Autism/What to watch for

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Expert: - 7/12/2011


Question
My 8 month old daughter is not really making noises.  She does smile and get excited, but no noise comes out.  She does minimal crying, and even when she does its more of a broken cranky noise, she doesn't full out cry like babies do.  She is making a small amount of gargle noises, less than she did at 2 months.  She makes excellent eye contact, although she has periods of several hours where she is emotionless. I have never gotten her to laugh or giggle, not even with tickling.  She has a few rare health conditions but nothing related to behavior.  At this point she is failure to thrive and has fallen off the charts.  I know it is early to diagnose autism.  I am just wondering what is normal and what to watch and wait.  We do work with her all the time reading, talking, singing and playing.

Answer
Hi Lauren

By this age, your daughter really should be cooing and babbling. Cooing begins around 4 months and babbling around 6 months. So, I would highly recommend that you take her to see a speech pathologist who specializes in infants. She needs more professional stimulation and intervention than what you are doing at this time. In addition, being that she has medical history and is is a failure to thrive, she is in a higher risk for delays.

So please take her to see a speech pathologist who can work with her.

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Valerie Herskowitz

Expertise

I am an autism expert and speech pathologist (for over 30 years). I am also the parent of a child with autism. I can answer any question on autism dealing with communication, education, behavior and diet. I cannot answer questions that are medical in nature or are dealing with medications.

Experience

I have run a therapy center for individuals with autism since 1981. I lecture all over the country. I also teach classes on autism on line.

Organizations
Vice President of Communications Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Member American Speech and Hearing Association, MembernAutism Society of America, President of the National Autism Registry, Vice President of the Association for Developmentally Disabled Adults and Adolescents.

Publications
Autism Society of America's national publication (September 2008). Advance Magazine, South Florida Parenting, Spectrum Magazine, I am the author of: Autism and Computers: Maximizing Independence Through Technology (available:www.valerieherskowitz.com)

Education/Credentials
I have a masters degree in speech pathology

Awards and Honors
I won a Stevie Award in 2004: Lifetime Achievement Award for my work with individuals with autism. My therapy center won, Judge's Choice Award Best Center in South Florida by South Florida Parenting magazine 2005.

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