Expert: Trey McGowan - 9/27/2007

Question
Hi-
I am concerned about my 15 month old son. I have read about signs of autism, but still not sure what to think. My son has not spoken any words yet. He has said mamama, but he doesnt understand thats a "word". I am also concerned when he gets mad, he will sometimes hit his head on things. He does point a lot, wave, clap, and laugh. He loves to look at books. If I ask him to go get something like a book or his blanket, he will go get it for me most of the time. He also loves to give me things. I was wondering if I should get him checked out, or wait like his doc said until he is 18 months and see if he is talking by then? Any help/advice would be appreciated!

Answer
Hello there, Jenny!

At a preliminary glance over the information you've given me, there are few signs that there may be some high-functioning autism. However, those 'few' signs are also offset by several signs of a happy, healthy young man who simply has a bad habit of whacking his head and might be a bit slow with his speech development. While I would suggest keeping an eye on him for the head-hitting, so as to make sure of steering him away from those unhealthy expressions of anger or frustration, I think that your doctor is right: at the moment, the best thing for both you and him is to give him a few more months to get into that 'speech' phase. After all, at fifteen months, he is only barely scratching the surface of spoken communication, and is still in the 'understanding' phase.

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/language_development.shtml
Here is a webpage for you, to be able to give you a feel for the 'average' formation of language skills. Please remember that not all children will develop at the same rate. A child may be anywhere from three to six months behind in some of these things, and still be considered 'healthy'.

Don't get me wrong, now! I understand that for a worried parent, even three months can seem like an eternity. But your son is at a formative age still. It is possible that he is lagging slightly behind and should be given some time. If you are genuinely worried enough about it, talking to a specialist would give you peace of mind one way or the other, but I think that waiting that extra three months to make certain would be well worth it. Maybe during those three months, you can start researching doctors in your area, so if things don't work out, you can immediately have an idea of who to go to, and thus not panic if you can't immediately find someone. Besides, it will give you valuable information and a feeling of power over the situation, by being able to at least do something in those extra months.

Hopefully that helped some,

Trey