Is it too early to suspect autism?

[cmc1a]

I am concerned that my 9 month old niece is exhibiting signs of autism.  Her brow is often knitted, and she looks so disstressed.  She cries when her environment is too stimulating.  She is not crawling or pulling up yet; however, she is constantly flapping her hands.  She rocks when she sits up.  She is not making any sounds other than crying, unlike her very happy twin sister.  Her twin sister is crawling and squealing and exhibiting normal 9 month old behavior.  Please advise.  

[margypops]

doesnt sound like a problem at all , sounds like normal 9month old behavior,she just needs more attention and  Fun and Games ,dont compare the two of them very often one twin is more ahead, sometimes kids progress at their own level, .give it time and give her what she wants more attention.

[Sally44]

What are the parents saying?
They can start bringing up their concerns at paediatrician visits for her developmental checks.
Although she is very young I would recommend you google the name Olga Bogdashina and read an article by her in Autism Today.  If that sounds relevant you can read her book called Sensory and Perceptual Differences in Autism and Aspergers.  It has a sensory profile questionnaire at the back of the book that parents can complete.  It is a legitimate questionnaire and the Autism Advisory Department in my city uses this checklist and has invited Olga to come to speak to professionals and parents in our city.
I have also started a Health Page about the characteristics behind the diagnostic criteria for autism.  You can access this by clicking on the Health Page icon at the top right hand corner of the page.  This might give her parents some ideas of what they should be looking for.
So her parents could read up on some info, so they are aware of what kind of things to be looking for.  9 months is very young, and whilst raising their concerns, they will probably have to wait to see how she develops.  If there are definate sensory issues they should ask for involvement of an Occupational Therapist who has experience in Sensory Integration Disorder.  The fact that her twin is so different should be mentioned, but I am not sure what the professional response to this will be.
If she doesn't begin to develop speech by a certain time (discuss the timescale with her paediatrician), then you should ask for a referal to Speech and Language Therapist, and again ask for a communication centre that deals with autistic spectrum disorders.
The earlier the intervention the better the prognosis.  And if she does have these type of issues she will need supports in place for when she starts nursery, and depending on how she develops she may need a specialist type of nursery.
Having said that, it is a very worrying time for parents and children can develop and progress in leaps and bounds.  So I am acknowledging your concerns and really saying get clued up and raise your concerns now.

[888mom]

Her behavior might just be her temperment.  Or maybe she has some sensory issues.

Not sure how early is too early to exhibit signs of autism.  My daughter started arm flapping around 6 months old maybe...???  She also immediately hated anything touching her body.  Hated socks, hats, shoes, and well, long sleeve clothing. She'll tolerate long sleeves and pants now at 2, but not before... given that we moved to a colder climate from a warmer climate, I was very happy to leave the thermostat at 75 all winter long and wear shorts indoors myself.  She managed to kick off her socks and get her hat off her head in the hospital after being born.  Day 1.  Oh, and the whole thing about how all kids loved to be swaddled.  Nope.  No swaddling.  She loved being held by mommy and daddy, but not wrapped up in a blanket.  Still won't wear a blanket to this day.  Then again, I don't either, so didn't think much of any of that.  I also hate socks and hats.  Just thought, okay she'll be just like dear old mom.  Well, I guess I have my own issues too.

Anyways, I don't think doctors start screening for autism until 18 months typically.  There are wide ranges of when kids will start doing things.  I think crawling by 12 months and walking by 16 months is when doctors start to show concern.  There is early intervention for kids who are behind in all these areas, but at 9 months, I don't think they are going to be concerned about your child not doing those things.  My daughter didn't do those things.  She rolled over at 6 months, sat at 7 months, crawled at 12 months, pulled up at 13 months, and walked at 16 months.  All of it right before doctors started to get worried.  Literally the doc said, if she doesn't walk at 16 months, call me.  She walked at exactly 16 months.  

Now, my nephew also showed a lot of early signs of what my sister thought might be autism.  He outgrew a lot of them and was talking early and is quite social to make up for the lateness on other things.  He arm flapped and hated certain textures or touching certain things.  He still is a little bit squeemish about wierd feeling things like soap, sand on his toes, etc.  But, aside from that, he hardly fits the criteria for autism.  He's now almost 4, and everything my sister had concerns about him when he was less than 1 year of age he outgrew by the time he was 15 to 18 months of age or so.  

So I guess my advice, as a parent of a child, is keep making notes, voice all your concerns with the pediatrician, and keep going to those well child checkups with all your concerns.  If I remember correctly, at least with my daughter... they are like every 3 months until 18 months of age and then the next at age 2.  Check with the pediatrician when you should start being concerned and ask for ways that you can help her.  Is there something like some sort of exercises you can do with her that might speed along something?  Or stuff you shoudl stop doing?  (My daughter's pediatrician told me to get rid of her exersaucer and just keep trying with trying to hold her up and get her to walk)  Other thing was that my daughter was taller and heavier than average.  Her height and weight matched up, but she was above the 97% for both, which meant her muscles had to develop stronger to support a bigger body.  Usually bigger kids do stuff a little later.

One thing I did do with my daughter is I used a baby sling until she could walk.  I started early on like when she was only 6 weeks old. That probably delayed her walking some.  But it provided her with security and comfort. And although she was a tall baby, I still had her in the sling even at 1 year old.   I ended up trying several types of slings until I found one that worked.  My sister ended up doing the same (we ended up trading so we didn't go broke on slings!).  Sling isn't a guarantee that it would help, but if she is craving sensory stimulation, then it might help.  However, she may hate it if she doesn't like the feeling.  But, I figure everythign is worth a try (even if you have to ask someone to borrow something before you purchase it so you don't throw money out the window or find stuff at a child consignment shop).

Anyways, enjoy your niece(s) and so should the parents.  They are young only once.  My daughter, although with many delays, I kept having to remind myself to stop comparing her to other kids, and stop freaking out with the baby books.  If there's a developmental delay, there's a delay.  And the parents will deal with it at the proper time, not fret over it when it is too early to tell.  Other thing I learned is that a worried parent can cause the kid to be worried without need.  So be happy, enjoy the kids.  :)

Well, is just my 2 cents.