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Toddler with Autism? Weird situation.?

Ok so I'll give it to ya in full. My son turned 2 last month. He doesn't talk at all yet. Around 16 months I really worried about Autism. He was not saying any words or babbling ever. He did not respond to his name, he did not do pretend play or imitate, He jumped almost constantly, and flapped his hands when he was mad and did not wave bye bye or point did not follow simple commands etc. And wanted nothing to do with kids.. he was very interested in them but like almost scared of them if one came up to him he would run to me like he was scared? I was convinced he had autism and SICK over it. Then all of a sudden he just started coming out of all of it * Just a little medical history he had repeat ear infections and had tubes placed at 15 months hearing test at 18 months said he still wasn't hearing clear and by 20 months he was hearing clear. He suddenly started imitating everything we did. Babbling constantly responding to his name the jumping decreased by 75% he started pretend playing understands almost everything I say and follows almost all directions. He is very social (BUT always has been except for the being scared of kids but loved adults?) But now he loves playing with kids. He waves bye bye to everyone, etc The parts of autism that he has never showed signs of are he has always made good eye contact, always been very loving, never did the aloofness never fixated on toys or parts of toys no lining or stacking not even spinning the wheels on tires, always been very social with adults and very playful. ect The only things he does now that concerns me is he is still not talking. he still flaps. Mostly when he is mad but I have seen him do it randomly a few times now (which is new he never used to do it randomly until recently) and he still loves to run jump dance spin etc but its not constant. He also does make repeat noises. Like for instant if he says da da but says the first da in one pitch and the second da in another pitch he will repeat it the same way a few times with almost everything he says which I dont know if that is normal or not but since he can't talk he does not repeat phrases nec. Another thing is he doesn't point? It's kind of weird actually he will point to pictures in a book but if he wants something he wont point. This I find strange. For I love you I taught him to point to his eye then point to his heart then point to me. So he does that but when he points to me he doesn't actually point he just extends his hand in a fist towards me BUT If I get him to do the I love you and he is close enough to touch me he uses his pointer finger to point at me but only while touching me? It's almost like he won't point at something unless he is close enough to touch it other then that he just reaches for it? I dont know if a kid not pointing makes them autistic though. But basically he is very social loving makes great eye contact imitate babbles constantly pretend plays doesn't fixate etc etc etc.. The reason I am worrying again is a girl came into my work and I said something about him not talking yet. She said her son has Autism and he came out of not responding to his name and he only flapped when mad and his symptoms "changed" to so I was wondering on other opinion. I AM getting him tested if for nothing else peace of mind but I would like some reassurance or basically the truth on others opinions.

Public Comments

1. I don't have experience with this and it's good that you are getting your son tested but as for the speech, remember that your son couldn't hear well in the beginning and part of learning to speak is learning to hear first so he might just be a little delayed in that area. Both of my kids were/are late talkers. I had my daughter tested for speech twice because of some of her sounds but the speech therapist always said she was fine. Good luck!
2. you dont have anything to worry about, i work with toddlers in the summer and i have yet to meet a toddler that doesnt bounce, flap, spin, and repeat noises, he just exploring the world and seeing what his body can do, that is completely normal toddler behavior. because of the ear issues, he probably had limited hearing at first, so when he got his tubes he is able to hear better now and thats why hes improving so much, he just needs more time to learn to talk and point and everything. get him tested if you want, but i assure you that from what youve described, he is a completely normal toddler. as long as he is socializing, making eye contact, and is continuing to work on speech, you dont have anything to worry about.
3. As Precious pointed out, your son spent most of his infanthood unable to hear, so it will take a little time for him to speak what he can now here. As for the pointing, and the way you describe it, I would take him to an optometrist, he may need glasses. A child not pointing doesn't indicate autism but I am glad you are getting him tested, just to be sure.
4. Wow, when I read the beginning of this it sounded exactly like my daughter. She had 10+ ear infections in her 1st year. She had tubes put in in Jan and hasn't had another. My daughter is now 2 years old and and says quite a bit, although is just now putting 2 words together and does have speech therapy 2x a week (has helped tremendously). My daughter didn't point or wave bye-bye until after 18 months old. My daughter jumps all day long (more than the average 2 year old jumps). As far as the social part goes she is social with adults but as far as kids go she is afraid of them, if they come close to her she kinda freaks out a little. My daughter responds to her name about half of the time and flaps her hands occasionally. She does line things up but this just started not to long ago. She also makes great eye contact and is also very loving, loves to give hugs and kisses. She also will repeat some words over and over, like if she sees a car on tv she will say car car car car, mainly when she is excited! I'm sure your son is just fine but I would for sure have him eveualated. I actually had my daughter eveualated this past Tuesday and she was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, which is being on the autism spectrum. best of luck to you guys
5. I have worked with special education kids for a long time and worked with some young ones but not 2 yr olds. For one thing remember your son is 2 and he has had that hearing diffucilty in the past. So that puts into effect that there are things being learned as a young child would learn and the hearing/speech is delayed. Just not pointing does not make a child autistic,,many do that and at any age. Do get him tested if not for the little boy inside then for then loving heart of yourself. Much luck
6. As noted in many of the previous replies, his hearing problems must be taken into consideration and getting him professionally evaluated is important. If at all possible rule things out and if you rule something in find out what programs your son may be eligible for (some are even in home support). Is he in speech/language therapy? If not talk to your ped about enrolling him in a program, that should be your first priority, you know he's speech delayed, and that might be all that is going on, so treat the delay. Fragile X is a condition in which the children may have many autistic characteristics, LIKE autism it is a spectrum disorder, meaning there may be mild symptoms or severe symptoms. For many little ones with fragile X ear infections are quite common, delayed speech is one of the first signs parents notice, hand-flapping, toe-walking are also characteristics many parents notice in their children with fragile X. There are other conditions that may also come into play such as Angelman Syndrome or PDD-NOS (many characteristics of autism, but not enough to have a clinical diagnosis.) Good luck and hugs, feel free to connect with me through e-mail if you like.