How Can I Tell If My 17Month Old Is Autistic?

There's a saying that goes like this: "When you hear hoofbeats behind you, don't expect to see a zebra." This relates medically. It means that someone has received a surprising diagnosis.

Your friend's son has Autism, and it was likely initially a surprising diagnosis.

But let's take this a little further. Since her son has Autism, it consumes much of her life. Autism doesn't turn off at 5:00. It doesn't turn off at bed time. There's no off switch at all. ASD becomes a way of life. And yes, there's another saying that when you know one person with ASD, all that means is that you know a person with ASD and that you don't know all about ASD.

She could be in a room full of horses and all she sees is zebras. I know what that's like. My middle daughter has Autism.

However, let me tell you that looking back in hindsight with what I know about ASD and looking back at the warning signs, it was very obvious that she had ASD when she was 18 months old. It was even more obvious when she was 24 months old. She had global developmental delays which drove the social delays and eccentricities home... and really, that's the key. There's more to look at than social cues being missed and not wanting to play with others and enjoying organizing things. There are global developmental concerns. There may be regressions in some areas. There would be significant delays consistently in several areas, not necessarily with speech. There could be sensory processing issues.

So while your friend could be seeing nothing but zebras in a room full of horses, she could also be seeing some familiar signs. I wish to God that someone had mentioned their concerns to me. There WERE people who had concerns at 18 months old and never said anything to me until after I decided to take her myself at 4 1/2 years old. "Oh, yeah, I heavily suspected Autism but I was afraid of how you would react."

It's better that she said something. Take your son to Birth To Three or whatever Early Intervention is called at the school system in your town and you can have him evaluated for free. It can't hurt. He is NOT too young.

All of those behaviors are normal at this age. My daughter had her son evaluated when he was 2.5 and was told that even tho he had some characteristics of autism he was too young to diagnose. He's now 9 and was only diagnosed as autistic a couple of years ago.

I suggest you focus on learning parenting skills to deal with the hitting, biting, and head butting. And don't be concerned at all about his not being willing to play with other children. He's not developmentally ready for cooperative play. Also liking toys to be in a certain order is not concerning at this age. He's learning how things relate to each other.

Later: After reading other posts I want to add that if your son has developmental delays in addition to the social activities that you mention then I also suggest that you contact Early Intervention thru the school district to arrange for an evaluation. My grandson ha apraxia of speech as well as sensory processing disorder. He wasn't talking at 3 and he was a seeker of strong touch. His hugs of us were painful for example. He ran pel mel into walls. He was unable to do certain common things. At 9 he still can't ride a bicycle. He stuffed his mouth so full he couldn't chew and swallow.

Google developmental milestones and developmental delays as well as sensory processing disorder. From those sites you may find other areas to explore. I suggest autism does frequently if not always go along with other issues. I'm not sure about this last statement tho.

All age appropriate behavior. I highly recommend reading some books on child development.

How has your child been doing developmentally? You should have some idea based on his well-baby visits.

Check this out, but be aware that some symptoms don't manifest until later. His not playing with other children, for instance, is pretty normal for his age. Little ones tend to play nearby other children, not with them.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autism-symptoms

I think your son sounds VERY normal for 17 m9nths. My best friend of 11 years has a son who was JUST diagnosed as autistic at 10.
In my own, non doctor opinion...17 months is way to young to diagnose....and I kind of think 4 is pretty young too.
(moms of autistic kids, If I am wrong let me know. I only have my BF's situation to go off of and he has been "off" for YEARS before his doctor was comfortable enough to diagnose him)

Go ahead and take him to the doctor if you have concerns. A lot of responses have said that the behavior is age-appropriate, but you're the only one here who has actually observed your son to know whether this is "normal" 17-month-old behavior or something else. If you think there might be a problem, it is better to check it out than to simply assume it is ok. There has been a lot of research lately that early intervention is key in helping kids with autism, so finding out sooner rather than later would be best for you all.

for reals go to a doctor do not ask this on the internet !! only the doctors can tell u !!

Many pediatricians do an M-CHAT test at 18 months. You may want to ask your doctor if they will be doing one. You could also take him to Early Intervention for testing. Most doctors wont diagnosis autism at that young of an age, but they will tell you if there are red flags and send you for treatment.

Good luck.

If you suspected your kid had diabetes and needed insulin, would you wait until you were completely sure it was diabetes before you took him to see a doctor? Same with autism or any medical concern--act as quickly as possible.
Start with contacting Early Intervention services within your school district or county, they are legally required to perform free evaluation within a specific period of time. They can tell you if your child is performing outside of the typical range and could benefit from Early Intervention services. At the same time schedule an appointment with a developmental pediatrician (development pediatrician is more likely to be aware of the most recent autism diagnostics and treatment than a regular pediatrician). It may not be autism but it is important to check (though lining up toys and being rigid with routines is one of the early signs). Early and intensive treatment has been shown to result in significant improvement and 17 months is not too early to start. Best of luck!