My baby girl will be 7 month in 5 days, everything was fine when she was born.
But she’s kind of slow, she follows objects very well after she turned 3M old, she tracks for sound very well at 4M.
Before she was 5 month old, I had always noticed that she didnt like to stare at faces, not to mention eye contact. It’s hard to get her to look at me , to laugh, sometimes we tried hard, she would just smile a little .
Things improved a lot after she turned 6 month old.
She caught up all her milestones:
1. Gross motor, fine motor, both well. Rolls very well, can sit with out support, now is learning to crawl. Grabs and bite everything that’s in reach. Pay attention to sounds, will look at me when I call her names (not all the time, won’t when she is really focusing playing something ).
2. Recognition: She stares at strangers but cries when strangers hold her. She knows some furniture in the room, when I name one, she will turn her head to look at it. When I say something that I taught her before, she will look at me or even simle smile( eg, TV remote, lets go outside.) Smiles when we play peekaboo (not always).
3. Social: She will stare at me first when she wake up in the morning ( we sleep on same bed), when I open my eyes and look at her she smiles to me happily. She stares at me curiously when I am making funny faces or animal sounds or singing. She SOMETIMES laugh.
She hit other milestones fine except language development.
What makes me sooo worried and scared is she barely make sounds from birth till now, she cooed only 3 or 4 times that I can remember, during her 3rd month. Squealed for a short while during her 5th month. And started to squeal this week (almost 7 month).
Until now, she barely responded to sound by sound, we had never take turns and “talk”.
Very few times in a day she will make ahh——, ehh —- yee—-,sounds, but not saying to us, just by herself, doesn’t seem like a conversation at all. We talk to her and sing to her all the time at home. Btw, she passed hearing test when born, and she can hear well.
Everything i read said baby should be make vowels , consonants, baba or mama or dada by their 6 month age. But my baby is not. I am so scared that this is early sign of autism.
I’ve read all the questions from parents about baby cooing and babbling. Read a lot of articles and watched a lot of YouTube videos of autistic infants. And I just can’t calm myself down. For 4 months I’ve being worried. Sometimes I got so worried about her and cry myself to sleep.
I am a foreign mom, in my country most people doesn’t know autism a lot. But I taught kids in USA for 3 years. There’s no EI that can get here, esp she is so young, so I am the only one who can help her to do EI if she needs it. I took her to Dr. (s) several times they seem know little about Autism esp. for young babies. I do know few Dr. s that are good at autism but they are really far away from the city where I live, and probably can’t tell on little babies either.
Is there any similar babies out there or was like mine ? Please please help me, give me some advice or experiences about baby’s language development.
Thank you very much.
The Centers for Disease Control lists milestones for different ages and also warning signs of problems:
http://www.pricelessparenting.com/Development-Stages.aspx
After you read through these milestones, if you still have concerns definitely talk to a doctor.
I also suggest teaching her sign language. You can learn it free here: http://babysignlanguage.com/
it's good that you have books and are familiar with child development. yes, most babies are making a variety of noises by now. however, your baby is hitting all the other milestones which is very positive. remember that all babies are individual and what's 'normal' doesn't mean everything outside is 'abnormal.'
i really think the most important focus right now needs to be you. your mommy instinct may be right on. and what if it is? worst case scenario- your baby is autistic. there's a ton of research going on in the field right now and a lot of help will be available to you. autistic people and those on the spectrum are living full and fulfilling lives. if your baby is autistic you'll deal with it just as you would if she had a hearing impairment.
crying yourself to sleep and being in a state of constant worry is debilitating for you and will impact your ability to parent your little girl effectively. especially since this is still very very much in the realm of 'maybe.' chances are great that your little girl is just a late talker.
you need to develop coping techniques to handle your fears so that you can deal with everyday parenting challenges effectively. and most of all so that you can fully enjoy your little girl and this magical irreplaceable time with her.
khairete
S.
It's hard to know how to help when most of us are only familiar with what help is available in USA and we don't know what help is available to you in the country where you are located.
