Expert: James Michael Roan - 10/11/2007

Question
QUESTION: My ten month old is pretty normal, with a few minor things that concerns me. First of all, the normal stuff. My ten month old crawls, stands herself up while holding on to furniture, babbles, points, loves looking in the mirror, smiles quite a bit, responds to her name, understands what the word "no" means,  and she also laughs. There are a few things that concerns me however. My ten month old likes to flap her hands sometimes. Not all the time, and not what I consider to be compulsively, but sometimes, she would be sitting there on the floor and all of a sudden flap her hands for a few seconds. Also, over the past few weeks, she has started banging her head in the high chair or car seat. My first thought was that she does it when we have her in the car seat or high chair, and she doesnt want to be there, but the other night she was sitting on my lap, and she started moving her head back so the back of her head will hit my arm. She did it a few times and then stopped. She does not do this often, but it is something I have noticed.  I am wondering if these things are normal for a ten month old. Like I said, all the other things that they say to look for are fine. Thanks for reading.

ANSWER: Hi Joe;

I wouldn't worry about it. She sounds just fine. Hand flapping is actually a normal way for children to regulate their arousal or excitement level. Red flags for autism at this age:

6-12 Month Markers:

·   Infrequent eye contact
·   Failure to orient to name
·   Does not smile in response to smiles from others
·   Social and emotional passivity
·   Fixation on objects


She sounds just fine to me.

Kind regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your quick response. You just gave me HUGE sigh of relief. What do you make of the head banging in the car seat and high chair? Also, it probably doesnt matter, but there is a second cousin on the wife's side that has Asberger's. Again, thank you very much.

Answer
Hi Joe;

The head banging is sensory related, don't worry about it unless it becomes extreme. Sometimes it is in response to pain from an ear infection.

Right now, the only reliable predictive statistic we have on relations with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are between siblings or if either parent had a previous child with an ASD. Beyond that, and in your case, your daughter's odds of having an ASD are the same as they are in the general population: 1 in 150 children and boys having ASD 5 times more often than girls.

Kind regards and enjoy your little girl!

-James