Expert: Trey McGowan - 5/29/2008

Question
I am concerned about my 7 month old daughter.  From the time she was one month old she had been hitting her milestones early.  I have a video of her responding to her name at about 3 months old.  She will be 7 months old tomorrow and her eye contact has decreased.  When I talk to her, she tends to look off into the distance.  She is otherwise happy.  She smiles at people, she laughs spontaneously and when we try to make her laugh, she sits indepedently, creeps backward and forward some, reaches for toys, picks up her toys, puts her feet in her mouth all the time (as well as other objects), and makes "oohhs", "aahs", and "uhh" sounds.  She says "mama" and "daddy" when she is mad or tired.  She did not start rolling from her tummy to her back consistently until last week.  She still is not combining many consonant and vowel sounds in her speech.  She does, however, have inflection and facial expressions when we exchange "dialogue".  She still can not roll from her back to her tummy.  She also does this thing where she shakes her arms and her hands when someone talks to her and she tries to "talk" back. Its not as drastic as the hand flapping I have seen consistent with Autism, but I am still worried.  

Should I be concerned about her not making milestones on the suggested target?  Does she seem to exhibit Autistic tendencies?

Thank you for your help!

Answer
Hi there, Serena!

I'm sure you've already got a good list of milestones to go with, but just in case you don't, here's a website that has a solid list of them:
http://www.parentscanada.com/developing/baby/articles.aspx?listingid=102

The general rule of thumb when it comes to milestones is that if they do not reach them in a specific time, you should not worry unless the delay is significant or the lack is drastic. After all, some children can be a bit behind in one thing or another. However, a number of significant milestones not reached is cause for at least a check from a doctor, I would say, just to see if there is a delay for a particular reason or if she is simply a bit behind in things. At the very least, it won't hurt anything, as long as you go into it with an open mind and a relaxed attitude.

Of more concern than the not making milestones is the *losing* of milestones. The lack of eye contact that had been good could, indeed, be cause for concern and should probably be brought up with the physician. At 7 months old, it may be too early to tell for certain if there are autistic tendencies or if it is simply 'one of those things' and not to be worried about, but letting the doctor know about it might be able to get a double-check that will screen for a few things early, and let you know if there is something 'up'. Plus, such things are good for peace of mind: if you are getting a bit worried, getting it off your chest early will keep it from turning into a *lot* worried, hopefully!

As for the answer to 'displaying tendencies', the problem with this is that she *is* so young that a lot of 'odd habits' can be just that. One or two autistic tendencies in a baby this young may very well just be the average 'weird child behaviour'. It is when a number of them come together, or the ones that show up are quite drastic, that things show at this early a stage in their life. Also, without being able to observe, there are possibly a number of things that weren't brought up, and may still be telling. About all I can say for sure is that yes, hand-flapping and waving can be an autistic sign, but it can also be a sign of a child showing high excitement and trying to 'burn off' some of it. A doctor's direct observation or a run through MCHAT would be much more geared to be able to answer that portion.

Hopefully my answer was helpful to you! Comments, feedback, questions, follow-ups, or whatever are more than welcome!

Trey