Expert: James Michael Roan - 10/10/2007

Question
QUESTION: My son is 14 month old and i am concerned about his development,he responds to his name and will listen to one step commands like come here,sit etc,he loves playing with us and always maintains eye contact but he will not point to anything and will not wave bye bye,he however claps his hands and plays peekaboo,he does not line up toys or spin wheels,he says mama ,papa and babbles a lot,he says bua for his food and pacifier,he uses the telephone and the remote and pretend plays,should i be concerned about autism at this stage.

ANSWER: Hi Priya;

The only delay I see here is with pointing and waving. These skills are generally evident at this age. Can you tell me more about his social development. How does he play with others his age? Does he ever bring something to you in an attempt to show you something he finds interesting as opposed to expecting you to "fix" something? Does he respond to you by looking up at you when calling his name when you walk into a room where he is playing? Does he use a real phone and a real remote when he supposedly pretend plays or is he able to use different objects "as if" they are a phone or a remote?

Kind regards,
James

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you for your reply,he responds to his name when we call him,he plays with kids his age and even older than him,but he takes a little time (like maybe 2-3 hrs) to get adjusted to any new people and surroundings.He has not bought anything to us to show us but he will try to get our attention when he plays and he expects some response from us.He uses his toy phone and remote as if they are the real thing but he prefers the real ones,it is like he knows the difference between the 2.He does come to us very often to play with stuff that we are holding like a book or a laptop etc.

Answer
Hi Priya;

I don't see anything that alarms me. He appears to be developing normally. Keep your eye out for pointing and nonverbal gestures. They should be appearing in the next few months, if not go to my web page at: www.autismspectrumdisorderfoundation.org and download the M-CHAT and scoring instructions. The M-CHAT is intended for older children 24-36 months, but can be used as a guide for evaluating his development. I have also included red flags for development that should be cause for you to see your pediatrician:

6-12 Month Markers:

·   Infrequent eye contact
·   Failure to orient to name
·   Does not smile in response to smiles from others
·   Social and emotional passivity
·   Fixation on objects

By 12 Months:

·   Poor or no eye contact
·   Failure to orient to name
·   Poor imitation
·   No babbling by 12 months
·   No gesturing by 12 months

By 16 Months:

·   No single words by 16 months
·   No pointing to objects or events of interest in an effort to share

By 24 Months:

·   No spontaneous two-word phrases
·   Loss of any language or social skills at any age


Kind regards,
James