Expert: James Michael Roan - 12/14/2008

Question
I have recently become worried about my daughter possible having autism. She hit all of her six month milestones but, sometimes will not respond to her name. She also does alot of arm flapping and rapid feet movements. She has also never liked to be rocked or cuddled. Do you think I have anything to worry about?

Answer
Hi Ashley;

It is really tough to know much at this age. I have included some red flags from Shari Roan, but again they are for six months through one year. Many typically developing infants have poor eye contact up close so it is not always a valid predictor of autism at this age. We expect most children to respond to their name about 60% of the time or more. We are really looking for social development or lack there of. Stereotypies like hand flapping occur in 20 percent of typically developing children. Keep a close eye on her social development. Are you able to briefly establish joint attention with her? Is there any small evidence of an attempt to share on her part?


Possible symptoms at 6 -12 months:

-Not making eye contact with parents during interaction
-Not cooing or babbling
-Not smiling when parents smile
-Not participating in vocal turn-taking (baby makes a sound, adult makes a sound, and so forth)
-Not responding to peek-a-boo game
-Passivity and decreased activity
-Extreme distress reactions
-Fixation on objects


Kind regards,
James




James Roan Bio:

James Roan (roanpsych@gmail.com) has been consulting in the areas of autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, and learning difficulties in the United States and in Ireland for over ten years. James Roan has traveled to Galway, Limerick, Mayo, Clare, Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and other cities and counties across Ireland assessing children and adults, and consulting with solicitors (lawyers) in defense of children with disability and with enforcement of their rights. James Roan was the consulting psychologist responsible for many of the autism and ADHD screening tools and other content for www.accessspecialneeds.com. James Roan is the past president and current board member of the autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation. James Roan consulted with the graduate department of the Waterford Institute of Technology in the development of their graduate program for the certification of private autism tutors.