Expert: James Michael Roan - 1/21/2008

Question
There is so much in the news about Autism that it is hard for a new parent not to worry even when it seems nothing is wrong.  The only area I am concerned about is my 15 month old son's lack of eye contact with strangers.  He makes eye contact with us most of the time, but with strangers he will look at them briefly and then looks away.  Is this just because they are new to him?  He is a very friendly, happy baby.  He has always been a good sleeper.  He has about 4-6 words that he uses consistently.  Again, I'm not overly worried except for the eye contact.

Answer
Hi Leah;

Some children are more nervous, shy, or avoidant of strangers because a stranger's behavior may be unpredictable to them and thus more frightening. I have provided you with a list of red flags for autism below. In autism we are primarily looking at social delays that affect social and communication development.

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

By 12 Months:

·   Poor or no eye contact
·   Failure to orient to name
·   Poor imitation
·   No babbling by 12 months
·   No gesturing by 12 months

By 16 Months:

·   No single words by 16 months
·   No pointing to objects or events of interest in an effort to share

By 24 Months:

·   No spontaneous two-word phrases
·   Loss of any language or social skills at any age

Kind regards,
James