is and normal for him. However, the adaptive behavior is far worse than any child I have seen, under most circumstances.
At 17 months, my son was talking in sentences, not often, but one sentences really sticks out in my mind. He pointed to me and said "You my Daddy". He hasn't used the word You properly sense. He now thinks his name is You.
By 19 months, he had lost his ability to identify objects and basically stopped talking for about 2 months (following the flu vaccine). Now I'm not blaming this on vaccines so don't get me wrong. However, it was very coincidental.
Let's fast forward to where we are now. My son is talking in longer sentences, up to 9 words (he's 3.9 years old). His pronunciation is better than almost all the other boys and a large number of girls in his class. He loves his classmates, he reads at about a 1st grade level, can read literally hundreds of words, can verbally spell about 50 words and can do simple arithmetic. He is loving, has obsessional interests, eye contact is better, he asks questions, joint attention, knows all the planets, and smiles, giggles, loves his mommy and daddy, lies all the time to avoid punishment and is generally a good kid with a good heart and a gentle disposition with other children. And he is VERY AUTISTIC.
After having so many deja vu moments with him, I discovered that I too am autistic and have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. I also found out that my nephew has Asperger's, his diagnoses hidden from the family by my sister.
Learning about my own autism has made me a better parent and advocate for him. It's funny, looking back at my old childhood pictures, it was clear that I was autistic. However, the diagnosis was very clear cut in the early 70's and I wouldn't have been diagnosed with it back then because only classic autism (also know as Kanner Autistic) was diagnosed. In 1994, the diagnosis was broadened to include autistics like myself and my son. I don't know if he will be as high functioning as me, but he is certainly smarter than me at that age I'm sure of.
Whatever happens, always remember that this is the same child you held in your arms after his birth. Nothing has changed. Early intervention does wonders too! Also, autistic children have many strengths that normal people do not have. Harness those strengths.
One really good assessment tool for a child at 18 months is called the M-CHAT which you can do. Here is a link: http://www.utmem.edu/pediatrics/general/clinical/m-chat.pdf
Here is a link on how to interpret the test: http://www.firstsigns.org/downloads/m-chat_scoring.PDF
I hope this helps. If you would like to discuss further, you can email me at foxglovenursery ....at....mac....dot....com
xmsrlong,
were there things that you noticed about your son before 18-20 months that seemed different or not quite right?
were there things that you noticed about your son before 18-20 months that seemed different or not quite right?
As a father of an autistic child, I don't see that you have much to worry about based on your descriptions. Your son seems to have pretty good joint attention. Keep an eye on him as by 18-20 months is when you can really start to tell whether a child has autism or not, especially if there is a loss of language and joint attention (joint attention examples: will look at an object you are looking at, will share things with you by bringing them to you, will look in the direction or pointing, will play games with you, will give you good eye contact). Also, if he is interested in his environment is another early indicator. For instance, if he likes to pull drawers open and look at what is inside, if he copies what you are trying to do, you know, has curiosity about what his parents are doing and wants to participate (normal boys do this to a lesser degree than girls so don't do any comparisons to girls to draw conclusions).
My son was speaking in sentences at 18 months (unusual even for a normal child) and then lost that ability for about a year. Now his language is right on track, although it is peculiar at times. His first words were at 6 months (labeling about 6 or 7 objects).
One thing I have found from talking to other parents is that sometimes autistic children have an "odd" way of hugging. For instance, sometimes (use to be more) he will come to me for a hug but then will turn his back to me and want a reverse hug. Its something to do with sensory problems with a front hug that seems to precipitate this behavior. I don't know if normal children do this routinely, but he did it a lot when he was around 2, but not as often now. However, he has no problems coming up and giving spontaneous hugs to my legs or my wife's legs. He is much better at giving regular hugs now. I don't know if it is because he has fewer sensory issues or because we worked with him to get him to hug appropriately.
My son was speaking in sentences at 18 months (unusual even for a normal child) and then lost that ability for about a year. Now his language is right on track, although it is peculiar at times. His first words were at 6 months (labeling about 6 or 7 objects).
One thing I have found from talking to other parents is that sometimes autistic children have an "odd" way of hugging. For instance, sometimes (use to be more) he will come to me for a hug but then will turn his back to me and want a reverse hug. Its something to do with sensory problems with a front hug that seems to precipitate this behavior. I don't know if normal children do this routinely, but he did it a lot when he was around 2, but not as often now. However, he has no problems coming up and giving spontaneous hugs to my legs or my wife's legs. He is much better at giving regular hugs now. I don't know if it is because he has fewer sensory issues or because we worked with him to get him to hug appropriately.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Parents of infants and toddlers often scrutinize their children's behavior with microscopic specificity. This brings unnecessary worry and alarm. I agree with your pediatrician; there is no sign of trouble. No child develops precisely within the norms. Remember: the norms are general guidelines, and there is a lot of variation within the so-called normal spectrum. Enjoy your child's development; don't let it become a cause for consternation. When in doubt, check with your doctor, just like you did. Then accept his reassurance.
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