Ok, I'm worried. I was talking with my mom about Leane....she was saying how odd it is that she keeps her hands always at chest level and they're almost always moving, as most people say, like she's riding a motor bike... if they're not moving, her feet are. My mom was saying that she doesn't remember any other babies doing this. So I began to wonder if she might have autism or something, as she also throws huge tantrums, especially when she doesn't get something that she wants. I looked some stuff up on the web, and all the signs were for when she's 12+ months, so nothing is really helping me, as she's only 8 months old. She doesn't really seem to have any of the other signs right now, but like I said, she still seems to young to tell. She appears to be hitting all the milestones she should be, and if she is behind on something, she usually does it pretty soon. Could someone help me, please? I'm really worried. Does anyone know what else this could be? I'm taking her to the doctor in about a month for a check up, but I don't want to say anything without having some more things to go on, know what I mean? Or he'll just say, "don't worry about it." I, myself, have had that happen and been misdiagnosed before, and I hate it when doctors do that. Any advice that anyone has would be really helpful!
if you're concerned, check into it. there are definitely identifiable signs of autism in infancy. in retrospect, there were lots of things that my kiddo did differently from birth onwards. now that i know he has aspergers syndrome it makes all of the quirks along the way make sense. try: http://clusty.com/search?v:file=viv...e=list&v:state=root|N491&id=N491&action=list&
Autism is generally diagnosed by 18 months - I'd say its early but I also know that we missed a lot of signs concerning my 5 y/o's SID because the docs said "he'll grow out of that, or he's just delayed a bit". That's another story. See if this helps any: http://www.autismeval.com/ari-atec/
she seems to have a few of those, but it could also be normal baby stuff. She does lots of babbling, is quite social, definately is showing separation anxiety...basically the opposite of the definate signs. so maybe i'm justy needlessly worrying. i dunno. thanks for the links. hippyfreek-i still can't get over how cute moire is, lol!
I used to work with autistic kids. One of the things most of the moms said was that their babies rarely, if ever made eye contact, and did not like to be held. And their babbling was late, or absent or "different" than other babies. I am beginning to wonder if, right now, autism "spectrum" is being blamed for a lot more things than it should. Although it appears more common than it used to be, autism is still a rare neurological illness. If she is reaching milestones, particularlly babbling and eye contact, I wouldn't be too worried.
Do agree with the others Perhaps all this 'awareness' that's been going around in recent years is making people nervous and inclined to read way too much into things [because hey what baby doesn't get stroppy when they can't have their own way?] and bandy labels around. Every kid is an individual. If she's hitting the milestones and all then everything is probably fine. I had some weird 'habits' as a little kid [and was very antisocial] to the point my mother worried a bit, but she let it be and can safely say there was nothing medically wrong.
autism isn't necessarily a medical condition that needs to be cured. My oldest child was always kicking. Even before she was born, she kicked me so hard that she bruised my insides to the point I had to be hospitalized the pain was so bad. She was always flailing her arms and legs, and still does, at five years old. It was much worse when she was an infant, and being given formula supplements and had very painful gas and reflux that her doctor said was normal but I knew better. In our case, the "autism" and sensory defensiveness is mainly only an issue when she eats any gluten or too much sugar or too much dairy. I am the same way myself. And yes, it has affected me in many ways my entire life, and I just wish my parents had been able to recognize and do something about my food allergies when I was little. For my kid, the connection between diet and behavior wasn't apparent until she cut back on how much she was nursing. Prior to that, I could fix anything by nursing her. when that started to fail, I came to the realization that her fits went far beyond your normal temper tantrums, and the usual solutions were of absolutely no help.
There was a new baby in my house every year when i was growing up, and i can tell ya, no worries. some babies do that during growth spurts, if it realy bothers you start handing her things often , make her use her hands very soon she will become more aware of them and stop. some kids will keep doing it whenever there upset untill there a few years old, its a real comman position for kids throwing a tantrum. Might have something to do with the fact they hold there arms like that in the womb. I can tell you this much for absolute certian, never judge a childs development by single incidences, some kids dont learn to talk untill there three, and there usualy the ones who bend you ear for an hour when there 4. Its just the way it goes, who knows maybe your kid is some kind of genious who is so busy growing her mind she hasnt gotten around to working on her moter skills yet
Yeah, I had a friend in Oregon with a little boy who I used to privately worry about a lot. He seemed "normal" in every way (and was totally adorable following and imitating his daddy everywhere) except that he was totally uncommunicative. He was really used to us, and would chill and hang out, but until he was almost 3 the only word I ever heard him say was "daddy". Then one day we came over, and he knew our names and was speaking in complete, articulate sentences - even communicating complicated ideas. It was remarkable. Don't worry about Leane. It sounds like she's hitting her milestones beautifully - maybe without you knowing it, she's just training her muscles so she'll have better control when she stats a-walkin'.
