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I am worried about my 14 month daughter. I think she may be showing some signs of autism. The biggest thing is that she doesn't respond to her name. I can call her 10 times before she'll turn around. She cannot follow simple commands such as "give mommy the ball" or "kiss the
baby." She doesn't point. It's more like a reach to get what she wants.
She doesn't wave bye-bye. She has always been a late bloomer so my
husband thinks she is fine. She is also very social, interested in the
environment (asks "what's that"). She makes eye contact and shares. She
loves to be held. Is generally a very happy, loving, outgoing baby. I
just don't know what to make of this and am very scared since the autism
study about not responding to name was released. This is all I think
about :(
Hi Amy,
as I already said in my disclaimer: I am not a doctor or healthcare professional, so I can't diagnose your child with anything. Even if I *was* one, diagnosing a person over the internet is nearly impossible, especially when all you know about this person is a few lines of text.
I therefore strongly recommend to go and see an expert if you're worried.
From what you write it's really impossible to tell. Not responding to her name may be a sign of autism, but
she may be just a late bloomer, or even hard of hearing (did you have her hearing checked ? If not, that should be the first thing you should do, especially since you write that she's social and all (which is rather not a sign of autism). But still, if you're really worried, go and see an expert (NOT your family doctor).
I'm sorry and hope you don't feel offended.
I wish you all the best for your daughter. And always remember, even if it turns out she *is* autistic, that doesn't mean she won't be able to lead a happy and fulfilled life.
C.
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Answers by Expert:
Celtica
Expertise
*DISCLAIMER*
Please note I am not a healthcare professional or a doctor.
I cannot provide a diagnosis or give any medical advice.
Therefore I cannot answer questions like "is my child autistic ?" other than by telling you to go and see a specialist
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Please be aware that if you are in the US it will usually take at least 24 hours until I can answer your question, as I'm in Europe and don't have access to my email during the day.
I also cannot answer questions concerning the US educational or law system (other than by looking up things on google, but that's probably not the expertise you need), as I'm not in the US.
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Please also be aware that I'm a person with autism. My answers may sometimes be very blunt and direct and I may tell you things you won't like to hear. Diplomacy is certainly not among my talents. I'm never being rude on purpose, and I always try not to hurt or offend people, but it has happened before and may happen again. It's NEVER on purpose. I just want to help.
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What I *can* do for you is gather information on any aspect of autism
and therapy of autism you're interested in and give you my personal oppinion about it (if you want to hear it) or, if it applies, tell you about my personal experience. I can answer all questions about what life is like for an autistic person.
I can also answer questions asked in German or French (but will have to answer in English to questions asked in French as my French is a bit rusty).
Ich beantworte gerne auch Fragen auf Deutsch.
Vous pouvez poser des questions en Francais, si cela ne vous dérange pas que je responds en anglais.
Experience
As I'm not doing well right now and am not in the shape of answering questions well - I recieved a few low ratings lately - I'll take a break from AllExperts for the next few weeks/until I'm doing better
I am an adult diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome/High Functioning Autism and ADD.
In the past years I have also read a lot about autism and its comorbid conditions and related subjects (as I am experiencing symptoms of most of these or know others who do) , so I have accumulated a lot of layman knowledge in this area
(AD(H)D, Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, sleep disorders, allergies, sensory integration dysfunction, learning difficulties, left/right-brain, giftedness, Irlen Syndrome, prism glasses, executive dysfunction (aka. "inertia"), "special" diets).
Education/Credentials
None in the field of autism, apart from being autistic myself !
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