AboutMichelle Fattig Expertise I can answer questions about educational testing, autism, Asperger's Syndrome, ADD/ADHD, Special Education, IEP, Learning Disabilities, Sensory Processing, Parent Advocacy, Response to Intervention, living and parenting with disabilities, parent rights in special education, school psychology, and more. I cannot provide a medical diagnosis.
Experience I am a school psychologist, medical technologist, author of the Annie Books series: Experience Aspeger's Syndrome and Attention Deficits Through the Eyes of a Child, RTI facilitator, ILCD facilitator, parent advocate, presenter, and researcher. My children and I have Asperger's, ADD/ADHD, and learning disabilities.
Organizations National Association of School Pyschologists, American Medical Technologists, Learning Disabilities Association of Nebraska
Education/Credentials Ed.S. in School Psychology, doctoral studies in SPED Law, SPED Systems Enhancement Leadership, and doctoral candidate Education Leadership. MT(AMT) and MLT(ASCP)
Expert: Michelle Fattig Date: 1/8/2008 Subject: 4.5 month old son
Question Hello
I am a mother of twins. My husband and I were blessed with a baby girl and a baby boy. I know I shouldn't compare my children, but my daughter always smiles and laughs out loud. My son on the other hand, coos and babbles and loves his playmat but his smiles seem to be lessoning and he definitely doesn't laugh. He also doesn't make eye contact when his name is called like my daughter. Everything I read on line steers me in the direction of autism and I am completely freaked out about the situation. Can his behavior be becasue he is teething?
Answer At 4 1/2 months, it is probably too early to get overly worried, however, it is always good to be informed! The author of the book, The Female Brain, does a lovely job of explaining why girls and boys are so different in their need to interact emotionally. Dr. Louann Brizendine, states in her book, "women have 11 percent more neurons than men. The principal hub of both emotion and memory formation-the hippocampus-is also larger in the female brain, as is the circuitry for language and observing emotions in others and remembering details of emotional events." Even in infancy, girls are more hard-wired to look for approval and parental expression than boys. Baby girl's brains are "even more sensitive to emotional nuance, such as approval and disapproval, acceptance and rejection." Teething can, of course, cause crankiness and diminished laughter and smiles for a time. Give him a little time, and try to compare him to develomental charts and milestones for little boys. The natural inclination would be to compare him to his sister, but it is a bit like comparing apples to oranges. On the other hand, my children are autistic, I am autistic (and working on my third PhD program), my brother (an internal medicine physician) is autistic, his children, my sister, and her children....etc. etc. There are many, many brilliant and contributing members of society on the spectrum. If, down the road, you do find reason to have your son evaluated and if he is, indeed, on our team, take heart in the fact that it is not as dire of a "diagnosis" as one might believe. I, quite frankly, consider us to be "on the cool team." If there is anything else that I can help with, please let me know.
