Expert: Paul Johnson - 12/15/2010

Question
Hello
I am hoping you will be able to give me some advice.
I had my first and only child at 42 years old. after 3 miscarriages at 11, 6,and 4 weeks. My older brother has mild learning difficulties and schizophrenia, my nephew has mild educational difficulties.
My son is not yet pointing, clapping or formulating any real words. He is incredibly active and has amazing reflexes.
He will say mam mam mam, he will say dada to his dad.  He seems to use a range of vowels and consonants but no actual words though once I am sure he said hello and bye bye. He also does not wave, but does flap his hands when he is first put in his pram and when I come around the front of the pram to see him.  He does miss me when I leave the room, he plays with a wide range of toys but is fixated by wheels on prams buggies etc and loves the TV and will bang it when its on but ignores it if its off.  He loves grown up toys, the TV remote, mobile phones etc, but will play with his own as well.  He started crawling atabout 8 months, was crusing by 10 and walking by 12 and half.  He is inquisitive with strangers and will usually give them a winning smile.  He is only beginning to engage with other kids usually to try and poke their eyes! or grab their toys.  He does bring me stuff that he has been playing with but this is very recently in the last 4 weeks or so.  He does not really repeat sounds that I make to him. He does recognize and enjoys songs and nursery rhymes.  He went through a phase of just going nnnnnnnnnnnnnhhhhhhhh.   And still does this on waking until he is brought in to our bed. He babbles a lot and laughs and he is just cottoning on to playing tag.  He is an excellent problem solver and generally enjoys games we play but equally will be happy to play by himself.  He also likes getting in to corners of rooms.  He was two weeks late and 8 and half pounds in weight.  I was induced for 72 hours and then had to have an emergency C-section due to not dilating and him becoming distressed.   He was failure to thrive at 4 weeks but is now in the 90's percentile for height and weight for his age.  He had a milk allergy and is still allergic to eggs.  He has 8 teeth and I believe the molars and canines are coming through.  He does shake his head quite a lot whilst babbling and occasionally laughing.  I have a lot of fibroids and one side of his head (the right is a bit flat.  He favors his right hand.  He loves eating paper and cardboard.  He does step from side to side when in front of the TV and occasionally when sitting will rock back and forwards and will bang his back against door, but this is a rare occurrence.
I guess I want to know, does this sound normal or could he have autism?  I am taking him to see his doctor but in England, they are general practitioners and not paed specialists.
He is my world and I am so worried, please help me.
Sorry this is so long but I wanted to give you as much history as possible.

Answer
Hey Linda,

Thank you for your challenging question.

Unfortunately this is the most difficult of all questions because parents wish to know if their child has Autism as soon as possible and the research does state that earlier intervention is best. However this is also very challenging because when a child is very young it is near impossible to make an accurate diagnosis.

Diagnosis is key. We do not wish to treat a child for something they do not have. At best the diagnosis of any of the Autism Spectrum of Disorders are difficult but an infant can display many symptoms and has not developed language. Communication is very key to the diagnosis.

I don't like telling you this but you will have to be patient to at least the 2nd or third year of life so that the Pervasive Developmental Delays can be pervasive. PDD used to be the name of Autism. So you will have to wait until the delays persist.

A visit to a neurological pediatrician at 2 and half years old will likely give you the best compromise at early intervention.