My son is currently 18 months old and I noticed the absence of some progress expected from a toddler of his age, in particular:
1. Absence of using index finger to point, to ask for something
2. Absence of using index finger to point, to indicate interest in something (he only did that on a set of stickers but I am not sure whether it is to indicate interest or to imitate us)
3. Absence of waving goodbye at us when we are leaving
4. Only know how to utter "nei nei" for milk and "ka ka" for insects; don't really know how to say "pa pa" and only called out "ma ma" when in distress
5. Show no interests when we ask him where's "pa pa" or "ma ma" but do selectively respond to some of our questions like asking him where's a certain toy and he will go and grab it
I came across some CHAT checklist for autism in toddler on the Internet and point 1 and 2 seems to indicate a high risk of autism. However, on a positive note, he does have good eye contact with us, actively interact with us, and smile at us when we smile at him, play peek-a-boo with us and play with my wife's nephew. In addition, he does know simple instructions such as "NO". He shows no signs of repetitive behavior though he's attached to a certain toy at different point in time. He is very sensitive to drilling sounds and sometimes love to slap his head. I am very unsure whether he's autistic and is actually quite worried though many told me to wait till he is 2 years old. I read online that early intervention will be good if the child has autism. However, I am not sure when's the right age to go for a diagnosis and whether he's just slow in development with some weird behavior or truly autistic. Anyone with similar experiences care to share? Or any expert out there care to give some advices? Thanks.
1. Absence of using index finger to point, to ask for something
2. Absence of using index finger to point, to indicate interest in something (he only did that on a set of stickers but I am not sure whether it is to indicate interest or to imitate us)
3. Absence of waving goodbye at us when we are leaving
4. Only know how to utter "nei nei" for milk and "ka ka" for insects; don't really know how to say "pa pa" and only called out "ma ma" when in distress
5. Show no interests when we ask him where's "pa pa" or "ma ma" but do selectively respond to some of our questions like asking him where's a certain toy and he will go and grab it
I came across some CHAT checklist for autism in toddler on the Internet and point 1 and 2 seems to indicate a high risk of autism. However, on a positive note, he does have good eye contact with us, actively interact with us, and smile at us when we smile at him, play peek-a-boo with us and play with my wife's nephew. In addition, he does know simple instructions such as "NO". He shows no signs of repetitive behavior though he's attached to a certain toy at different point in time. He is very sensitive to drilling sounds and sometimes love to slap his head. I am very unsure whether he's autistic and is actually quite worried though many told me to wait till he is 2 years old. I read online that early intervention will be good if the child has autism. However, I am not sure when's the right age to go for a diagnosis and whether he's just slow in development with some weird behavior or truly autistic. Anyone with similar experiences care to share? Or any expert out there care to give some advices? Thanks.