Pointing and a 13 Month Old

Oh, please don't read too much into the fingerpointing. I've worked with kids for a long time, and young children very often go through phases of doing this. Sometimes they are in a stage of language acquisition (that is, they are building their receptive vocabulary, even if they aren't talking yet) and want you to label things. I vividly remember doing this with one little girl in my toddler group, years ago. She was about 23 months and had just started talking beyond "Mama" when she went through a period of pointing at EVERYTHING in our Toddler room. Once we figured out that she didn't want the item, she wanted the name for it, we took 'tours' around the room and gave her language for everything she pointed at. Her expressive language ramped up shortly afterward.

Babies and young toddlers will also point because they want to explore something, to see it up close and have it explained or named. They are interested little learners.

For what it's worth, there are many small traits that fall under "autistic" that many children exhibit. Lining up toys is one, and very common. Autism isn't diagnosed by the exhibition of one trait, but of a combination of traits in several separate domains. This is why children are only diagnosed in this way after having a full evaluation done by a pro.

Hope this offers you some reassurance!
H.

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My son is 24 months old and just started index finger pointing. Up until now, he would actually hold my hand and make me point to the things he wanted. For instance, when reading a book, he would take my index finger and place it on the picture that he wanted me to tell the name of. (like he would make me point to a pictuer of a zebra, and i would say ';zebra'. He DOES NOT have autism. At his 2 year appt, the doc asked if he pointed to things, and i said yes, just recently. she didnt seem concerned at all.

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I know how you feel...my daughter is 15 months old and she doesn't point at things. She knows how, she just does it when she's good and ready...just like waving bye. I used to worry about my son who is now 11. When he was little I started to put him in speech therapy and I was so worried about him b/c he couldn't walk or talk and he was almost a year and a half...and before I knew it he was walking and talking and now he is in all gifted classes, he's fine, and now I can't get him to stop talking!!! I wouldn't worry right now...just give him time. Good luck!

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My son was diagnosed autistic at 19 months old. He was *not* pointing. He would not look where I pointed, rather he'd look at my hand. Oh, yeah, and he was pretty much non-verbal. The process of pointing means he is engaging with you and communicating interest in something out of reach. I wouldn't be concerned if it's not the ideal digit.

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It is great he is pointing using his whole hand. My daughter was diagnosed with Autism at 2 and half years old. she did not point at all in any way, and she would only look at my hand when I pointed at things. She is now 5 and a half and still has difficulty figuring out she needs to look where i am pointing. Her diagnosis is now Aspergers, but she still doesn't point to things. She communicates well verbally but the non-verbal stuff she is lost and her language is very literal. so if he is already picking up on this form of communication, I wouldn't be worried.

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I am also a first time mama of a 12 month old and my son is thriving but won't yet point! I point at everything and he just smiles:) I'm glad you posted so I know others think about this stuff! He is doing really well but I've been told boys develop language later than girls and pointing is part of language from what I understand so he'll get there. I'm curious to read more responses myself:)

Thanks for posting this question!

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Both my nieces pointed with there middle fingers :-) and my nephew pointed with his whole hand. They are all fine.

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He is trying to communicate what he sees. DO not be so worried. He is learning about the world around him. I would think he is observant and is right on track.

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I would relax. I personally have never heard anything about index finger pointing and autism. That does not meet it does not exist. Next time you are
at the doc, just ask to put your mind at ease. I would not worry about it right
now. Good luck.

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At this age I wouldn't jump to the autism diagnosis just yet.lol He can't talk coharently yet but he knows what things are so that is probably why he points. My older two would point and grunt or screach at everything(baby is too young but prob will) So relax and don't over analyze everything your baby does, enjoy him time flys!

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That is GREAT for 13 months! (some people think it's more polite to point with your whole hand anyway... My husband worked at Disney and they made him do that). My son is 17 months and rarely points.. He grabs or starts throwing a tantrum and I have to play psychic detective as to what he wants. Ha ha. :o) I don't think you have anything to worry about. Most of the people I talk to say that they knew something was wrong from the start if their child had autism (no eye contact, rarely cried, rarely interacted with them).

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I agree with the others and think he's doing well - the key at his age is to communicate what he wants. I thought my son was slow to point at first, among many other delays that he had from being a premie. Then he went to pointing with his middle finger. Then he went to pointing with first/middle finger crossed over. Now he's a pro at pointing, especially when trying to reprimand us :)

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If he is pointing at things and drawing your atteintion to them, thus gaining joint attention, you have good skill development. There are other things that you would be talking about if you had something to worry about.

For now, look up the milestones, enrich his enviorment, talk to him all day long, sing songs, read books, and only if he misses one of the milestones, then say something to your pediatrician. Do not ever take wait and see for an answer, if he really misses a mile stone, get an evaluation. Never wait on a missed milestone, that is the very best advice I can ever give you. The next best advice is, don't borrow trouble. If he has not missed a real milestone, don't go looking for signs that there is something to worry about. You are better off napping, or talking about how green the grass is, or how you just put three apples into your bag at the grocery store.

Enjoy your baby.

M.

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My 14 mo/old was pointing with his whole hand til about a month or 2 ago, and now he points with his index finger at everything! He's recognizing objects and points at them if he hears someone say it, or if he wants something.

If what you read about the index finger and autism is the ONLY thing you are concerned about, I wouldn't worry. If there are MANY different factors, then maybe mention it to your pedi. But I wouldn't worry for only 1 thing you noticed. Relax!!

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There is a screening done for autism at most 18 month check-ups. One of the questions is if the child points to things, but it is not the only indicator. My son has several red flags for autism and we have been seeing someone from the Early Steps program and Center for Autism and Related Diseases. They have us working with him doing hand over hand pointing to items and because he is language delayed we are teaching him sign language.
Does your son have any other indicators, such a poor eye contact? Do you feel like he is trying to communicate with you?
I wouldn't worry too much about autism at this early stage. You may want to try the hand over hand pointing and some sign language just to put your mind at easy. I would also talk to my doctor to make sure that they do the M-CHAT at 18 months.

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pointing is normal :)