21 month old and autism?

Question

I have a 21 month old son. He has a vocabulary of about 40 words, all mostly nouns. For example, when he sees shoes, he says "shoes" or when he wants to watch Dora, he says "Boots". When we ask him to say something he will usually repeat it. For example, when he wants juice and he points to the cabinet, i say "do you want some juice" he repeats "juice". His eye contact is pretty good. He is semi-interested in children, but prefers to play rough than to play with toys with another child. He does not always respond to his name or requests that are made to him. A friend of mine asked me if he had his hearing checked because of the way he reacts when you talk to him sometimes. He likes to play pat-a-cake and is affectionate. He does have an affection for wheels and likes to play with his cars and watch the wheels turn. He is in speech therapy through our states early intervention. Everyone (including 2 pediatricians & speech) says he is not autistic but I am still concerned.

Answer 1

My son is mildly autistic (has a diagnosis of PDD NOS) - from what you write here, I don't see any major red flags.  He sounds like he has a speech delay, particularly with receptive language.

Honestly though, trust your instincts.  If you have any concerns, I would highly recommend having your son evaluated by a specialist.  Really only a developmental pediatrician, neurologist, or psychologist specializing in autism are qualified to give a diagnosis of autism.  No offense to pediatricians - they are great at dealing with illnesses - but not developmental issues.  

I had concerns with my son (mainly in the speech area) starting around 15 months.  My pediatrician assured me over and over that nothing was wrong with my son, he was just "being a boy".  By age 2 I finally went with my instinct and had him evaluated by a pediatric neurologist, and sure enough, he was autistic.  I'm so pissed I listened to my pediatrician all that time and wasted so much time my son could have been in therapy.

It may be absolutely nothing, but my advice is to trust your instinct and don't be afraid to have him evaluated by a specialist - if nothing else it will ease your mind if they also agree its nothing.

Good luck!!

**EDIT**  I just had to add, the person that posted above me has NO idea what they are talking about.  My son has autism, and he talks and is extremely affectionate.   It has nothing to do with it!!!!

Answer 2

Honestly he sounds like he doesn't have autism.  My daughter did the same thing and we had her hearing checked and was ok.  I have found out that she is actually above level and when she was acting out it was because she was bored.  Now I have to keep her occupied and she does much better.  Good Luck!!

Answer 3

if your concerned check into "aspbergers" it is a light form of autisim. my son has it and i had to change docs to get the diagnosis.  they told me my son would never speak but is doing great now at four. i put alot of time into him with speach and physical therapy.  i took my boy to the park alot and he learned how to play with others. if he was to rough the kids dint wanna play. he had to change his actions to play.  a good way to help with speach is to get a mirror that you can see both his face and yours in if your faces touch at the sides.

say a word and have him watch his face as he says it back. this will teach him how to form the words.  when he wants juice try to get him to say.  "juice please" or even "want juice" try a few times before giving him the juice so that he has to work a bit. if he can get what he wants or needs with one word he has no reason to say more words. push him a little.

and dont buy into all the stuff they say about autism.  hard work now will pay off. they said my son would never say "mommy"  lol and now he never shuts up ;-)

Answer 4

Your son doesn't have autism. People with autism don't talk, your son can talk, so he's fine. Not to mention, people with autism aren't affectionate, and your son is. So your son doesn't have autism.

Answer 5

my son just turned 2 and has every single thing that your son does my son does. to the T. we are taking him to a children neurologist. our family doctor including family members and my husband even says "oh your just a hypochondriac". but i rather be safe then sorry. the only thing i can suggest is that you take him to get a second opinion...that's what I'm doing good luck with you and your son.

Answer 6

I would also ignore the post about the autistic children not being affectionate.  Unfortunately they have been misinformed.  Autistic children are usually affectionate until they can no longer cope with the outside world.

My suggestion is to go with your instinct.  Read everything you can find on Autism.  There are many good sites on the internet and there is even a yearly event where you can ask specialists and caregivers any question you want.  

Try the library as well.  They should have lots of information for you.  

I would also seek out a professional that deals strictly or mostly with autistic children. It is sometimes hard to diagnose and if caught early you have a better chance of getting a handle on it.

Good Luck!

Answer 7

I just read Jenny McCarty's book about her son who was diagnosed with autism and you are describing exact symptoms her son had.  She had realized until later that all he heard was juice (one word he identified with) and repeated "juice".  He didn't understand the  "do you want some...".  

He stared at door hinges and ceiling fans.  Early intervention with autism specialists helped her family tremendously.  

Trust your instinct.  Good luck.