My 18 Mont Old Doughter Wont Respons to Her Name

Go to www.tacanow.org to read up on different kinds of testing and Regional Center and also do not allow anymore vaccines to be given to her until you know what is going on and that they did not contribute to this. Drives me CRAZY when a ped says 'oh she is fine'....

Sounds like you are doing all of the right things so far mom:o)

I have two children; a son who is high functioning on the autism spectrum and a daughter that is what they call "neuro-typical" (no autism). When my son was 18-months, he didn't respond to his name and he wasn't talking, but he also avoided all eye contact as much as possible, didn't appear to understand what we were saying, wouldn't play with anyone, didn't know how to play with any of his toys, had repetitive movements . . . oh dear, the list just goes on and on and on.

As for my daughter, by the time she was 18-months, she had a number of words under her belt and quite the socializer -- definitely not autistic -- but she still wouldn't respond to her name sometimes when I called out to her from across the room. What I learned is that all children have an amazing ability to tune out the world around them and can become hyper-focused on whatever they are playing with or watching on t.v. It is always good idea, when you want to tell them something, to go up to them, get down to their level and tell them what you want to tell them. Never assume that you have their attention or that they can hear you.

As for your daughter, it is good that you are having her evaluated. Maybe she just has a case of selective hearing but possibly she has an issue with her hearing (make sure they test her hearing), a speech delay or maybe some auditory processing issues. If that is the key, then early intervention is the key. Luckily for us, we caught my son's autism with he was just 18-months. He has made an amazing recovery since that time and unless you know something about autism, you may not recognize that he happens to be on the spectrum. You would probably just think that he's the quirky, shy kid.

Anyway, I hope this gives you some valuable information that you can use. I hope everything goes well for you and your daughter.

chill. why are you drinving your self crazy? You have no diagnosis. Do not stress until there is a reason to stress. Trust me, that will help a whole lot going through life as a parent.

I do think she is still a bit young. Sounds as if you are doing all of the extras you should. I guess I would not worry much if this is all that you ar noticing. My first question is; does she understand other things you are saying? At 18 months they can follow 1-2 step commands/request. If she does this, I guess I would not worry. I know three kids in our family that did not respond to their names either. They are all at least 8 and are just fine. We still laugh about it today. One we swear it was because his mother only called his name when he was in trouble or doing something wrong. We told her it was because he thought his name was "No Caleb". The other we swear was just because she did not like her name and the final one actually did have some hearing issues and did not hear a certain tone that was in her name. I think you have already gone the right route and would not worry. Trust me, these days I think people are over DXing more than telling parents not to worry. I think with the Autism Awareness, many people are looking for problems. BTW, no words at 18 months is just fine. No words at 26 months is a concern. As long as her babble tends to be conversation based. Relax and enjoy that little Princess!

I'm glad you've got an appointment coming this Friday.
I'm especially glad that there are resources available
for parents with these kinds of concerns.
Please try and let go of your anxiety if at all possible.
Maybe try some slow deep breathing.
Listen to some calming music.
You mentioned that your little girl plays with your son.
And she babbles and she signs.
These are all good things, imo.
Please just take it one day at a time.
When you go for the appointment on Friday,
perhaps you should consider bringing a friend (or sister? cousin?)
to help you remember what they tell you.
Perhaps to take notes for you.
I'm concerned that if you're anxious when you go there,
you won't be able to absorb their advice and recommendations.

Could she possibly have a hearing problem? It might be that she can't hear due to fluid in her ear canal. My two younger children had tubes but in their ears. Before the tubes they both temp. lost 25% of their hearing in their ears due to fluid in their ears. My middle one repeated everything all day long. After the operation he stopped repeating. The fluid is now properly draining.

I have been there and had all the same fears you probably have. Nobody could say anything that made me feel like everything was ok. My family was unsupportive thinking I was over reacting. My son didn't start speaking until about 23 months. It wasn't normal and I knew it. I kept pushing the doctors to find out what was wrong even though they thought I was overreacting. I was right. My son had fluid build up in both ears how the Ped missed this I don't know but 2 different docs didn't catch it. This chronic build up was impairing his hearing. He could hear but couldn't understand the words....like trying to hear under water. It turns out he'd had this issue from birth and since the ears were never infected he never ran a fever. What I thought was cholic was actually a very painful ear problem. Fortunately the problem is under control now and at 3.5 he's talking as much as the other kids his age. Follow your gut and keep in mind that it is more likely the problem can be fixed and she will get on track. Jenny McCarthy has scared us all to death! If she's interacting face to face and making eye contact you are probably not looking at an issue that can't be fixed.

I agree with the dr-selective hearing! And I've also heard that children who sign are slower to talk too. And you don't have to hear to sign either and maybe that is what she is used to and not hearing real sounds.

Just my 2 cents
S.