For parents of children with autism/ASD- concerns

nomadica

I'm very concerned about my son, who is 11 months and 1 week old. He does not consistently respond to his name. He does not point, show objects of interest, clap, or wave. He often does not look at me when I'm holding him or putting him in his carseat, even if I try to get his attention, though he looks right at me when I'm feeding him and when we play certain games. He loves peek-a-boo, but does not do it himself- same for patty-cake. He plays with a wide variety of toys, but especially likes to spin parts of the toys, though he does not spin toys that aren't meant to spin. He does not seem to really notice if I'm upset or crying.

On the positive side, he certainly has stranger and separation anxiety. He is quite affectionate, and often while playing will stop and crawl over to me to get hugs, then go back to playing. He smiles and laughs big laughs- he loves when I do animal noises, play tug-of-war with him, jumping in his jumperoo, or when his Dad throws him up in the air. He does reach for us to pick him up. He babbles, with several consonent sounds, and we think he is saying "mama" with meaning, at times. He does not rotate objects or look at things peripherally. He crawls very well and is pulling himself up to standing. He is a great eater, not one bit picky, and has a great pincer grasp. He doesn't sleep through the night, but is usually only up once, and naps well. He does not seem particularly bothered by lights, noises, etc.

I'm very concerned. We have to wait a few more weeks until his 12 months check up to talk to the pedi about these things, but I wanted to know what you guys think, because you're the real experts. Was this consistent with what you saw? I'm very afraid.