Expert: Celtica - 3/22/2009

Question
i have a 20 month old son who has recently been diagnosed with mild autistc characteristics. there is definitly some delayed growth in my son but i am still not convinced that it could be autism. his symptoms are conflicting. here i am penning down all the sypmtoms that do and dont suggest autism and would like appreciate peoples opinion.

things that suggest autism
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1)does not talk. not even one meaning ful word. babbles a lot. mama-dada are part of babbling. doesnt understand mom to be mama yet. his babbling is also of single consonent.. no two sounds at the same time. also humms a lot. no clear formation of any sound

2)touches eyes like an obsession. when ever either parent comes within touching distance immedeatly starts touching our eye and simultaneouly rolls his tougue in his mouth and sucks on it. kind of like thumbsucking in other children. would not go to sleep unless has access to our eyes.

3)responds to name arn 40% of the time only. seems like it depends on his mood . sometimes i just call out to him from accross the room once and he immedeatly turns. other times i'll be sitting right next to him and he will pretend to be deaf.

4)likes round objects though not obsessed with them. but loves to examine wheels on the toys. but can use the entie toy also. i mean when he plays witha toy truck he turns the wheel a lot but then puts the truck on the ground and tried to make it go.

5)eye contact 50% of the time. if i say things he likes , like his fav rhyme, he will immedeatly look up and keep looking at me till i finish thew rhyme. but when i ask him somehting,or try to talk to him , or point out things in the house, he will refuse to look at me.

6)does not point to things he wants but looks at it tries to reach for it himself and if he cant will let it go. nor does he look in the direction i point out. if i want to show him things like light and fan he wont look there..and will show his irritation by tring to get away from me.

7)many times doesnt respond when being spoken to, even if i sit at his eye level he pretends he cant hear me.

8) occasionally shows aggression if he is being kept off something he likes by banging his head on the wall.

9) refuses to take the sipper or glass, still drinks milk from bottle. though water he can drink by straw also.

10) cannot stack blocks or anything. just keeps throwing the toys all over the house or banging them together.

11) keeps sqealing with delight and running all over the house with a big smile on his face without any reason. seems liek he can see something that we cant. he has some private source of joy that no one else seems to get.


things that dont suggest autism:
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1)enjoys playing with everyone.

2)takes intiative in games like pee-ka-boo. hides and waits for me to seek
smiles and giggles when ticked. loves being rocked or swung in the air.

3)undestands few instructions like shut the door, u want water, clap ur hands, stamp feet, roll hands, jump, turn arnd, give me, kick the ball,

4)shows affection by streaching arms to be picked and hugs.when picked up hugs tightly and seems very content to be held. during family time, when my husband , my daughter and i are on the bed he immedeatly jumps in and wants to join in the fun.

5)feeds me when i open my mouth and enjoys the appreciation.

6) stands on the edge of bed and jumps when his sister counts to three. and laughs.

7)when i say 'piggie back' in a sing song voice,  immedeatly comes to me and turns me around to climb on my back.

8) points to a few body parts like cheek, chin, hair, eyes, nose, teeth, tongue. but will not point to them every time he is asked.some times will just stare at me blankly as though cant understand a word. but has shown them a few times so i know that he knows.

9) LOVES to watch nursery rhymes cd. gets very excited when sees me going towards the player..and even before i switch it on he takes is place on his fav chair in the room. most of the knowledge that i mentioned in (3) and (8) are due to these rhymes only. he immitates the actions of many of the rhymes.

10)tries to help while dressing him by putting arms and legs in the rigtht places.

11) when ever wakes from a nap comes out of the room and comes straight to me and streches arms to be picked up and clings to me for quite some time.

12) shows signs of begining of potty training. htough never indicates on his own if he has to go but can pee when taken to the bathroom.

other than these conflicting signs he is a fairly intelligent child. knows his way arnd the house. up to mischeif all the time. he can deduce things quite fast. like he loves going into the bathroom to play with water. we have childproofed the doors so if he sees the locks in place then wont bother with that door but goes to find another one that is unlocked.loves to scribble and when ever finds a pencil does not scribble on the wall but on the table-top where he sees his sister sits and writes.he can climb up almost anything in the house table, chairs, beds.

the main reason we took him for check up in th first place was his lack of communication. he is not using any words. i know that he knows certain words like he makes the sound bup for bye bye as he has said that a few times and waved also but even that not always.there is not interest to communicate. it seems as though he is satisfied with the way things are and shows no inclination ot go further. if i persist with his and keep asking his to say somehting he gets irritted and wants to run off. the signs of autism usually mentioned like hand flapping, or rocking or arranging things in line are absent. though he does jump on the balls of his feet quite a lot but only when he is super excited abt something like his fav rhyme has come on or we are playing his fav game.

so now from this detailed description i would like help from anyone who can abt weather this could be a case of autism or just delayed in speech. i hvae read many moms complainig that their kids didnt speak till 20 22 months and then spoke properly after that. could i be one of these lucky moms.


Answer
Hi
I'm affraid I can't help you with this question. I'm not a doctor, and even if I was, it's pretty much impossible to say much without seeing and interacting with the child in person. I personally think that 20 months is quite early for a diagnosis (but these days many kids are diagnosed very early). From what you write, he could indeed have mild autism/traits, as his doctors suggest, but it's equally possible it's "just" a speech delay. Either way (meaning he might still grow it out - or not), getting therapy as soon as possible would be a good thing, no matter what final the diagnosis is. Also, you could try to contact your local autism socity and get in touch with other parents so you can hear what they say about their kids and if that sounds familiar.

Best wishes
C.