Well, I would not dare to diagnose this situation. I can tell you this. My 4 year old son Brett had very peculiar behaviors for the first two years, but not only is he very bright for his age, he also loves to interact with all age levels so all concern is gone for him.
Levi, my 28 month old, on the other hand has some of the same peculiar behaviors Brett had, but even more. From day one Levi did not like Brett and still does not like Brett nor his six month old sister. Levi would not make eye contact or smile much for the first six months. He began to improve after that. He had a severe fever seizure at 12 months that turned his limbs and face blue. However, I personally did not see any changes in him after that (only that he was very still in my arms for the rest of that day).
With Levi I just KNOW without a doubt there is something different. He has too many of the symptoms. He is my fifth biological child, and seventh in line including his two half-sisters.
If you friend suspects there are issues, the baby should be examined. You may need to be insistent with the doctor. You should take a list with you of all the issues that have you concerned.
I don't see how they can deny you since the baby was said to have scarring on the brain previously.
May you get the answers and help you need. Let us know how it all works out.
Hi there and welcome to the group!
If the child's parents are concerned at all, then I'd say that she
should DEFINITELY be screened for her developmental delays. There
could be a variety of reasons for her delays, some having to do with
her traumatic birth and seizures. I don't think any of us here
would feel comfortable throwing about possible diagnoses, but the fact
that her language skills are somewhat delayed is reason enough to have
her assessed. She's still young and at that age children don't
usually 'play together' -- they mostly just play alongside each other
and maybe will occasionally watch each other. The language issue
in and of itself would not be reason enough to diagnose her as autistic
... not at 15 mos (I don't think anyway -- but I'm not a
doctor!). Nevertheless, if her parents are concerned about her
development, there's nothing wrong with getting her checked out by a
developmental pediatrician. Frankly, it seems a lot of us
listened to our regular pediatricians pooh-pooh our concerns about the
delays we saw in our own children, so I wouldn't go by just what a
regular pedictrician says. You want someone who specializes in
child development.
Good luck and best wishes!
Kellie
Hi Reason 2 Worry Welocme to the board..... I agree with the others here. Always better to be safe than sorry CHECK OUT ANYTHING that concerns you with your child (or have your friend do so with her child)
Some great places to start for help or resources besides the pediatrician are
call you local school and ask about developmental screening
call the local special needs school and ask about developmental screening
call your county's local head start or county preschool and ask about developmental screening
call the state department of education and ask about developmental screening
call your local mental health facility and ask about developmental screening
call your local county department of family services and ask about developmental screening
SOMEONE will have to know some answers and be able to point you in the right direction to get some resources and answers to places to go.
"Hi,
My friend's baby had a traumatic suction delivery followed by multiple seizures in the next few days. She was diagnosed with meningitis a few days later and after almost a month in the hospital, returned home. The doctors said that she had scars in the brain and had to be monitored for developmental delays. Soon after the baby came home, she was chirpy and surprisingly very “talkative” for a newborn. She could even say consonants like “tha” and “ba”. She was smiling and recognizing faces. Then at three months, she suddenly went into a “phase”. She stopped smiling, playing and “talking” and started to avoid eye contact and sometimes just stared blankly. Around 6-7 months she started smiling again and started gaining eye contact. But she was just not as “pleasant” or friendly as she was during the first two months. She was extremely uncomfortable in crowds and did not socialize much. She did not suffer any major developmental delays till age one. She had some odd repetitive behaviour but nothing very unusual. Like other kids, she did not start to point by one year. She is now 15 months old and is walking unaided. But she is still not talking properly. She started babbling “thatha” around 8 months but she is not able to repeat this word (means granpa in Indian language) now. She started to point only at 14 months. But she cannot point to her mom or dad when asked, just stares blankly. She can now say a few words but she gets very confused with these words and uses them haphazardly - meaning, does not use the same word for the same person or object consistently. She says “mummum” for food - that’s the only consistent thing. Also, she plays by herself - doesn’t know how to play with other children (ok with adults though) and doesn’t like most kinds of food – only likes to drink milk. Repeats the same behaviour (like laughing or mock crying) and keeps expanding and improvising on it for minutes together, to the point of making it look scary and weird. Often looks at people indirectly as if lowering head and frowning. Insists on holding onto people's bra straps! Likes to hit and push people and shows no empathy. Is there a reason to be concerned about her development? Should she be screened for autism?
PLEASE HELP!
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