yeah, that's propbably it...sometimes i don't think that i worry enough about her, then other times, it's like, "oh my god, is there something wrong, oh my god..." i mean yeah, like i said, everything seems to be fairly normal. I was talking to a friend of mine who just had a baby, and she says that her ds is really twitchy, although our other friend ds never did anything of that sort...guess all babies are different.
your not doing that new momy thing and holding her all the time are ya? if so maybe you should think about putting her on the floor on her tummy once in awhile, she will be ok realy if she does turn out to be one of those babies who try and walk before she crawls try to stop her from doing that
^^ignore that^^ hold your baby if that's what you both want to do. Tummy time isn't necessary, and is sometimes traumatic for the child. Don't do it if it upsets her. Nothing wrong with walking first, my DH never crawled before he started walking, and he's just fine. I have a little cousin who did the same thing. Old husband's tales... phtbtbth
Yes, please, hold your baby. Your instinct will tell you when she want to be put down. A baby who is ready to be put down to learn to crawl can't be stopped, and also a baby who isn't ready to crawl can't be rushed. WHERE are you getting your data? Babies recognize thier mother's scent, voice from birth, daddy's voice from birth, and mama and daddy's face in just a matter of days. Many studies have found babies prefer thier mother's faces over other womyn's faces within HOURS of birth. FOUR months, I would worry if it took that long.
in our case, it was the not meeting milestones that was the most apparent problem. When I first met my now step son, he didnt speak at all, didnt feed himself finger foods, didnt make any attempt to try new things, wanted to be held all the time, didnt play with toys of any kind, just lots of major red flags. He was 2 at the time. Since I didnt know him before that, I dont know what he was like when he was younger. If I had a baby now, I would be concerned mostly with the developmental milestones. slight delays arent really worrisome for autism.
from the things i've read, I wouldnt risk it. I would make sure my baby crawled first, it realy seems to make sense. and never putting your baby on the floor on its tummy?,, hmm, better ask some experienced grandmas about that,I'll bet not to many will reccomend it. and you may well regret it later on, for your own sake if nothing else realy though since none of us remember being a baby who can say for sure. do we hold some kind of resentment for the times we where left to cry? ( a very comman peice of advice) no way to tell. in the end the mommy does know best.
how did we end up talking about crawling? I always hold Leane if she wants it...if we're not holding her, we're usually sitting beside her while she's playing with her toys. When she's on my lap and starts to fuss and is reaching for the floor, i set her down, and she's on her tummy in no time trying to crawl and happy as could be. sun-i'm concerned about all milestones, wether they be physical or mental. they both play an important role in her development. re:walking before crawling....cody did that, too. for the first few years of his life they lived in a camper and there wasn't much room to move around so his mom kept him in a play pen all day...one day he just stood up and started to walk. He's just fine now, too. I was talking to cody's dad's finace and she said that she was reading about this one boy who was having problems with hearing and the doctor related it to him not crawling when he was a baby......that sorta stumped me......
i hear what your saying, everything ive read about it has do with the psyhological implications, they did make some sense, but maybe they where just a little to into the importance of taking steps I.E. crawl /walk/run. But thinking about it, i dont see how they can seperate all the things that effect us growing up to point a finger like that
Held babies communicate very well (or maybe their parents pay more attention?). i hold my 7-month-old until she wants down (she'll rock herself forward as if she's trying to lunge to the floor, or she'll grab at things on the table, etc), if i try to put her down before she "says" so, she cries. If i don't put her down when she "asks" she gets just as frustrated. Don't worry about babies that are held "too much" because they're being listened to and always get what they need/want. ETA: she's been rolling over and sitting up on her own for months, she pulls up on furniture, and she's very nearly crawling, so i highly doubt her lack of tummy time has hindered her development
