Head Twitching

Hi,
You know now that you mention it I remember my daughter doing the same thing and she grew out it. It was really nothing. good Luck.
-A.

I have an 11 year old son who has asperger syndrome (mild autism). I can tell you some of the things that were different about my son even at 8 months and that might give you some relief. My understanding is that babies and toddlers sometimes just figure out odd things they can do with their bodies and experiment with it. There are a number of causes for a variety of behaviors so the behavior may be completely normal or could be caused by something different from autism. My son makes an odd head movement and it usually seems to be related to eating. We think he may have mild reflux in addition to asperger syndrome. We haven't explored it as fully as we should because so many other issues need to be addressed.

At 8 months I would pay attention to how he is with people. Is he interested in people? Does he seem to look at people, respond to people in the same way he responds to objects? My son responded to the movement of other kids in the same way he responded to the movement of a toy train. He didn't make a lot of eye contact. He never reached to me for me to pick him up. Does your 8 month old reach to be picked up? If not that could be a clue. You can have your child evaluated free of charge by Infants and Toddlers. It's a government thing and I think it's through most public schools. More and more doctors are trying to diagnose earlier. The earlier a diagnosis is found the better the prognosis. I knew quite a bit about autism and asperger syndrome when my son was small so he was diagnosed at age 3.5 which was unusual at the time. More and more kids are getting diagnosed with mild autism and asperger syndrome at that age. There are now more diagnostic tools for younger children. But this doesn't mean I think your baby has autism. It is much harder to tell when they are little. I noticed a huge contrast between my daughter (my second child) and my son when it came to how he interacted with people. My son didn't try to bring people into his world. He didn't point at things to get me to look. He didn't ask me things when he learned to talk. He loved the alphabet with an amazing intensity. That's called "Hyperlexia". He read at age 2.

By about 8 months if I read my son a book he would touch the page numbers. He wasn't interested in the pictures. He didn't look for me the way my daughter did. My daughter at 3 months would get attached to someone in the room and then get angry when they left. She wasn't sad, she was clearly indignant. Her connections with people were more complex at 3 months than my sons were at 3 years.

All the doctors kept telling me I should be cautious and wait and see if she showed any signs of autism because there are genetics involved and because there can be regression in development but I was pretty well convinced my daughter was not autistic when she was very small.

One amazing thing I noticed my son doing when he was a bit older is if I read a book to him that I'd read to him many times he would know the page number I was one without looking at the book or the pictures. He'd shout "eleven!" from across the room when I got to a particular page in The Cat in the Hat.

The good news is that there are a lot of things that can be done to help if a child is autistic. So finding out early is beneficial.

I feel very fortunate because my son has mild autism. There have been times that were extremely horrible for us because we were fighting with schools that just felt my son was "bad" and couldn't get that they weren't doing the right things for him. Mostly, though, he's been an absolute delight to me. He's very smart and looks at the world a bit differently. He struggles with social skills but with lots of social skill coaching he has a good number of friends. His prognosis is quite good and I feel that getting him help fairly early made a big difference.

My son is 11 now and starting to become a lot more independent. The things that make me so happy might seem quite mundane and simple to families with autistic children but those little victories show me than he can learn and make progress. Recently he started choosing to take baths without being told and has learned how not to completely flood the bathroom. He's starting to think about what he needs to do in advance like setting out a towel for himself and putting a towel on the floor to catch drips. He also says things that bring me into his world. "Hey mom, look at this." He is delayed in terms of these sorts of things but is way ahead in terms of math and logic. So for us, his diagnosis has mainly been a tool to help us figure out ways to teach him social skills and to help schools understand how to work with him.

Keep me posted on how you're doing if you can. I'm not really sure how this posting works since I'm new here.

M.

I would not think it was Autism, but you really should get him to your Pedi and maybe even an evaluation for a neurolgist..something really could be going on..or nothing..a twitch..but you really should look into it.

My son does this all day but he is copying me nodding my head "no" and he does this to dance or "wiggle wiggle." He started this a couple of months ago to make me laugh. Try to see when he does it and if he is trying to get a rection out of you. This would be a good sign. if he does it for no reason and you see other signs of regression that I would worry, but if he is still the little boy you know, then I wouldn't worry about it. You should be having your nine month doc apt soon, so you can see if they notice anything out of sorts with your baby. But, my baby is 13 months and loves moving his head back and forth, he thinks it is fun.

I think your smartest bet would be to video tape it and show it to your pediatrician. Often this twitching in infants is nothing (I'm a physical therapist) but sometimes it can be infantile spasms. If it is something significant, the earlier it's treated the better. Good luck!

My advice to you is to get it on video so that if it is a concern you want to bring to your doctor you can show the video instead of just describing it. I hope all goes well.

Hi S.,

My son has autism and epilepsy. I'd be more concerned about epilepsy if he's twitching his head, he may be having small seizures. Bring him to his pediatrician and tell him or her your concerns.

Hi S.,

I am another one with a baby the same age (7.5 months) who does this. I never even thought to tape it or ask the pediatrician about it, because she seems perfectly happy and healthy otherwise. Although I'm glad to hear that other babies do the same thing so at least it's semi-normal!

It's kind of like dancing (but she doesn't do it only to music) or shaking her head. It sounds like the same thing!

Hi, S..

Actually, it might be a seizure, which is perfectly normal as almost all infants have seizures on a regular basis. My baby had these, too.

Just wait a little while and observe his speech development and social development. If he is hugging and loving and babbling, chances are, he is right on par and there is no need to worry:)

Trust your mamma intuition.

C.

My son did that around the same age. He would get excited and twitch his head back and forth. I asked the doctor about it and he said it was normal. He no longer does it, but I was also concerned at the time. At this point, I really wouldn't worry about it and just ask when you go in for your next appointment.

Get him to the doctors right away! My son had a twitch at 4 days old... they could be seisures! Don't mess around with waiting for advice...seek medical advice.
P.

I agree with others video tape it for you pediatrician. I have heard of one baby around 5 months old who would tighten her leg muscle & her mom thought maybe she was having a seizure. However it turned out to be "normal" and she was/is perfectly fine and it only happened like once or twice and she stopped. I forget what they call it but there is a name and it does sometimes happen to infants. But I would still video it and show the doctor and see what they think or advise. Good luck!

My son is the same age (9 months later this month) who does it and I have a 3 year old who also did the same thing. It is just the start of a word you will be using in the years to come.... NO! He is learning to say no! (yes comes later, it is harder to shake your head up and down than it is left to right). So, perfectly normal milestone, enjoy it now, its not as cute when it comes from a 3 year old! :)

I would video tape it and show it to your pediatrician. I would also check it out with a neurologist. Childrens has a very good department of neurology. It's importqant at this early stage to be thorough and if something is going on then you can take care if it. Good luck.

I think you want to tell your pediatrician about this. It could be something, it could be nothing, but you want to know right now. Early detection of any disorder is key. The earlier that you would be able to begin a regimen of medicines, therapies, etc.... the better. I know this is scary, but you are better off knowing than not knowing. Remember, it could be absolutely nothing and then you will feel so much better.
Good luck and please make an appointment soon.

Hi S.!

Saw your question. My 2 cents....first have you taken him to your pediatrican about this? I would start there. Second, this symptom on its own doesn't sound typical of autism-the key signs are no eye contact, and at this age not looking in your direction when you call his name. Autism is a very complex condition, however, your dr should be able to give you the details. I know with my first I was always fearful of autism too and it makes you worry about everything that seems out of the ordiary:)

N.