Expert: James Michael Roan - 12/24/2008

Question
QUESTION: My son is just barely 8 months old. He does not always responds to his name when called, I would say 50% of the time at best and in many cases I have to say it over and over again. I know it is too early to know for sure but could this be a red flag? He crawled at 6 1/2 months, started pulling up on things shortly after and now walks if he has something to push or hold onto. He socially smiled around 4 to 6 weeks (can't remember for sure). He loves being held but also plays well by himself for up to 10 minutes or so, maybe longer at times, depending on his mood. He laughed for the first time around 4 months but it was minimal and took a lot of work and rarely laughed after that until 5 months or so.  He laughs more easily now but we use to have to put a big song and dance on for him just to get a giggle. He claps, but does not play peek a boo although finds it pretty funny when I do. He makes eye contact but not always and I am unsure how much is normal, he does initiate eye contact though. He loves loves loves our dog she will always make him smile. He has been saying dada for a while but indiscriminately and recently started saying mama, again the word has no meaning. He does other baby babble like gaga, nana etc. He doesn't seem to know what any words are though. I can't say toy and he knows he is getting a toy, at least not that I can tell.

Thanks

ANSWER: Hi Mae;

The only research validated predictor of autism (Geraldine Dawson) is "failing to orient to name." Below are some other "possible red flags" for autism provided by Shari Roan, but keep in mind how young your son is. For example, we expect "pointing to objects of interest" to arrive normally between 9-15 months. That's a big window. Infants don't appear to make much eye contact up close or when being held, but will do so at a distance. Keep some data on walking into a room and calling your son's name. Also record what he is or is not doing and get back to me. He is more or less on the border of concern at 50%.

From Shari Roan:


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.


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

QUESTION: I don't understand your statement "Infants don't appear to make much eye contact up close or when being held, but will do so at a distance" Normal infants or infants at risk of autism? How much eye contact is normal. He will  make eye contact up close and at a distant but it is usually brief. He seems to constantly be looking around at things all over the place. My son will turn towards me when I say his name from a distance but I think that has more to do with turning to an noise. If I am close up to him he rarely if ever turns to me when I call his name. I know he can hear because if I come up behind him and snap behind him he turns towards the noise. However if I am holding him I can say his name over and over and over and he just ignores me. Also he never hands me things. NEVER. Today when I was feeding him I packed up the food in a container and handed it to him, he just played with the container and when I put my hand out he didn't offer to give the container back to me for help or anything. Again he is 8 months old, am I expecting too much from him or should he be handing things to me by now and/or wanting help with things?

ANSWER: Hi Mae;

It's really hard to quantify eye contact when it requires observation by a skilled individual in this area. He is pretty young to have any high expectations. He may or may not have some developmental delay. If you email me at: roanpsych@gmail.com, I can send you a developmental screener. That is more reliable than my knowledge level. Also, let me know if you live in the U.S. or another country so I can provide you with next steps.


I will be away from my computer for the next three hours.

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.



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

QUESTION: Just an update, we did away with all nicknames and only used his name. Within just a few days he improved greatly with responding to his name and is only getting better at it. Almost every time I walk into a room and say his name he looks and makes eye contact immediately. Sometimes if we're talking about him and say his name in passing he responds. I didn't realize it until we cut out the nick names but he had a new nickname almost every day. Ranging from Diaper Butt to Pinchy and on and on.

Answer
Hi Mae;

That is great news!

Merry Christmas!

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.