How odd is it that by eighteen months a baby isn't saying any words except Da Da? Hearing has been c

Ginger - posted on 10/23/2011

This was excellent advice. He was diagnosed soon after y post. I forgot had even posted this. I am convinced that early diagnosis was the key to his treatment. Thank you for the advice.

Ginger - posted on 10/23/2011

Forgot I even posted this, lol. Very soon after this post our grandson was diagosed with Classic Autism. Our lives became very busy. I am convinced that early diagnosis was the key to is treament. Your advice was excellent. Thank you.

Ashley - posted on 11/23/2009

Spinning is a big sign of Autism, i never knew that untill my son Ayden was diagnosed at 2 and a half. i always thought it was just a weird quirk of his. Many of the other responses sound just like my son. Untill about 4 months ago all my son would eat was yogurt and ravioli. that was breakfast lunch and dinner everyday. If something will spin he will spin it. He only paid attention to certain commercials on TV he would stare in amazement at some and actually cry at others. Children with autism often have different reactions to things than we do. they may be overly sensitive to different pitches. My son also would not look at me or even acknowledge me if a yelled his name but would come running out of his room to the living room if a certain Cambells Chicken Noodle soup commercial was on. When he pays attention to certain things over others he is stimming from them. He does this with lights especially but not as often as he used to he will stare at a light for hours and it doesn't faze him. He often repeats stuff such as pushing the button on a toy on and off several times, lifting a lid on a toy several times, he used to sit in the middle of the floor and at very,very random times say MaMa over and over not to me but kind of to the ceiling. Then he stopped even doing that. He is now just starting to babble again he will be three in January. He was pretty well silent for over a year. It wasn't until my mother sat me down when Ayden was 18 months and said "Listen, something is wrong, you need to get him checked" that i finally admitted to myself that he was not just "delayed". You have the right to question things and if you feel that something is off demand that he be tested in most states insurance covers everything and Early Intervention programs cost nothing to you. Hope everything works out.

Kimberly - posted on 11/21/2009

my daughter (2) didn't start talking until we finally forced the doctors to make a referral to an eye doctor. she is also getting an autisim spectrum done, as well as dna testing. she still only says mama, and eaaaaaaaa for eat. sometimes says bubu or baba...but never show's wich she wants. good luck!

Stacey - posted on 11/21/2009

There are many signs of Autism, my son had delayed speech, but after being told he may have Autism I did some reading and realised that he has quite a few signs that indicate he may be Autistic, he lacked eye contact, he had what seemed to be selective hearing - he would often not respond to his name no matter how many times you said it or how loud you yelled it but he would hear the song from Thomas and coming running from the other end of the house, he has what they call 'stimming' which in his case is flapping his arms while jumping up and down and making weird noises, he often lines things up and gets down to look at things at eye level, he was not pointing to things until after he was 2, he also does not throw/ catch/ kick the same as other kids and has only recently started climbing and playing on the playgrounds like the other kids, he would often have this dazed look on his face like he was off in his own world, he would not imitate or copy things that he sees people do or sees on tv, he also had digestive problems and a rash on his cheeks (there is a lot of info that links the gut and brain, so many kids with Autism have digestive problems) Our son is still waiting to be diagnosed, it is a very lengthy process, so I suggest to you to get the ball rolling now, better to be safe than sorry, make an appointment with a speech pathologist and Paediatrician, but most of all do your own research, google Autism or borrow books from the library, its the info on the web that helped me make up my mind about whether I think my Son has autism (but beware that you may still be wrong) and gave me the info to start the ball rolling rather than sit and wait for medical professionals to do their thing. We decided to start our son on the gfcf (gluten-free, casein-free) diet about 3 months ago as it is known to help many kids with Autism, but not all. Since being on the diet our son keeps showing improvement, and because it is all natural you can give it a try even before you get a diagnosis, www.tacanow.org has good info on Autism and also the gfcf diet if you are interested in reading about it for yourself. If you want to talk or have any questions send me a message.

Laranda - posted on 11/21/2009

Good idea to have developmental pediatrician to see him. They would know what to look for and before the appointment you could note down things that your grandson does. Does he look you in the eyes, does he respond to his name, walk on his toes, rocking, etc. Look up Autism websites that give red warning signs so that you can know what to look for. At the very least he may just need some help with his speech and the pediatrician would be the one to give a referral for a speech therapist.

Sharina - posted on 11/20/2009

Ginger, you may be on the right track. Do not hesitate to seek a professional diagnosis because every day is a window of opportunity in his development. There are many interventions for helping kids with developmental delays. They have done wonders with my son Zack. Zack only said ma ma, da da and na (for no) when he was 18 months old. He was diagnosed with mild autism and ADHD. He has made amazing progress and is doing well in school now thanks to much therapy. We started with an early intervention assessment through the county(who worked with the school board). He ended up qualifying for a free program called the Place Program. It is an occupational, speech, behavior therapy preschool that he started attending at age 3. Those teachers/therapist were amazing with him! I highly recommend you try to teach him some sign language. It will help with his frustration level when he wants to communicate. There is a book called Baby Signs, it really helps. I also recommend seeking an opinion from a pediatric neurologist if you don't get anywhere with other types of doctors. The neurologist is the one who helped us the most with Zack's diagnosis and treatment with meds. (after we had been to several different psychologists). I agree with Renee though, I would start with a developmental pediatrician or the early intervention program through your county.

Michelle - posted on 11/20/2009

There are many signs of autism. You mentioned just a few. Renee listed several more signs. Don't panic or jump to conclusions, but get him evaluated by a developmental pediatrician asap. If it is autism, it is crucial to get him therapies as soon as possible.

Renee - posted on 11/20/2009

He needs to be evaluated by a developmental pediatrician. Things you can look for include (but not limited to) eye contact does he really look at your eyes or avoid them, so he's fascinated with spinning objects seems obssessed by them, does he interact with his parents or other children or does he play along side without noticing the other person, does he turn when his name is called, does he walk on his toes, does he prefer to be undressed, does he like to eat the same foods over and over, will he sit and listen to a book being read to him like on your lap or next to you on the sofa. You can also visit autismspeaks.org for more information about autism. Good luck to you. Take care.