Is my two year old son autistic?

[indianmommy123]

hi, i've 23month old son. I'm doubting that he is showing autism symptoms. He has very poor language skills. his vocabulary is very poor may be 10 words maximum. he doesnt say anyword clearly. he runs everywhere and explores all sorts of things. he likes to take handfull of rice, sand, face powder etc and throws everywhere. when he is upset he bangs his head slightly ( i mean not so rough that he hurts himself). when i call his name he no more responds. earlier he used to respond to his name. he doesnt concentrate when we are talking to him. thats why it has became difficult to teach him language. but he has very great ears. he catch slightest sounds and recognises them immediately for example a running tap 20feet away. he doesnt stay for long in our arms. he generally plays with other children and other adults. he doesnt maintain eye contact at all. it is as if he shys away. he flaps hands when excited or happy. he doesnt show any interest in eating at all. we have to force-feed every meal and even milk. when he is hungry he takes only first two-three bites with interest, later he refuses to open his mouth. we distract him with TV and feed him. at night he sleeps for 8 hours usually but gets up crying atleast 2 or 3 times and then sleeps on may lap. language skills have become major problem. my mothertongue is different from that of my husband's. i talk to our kid in my language and my husband uses his mothertoungue with our kid.One more thing, he plays with wheels of toy cars. he doesnt move the toy cars, he used to move toy cars when he used to crawl. And he tries to spin every object. is he autistic? he shows some intelligence too, for example he figured out to operate TV with remote, he figured out to operate microwave, he can off-on switches, he remembers exact switches related to light and fan and calling bell. he can on-off flashlight and can open flashlight and take our batteries/cells. he also opens TV-remote and takes off batteries. he shows interest in video games on mobile phones. he can operate camera on mobile phone and is aware of it.

[indianmommy123]

thanks for your post specialmom. i live in india. our regular pediatrician is not much aware of autism, he recommended child psychologist. Now we have to explore developmental pediatrician/child psychologist who are rare to find where i live. i'm sooo freaked out. i just want to hear my child is normal. looks like in US you have perfect system.

[specialmom]

Hi.  Sounds like you have a sweet and active little boy.  I'm not sure where you live but I do think that seeing a developmental pediatrician would be a wise idea.  I know how our system works here in the US and can help if you are living here but if not, check to see what you would need to do within the health care system where you live.  

Many kids have a variety of issues, but early intervention is the key.  They can do amazing things to help our children!  In the US, a team of people would be assigned to help your son with early intervention through agencies in the city you live in.  It is provided for by law.  Speech therapists, occupational therapists, and physical therapists would all be available to help.  

I will also say that kids develop at different rates and there is a wide range of normal.  That is why an assessment is a great idea to find out what your next step should be.  Peace and good luck