Expert: James Michael Roan - 2/29/2008

Question
My 21 month old is developmentally delayed and awaiting assessment. He has just begun to walk. He has no words, just babbles. He smiles and his eye contact has gone from nothing to improved. At times he shows an interest in his brother and sister but most of the time he'll do his own thing. He has begun trying to feed himself but seems to understand nothing we say to him. He isn't affectionate and doesn't like being held alot of the time. He does smile and laugh at times but seems to be in his own world. Worried! Could this be autism or a learning disability?

Answer
Hi Cheryl;

I assume you are from Ireland or the UK? It could be due to a variety of things, mild autism being one of them. Language development goes hand-in-hand with social development. A delay in one results in a delay in the other. Take the M-CHAT and score it and get back to me with the results if you like. Please keep in mind that the M-CHAT results indicate "risk" for autism rather than a "test" for autism.

http://www.utmem.edu/pediatrics/general/clinical/m-chat.pdf


http://psychlops.psy.uconn.edu/ED/downloads/M-CHATscoring.pdf


Kind regards,
James