AboutEttina Expertise I can't answer 'biomed' questions. I can answer questions about behavior, what it's like to be autistic, specific subtypes (especially PDA) and educational methods
Experience I have PDA, a form of autism. I have also read a lot about autism, from the internet, books and medical journals. I've also worked with autistic kids as a volunteer.
Question My son is 18.5 months, has not spoken a single word but communicates by pointing and babbling. I am concerned he may be autistic and his pediatrician has asked for regular check ins, I will explain his behaviour and hope you can provide me some insight or opinion:odd hand gestures and movements,prefers jars etc to toys,prefers but is not limited to alone play,dances 80 percent of day, seldom responds to name, usually affectionate, very active,repetetive play..ie jumping, lack of understanding commands, ignores my instructions, cannot point to body parts when asked, very good eater ie by self and all foods, advanced physically early,wants to be carried excessively, generally very happy and laughs.
Answer Your son does seem to be somewhat speech delayed - most children have said their first word by 18 months.
Whether he's autistic or not is a lot harder to determine. He does show a number of autistic traits, but lacks some others that are typical of autistic toddlers - he's more sociable and communicative than is typical for these kids.
My advice would be, for the most part, to wait and see. He would probably benefit from speech therapy, although he could easily just catch up on his own, and only time will tell whether he's actually on the autism spectrum or not.
