Expert: James Michael Roan - 4/17/2008

Question
Hello,

I've recently become concerned about my 13 month old son having autistic tendencies.
I've been driving myself slightly insane reading all of the different things I find online and I'm not sure what to believe.
We've scheduled a doctor's appointment with the family doctor for next week but I would like some advice in the meantime. I realize
that it's probably too early to tell, but there are just certain things that make me wonder.

Here are a number of things about him:

Pros
-------------
•Responds to name 60% of the time
•Feeds himself most of the time
•Engages in play activities with parents (pushing a car back and forth)
•Does not mind being cuddled, likes being tickled
•Enjoys reading
•Cruises along furniture, sits, etc.
•Smiles and makes eye contact
•Shows 'some' interest in other children
•sleeps through the night
•babbles frequently

Cons
---------------------
•Does not show an interest in sharing
•Does not point to objects to show interest
•Twists hand in front of mouth frequently
•Does not use any words with meaning or context
•Does not show same interests as other children (i.e. at play group instructor brings out a number of toys which all children reach for, but our son does not seem interested at all)
•Likes spinning things
•does not always grasp objects properly (i.e. won't bang on a drum with a drumstick, would rather eat it).

Am I just jumping the gun and/or being paranoid? Will these things remedy themselves in the next few months? Should I be worried? Does
he just like to 'march to the beat of his own drum'? ...!

Thanks in advance.
Bill  

Answer
Hi Bill;

Your pediatrician will probably tell you to wait and see. It will be difficult to find someone to assess him at this age. You can look for an autism team at a university near you or a Children's Hospital.

Here are the red flags for autism compiled from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Center for Disease Control and the University of Washing Autism Unit:

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

Let me know how he measures up and take your notes to your pediatrician.

Kind regards,
James