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Autism/Could my son have mild autism???

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Expert: - 10/27/2006


Question
My son is 14 months old.  He does not babble much.  He doesn't imitate words we say.  He does love to be held but hated to cuddle as an infant.  Knows his name and uses some sign language when I ask him to.  Plays well on his own with puzzles and blocks.  He has his favorite toys and will play for a while.  He rocks back and forth in his high chair and grunts or cries when he wants something.  When he is upset he will scream an ear piercing scream.  He has always been like this.  As a newborn he had to be by my side 24/7 and when he turned one he slept only in his own bed and no where else.  He doesnt walk yet and has no interest but crawls well and climbs up on things.  Smiles and interacts.  Should I be concerned or does he maybe have just a speech delay.?  He is very small for his age.  15 pounds, allergic to milk protein, wheat and possibly soy.

Answer
Hi Darlene,

I am not a doctor, so I can't give you a diagnosis. Generally, trying to get a diagnosis via the internet is never a good idea.
Having said that, yes, it could be autism (but, since I don't know your child, I can be wrong here). Please go and see an expert if you're concerned.

Good luck and best wishes for the future,
c.

p.s.: if your son actually gets diagnosed with autism and you have specific questions, you can always ask again  

Autism

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*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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