NT son is banging doors | Autism PDD

My younger son, Ben, lately has taken to banging doors on cabinets and spinning the wheels on one of his trucks. He is 1.1. He otherwise seems normal; he tries to communicate, has good eye contact, smiles a lot, plays peekaboo, etc. He turns his head when you snap your fingers near his ear, and responds to his name. His head size in in the 90th %tile. His older brother (4.1) is probably ASD - his dx is Monday. Zachary (older brother) is a sens-seeker who seeks reverberation with cabinets. Could it be that Ben is just mimicking Zachary, or is this something I need to concern myself with? Is a call to the ped in order?

Thanks.

My son was like that, too. He had several of these autism "red flags", but was social and his language was good, so I didn't worry too much about it (at the time). My son is now seven, in second grade and does very well at school. He's not completely typically wired - he's a bit anxious and obsessive (like me), but not autistic.

These are immature behaviors, which is fitting, since he's 1.1 years old. lots of the "red flags" for autism are merely immature behaviors that shouldn't be present in a 2.5-3.0 year old, and thus they're indications of developmental delay. If his social, language, and play milestones have been met, I would probably try not to worry about it and just assume he's in a phase that will eventually pass.

Hopefully it's nothing.

Thanks, Fred.

Does he respond to his name? Does he have any typical play for his age? Does he make eye contact?

He most certainly could be coping his brother.

I just spoke to our ped. She told me that Ben is not autistic. NOT. AUTISTIC. She was pretty emphatic about it. But I will still keep my eye on him. I'd keep an eye on him. My son has PDD-NOS and he always pointed, made semi-ok eye contact (would look away after brief contact) and appeared friendly. If one sib has ASD, it's best to be ultra-conservative with the second one. The early interventions (and the earlier the better) really help and certainly can't hurt. He could just be high functioning or atypically autistic, which is what PDD-NOS is. It's still ASD. Keep an eye out.

I also wouldn't worry if that is the only thing he's doing. It's so hard to tell since all kids copy their older siblings. Also, even NT kids bang cabinet doors. (especially boys) It's just a matter of how much and can you redirect easily.

Laurie

Thank you all. Ben is whole-hand pointing to the kitchen light and trying to say "light." whole-hand and sometimes digital points to the buttons on my shirt and says "buh", can follow my finger point, etc. I think he will be OK. I think he is just now exploring banging doors, because he sees his big brother banging doors all the time. Nonetheless, I will keep an eye on him. Could be sensory . Time will only tell. I know how it feels to see your kids do something and wonder. My brother was all worried the other day because his son was toe walking but he is 1yrs old and that is 1 sign. I told him not to worry, he is 1 yrs old but if more red flags start showing up..... Then worry. I would just keep an eye on it and see if anything more concerning appears. My 2 year old who was just dx mild PDD-NOS just started doing a digital point (was doing only whole hand before), but I agree the pointing and other gestures is something to keep an eye on. He has decent eye contact, shared interactions, smiles, does do pretend play, follows point, okay socially right now. His concerning areas are late with gestures, language delay, plays too long by himself, some visual stimming when alone. hand flaps about 1-2 times a day and I have caught him spinning wheels. The psych was on the fence with him, but was concerned about the concerning areas developing further so we are getting him therapy now. It sounds like your youngest has some good skills though. Just keep an eye out. :) kdchaos39373.4614814815No, my son doesn't quite point yet. But he was reaching toward the kitchen light and trying to indicate what it was the other day. Yes, he is responding to his name.

His eye contact is good as well, although if I get to close to him (right in his face, he looks away.)
Does he point? That's a big one.

Sensory-seeking ... probably NT. My DS bangs EVERYthing! And he is 4.5! I think at 1, that is very normal.

I have to say ... my NT kids seem to cause and/or have an awful lot of behavior problems and bad habits, after T (the ASD one). She had fine motor delays and just did and does not DO as many bad, loud, or annoying things, as they do!

Ironic, but true.