My favorite books on child development were "What to Expect the First Year" and "What to Expect the Toddler Years".
Although there is a lot of babbling, talking doesn't really take off until right around 2 years old.
If her development milestones are off - and I'm not sure that they are - then early intervention can help.
Finding a parenting site that's based in your own country will put you in touch with parents who can give you more help and answers.
While we all worry about our kids, crying yourself to sleep sounds like you are under a lot of stress.
You should see your doctor and talk about this.
Postpartum depression is something that can still be a problem for you.
Some women struggle with continuing depression issues even when their kids are 2 and 3 years old.
While you are very busy looking after your baby - you need to look after you too.
We had a similar concern with our son. He seemed to be developing normal language skills up to about 8 months, but then he started losing language. From birth he didn't like to be held, wouldn't nurse, rarely smiled, and never made eye contact. The pediatrician didn't see a problem, but I knew something was wrong. Took him to my family doctor, and he agreed there was a problem. Where we used to live, in a small town in the desert, there was a county mental health facility that did preliminary screening. They suggested autism, but we had to take him to a city to have it confirmed. We didn't know anything about autism at the time, and have learned a lot since then. One of the most important things to know is that early diagnosis and intervention makes a huge difference in how they develop. My son was considered nonverbal at 2YO. Now he's communicating-- more limited than other kids his age, but definitely there's been progress. He'll be going to regular preschool this year!
I don't know what country you're in, but try the government health enters and the universities for resources. I lived in Sri Lanka for a while, where rural infrastructure is pretty limited. But the capital has western-style health centers that offer just about anything.
A word of encouragement: my son is difficult, but he's also special. He's loving and kind and sees the world differently. I don't want to make him "normal," I just want to help him deal with the world better with the mind God gave him, because he has gifts as well as challenges.
Bottom line: trust your gut. If you think there's a problem, find out for sure. And no one will advocate for your daughter like you will. Be persistent and don't give up. There is someone, somewhere, who will be able to help. But be suspicious of medications. Some docs think that's the answer for everything. It isn't. Autism, if that's what it is, benefits from behavioral therapies, not drugs.
My son was delayed in speech and some other areas.
Turned out (was a long puzzle to figure out and he was misdiagnosed along the way) that he had allergies and that caused him to have excess fluid in his ears.
He appeared to just be non verbal, and slightly 'off' compared to what we expected. As first time parents, we didn't know what to expect. He wasn't hitting milestones.
He did pass hearing tests. However, his hearing was muffled.
If your child has Autism - you can learn ways to help her. Have your pediatrician check out your baby and note your concerns. Keep a list.
Best to you.
Take her to your Pediatrician and express your concerns. If he thinks there is a problem he will direct you to the proper doctor. Autism normally isn't detected this young in a child.
Welcome to mamapedia.
BREATHE. Please STOP!! Breathe. DO NOT try and label your daughter at six months of age. PLEASE!!! I know you're worried. I know the feeling - however your worry is NOT going to change anything and your daughter IS PICKING UP ON YOUR WORRY!! You're stressing her out. STOP!!! Let her be!!
If your pediatrician is not worried? You shouldn't be worried.
NOT every child develops at the same rate/pace. A mom I met through here - love her to death - was scared to death her son wasn't talking. We all told her - HE WILL TALK - just stay on top of it. She worked with her pediatrician and got him into the specialist as he was delayed. Now it's 8 years old and won't shut up. No kidding. He talks in his sleep now.
She's six months - not six years. Give her a chance to grow into her self. The first year is the hardest. Don't make it any harder. Let her develop. Don't rush it. Don't push it. Keep an eye on things but don't freak out because she didn't do "X" by the time she was 7 months and one day.
When my daughter was a baby I just enjoyed her. You are making yourself miserable... I'm wondering if you have an anxiety problem. Something to think about...?
Could your baby have a hearing problem? Talk to her doctor. Don't get upset about what you can't control. If she has autism, learn ways to help her. You can't undo or change how she is. Find ways for both of you to live with this. Get her the help she needs.
