Expert: Jene Aviram - 3/20/2009

Question
Hi!  I have a daughter who is 7 months old.  She has been continually happy since the day she was born.  She has slept through the night at 8 weeks.  She can sit on her own and is beginning to scoot backwards.  She eats about 26 ounces of formula a day and loves baby food.  However, she doesn't make a lot of eye contact.  She smiles when you come in the room to get her out of her crib.  She doesn't really look at you when you are talking and doesn't laugh very often.  She rarely babbles at all although she does make deep throated growling noises when she is frustrated.  How do I know if I should be concerned or if she is simply interested in the environment around her.  I appreciate your help!

Answer
Hi Amanda,

You are really on the ball!  Not many parents are so aware when their children are so young.  Please don't be too concerned at this stage.  There are so many research studies trying to determine if an infant has autism around your daughters age.  Despite the sophisticated equipment they sometimes use, they still have no definitive answers. It's very difficult to determine if a child has autism before 18 months.  

Your daughter is keenly learning about the environment around her.  Remember that the hallmark of autism is the atypical social awareness and interest.  Eye contact is a just one symptom of this.  Lack of eye contact alone does not equal autism.  As your daughter grows, you certainly keep an eye on her social development.  As the months go by, she should start pointing things out to you, she should bring you things.  She should be very interested in your reactions to things.  If you point at something or gasp at something, she should want to know what sparked your reaction. All this doesn't happen for a good few months so you have plenty of time.

If you find that between 10 and 12 months your daughter is not displaying social awareness, you are entitled to an evaluation by Early Intervention in your area.

At this stage, try not to worry so much (easier said than done, I know!)

I hope this has been of some help.

Jene Aviram
http://www.nlconcepts.com