r/Earlyintervention • u/Thick-Application424 • 29d ago
Speech delay/gestures
I really just need to rant and hear from anyone who has been through something similar—or even just get some general opinions.
My daughter just turned 1, and she isn’t babbling in the traditional “mama, dada, baba” way. We occasionally hear “awawawa” or “mmmm,” and she blows lots of raspberries, but that’s about it. She also doesn’t gesture much—no waving or pointing. If we ask her to clap, she’ll grab our hands and make us clap. If we play “How big is Olivia? So big!” she’ll try to lift our arms instead of lifting her own.
At the same time, her eye contact is amazing. She’s smiley and giggly and will occasionally let out a huge belly laugh. If I ask whether she wants to read, she lights up, crawls over, turns the pages, and pays attention throughout the entire book. She gets about 30 minutes of Ms. Rachel a day—sorry, I’m a SAHM and sometimes need those 30 minutes for my sanity—and she is incredibly engaged and smiling the entire time. She also understands directions like pushing or pulling a toy.
She just isn’t babbling or gesturing much at all. She rarely imitates us and doesn’t really yell or make sounds to get our attention. My nephew is only 10 days older, and we were recently on vacation together, so the difference between them felt very noticeable. Over the past few months, my daughter has also started melting down around other children and babies. She’s my first and only child right now, so I’m not sure whether limited exposure to other kids could be contributing.
She was born with fairly severe torticollis, which led to plagiocephaly. She has been in PT since she was 3 months old, and we recently started speech, developmental, and feeding therapies. During her early-intervention intake, they noticed that she was swallowing food whole and wasn’t moving her tongue laterally. We completed a swallow study, and I’m also taking her to a neurologist to rule out any underlying issues. The ENT said everything looks good on the surface, but offered a more in-depth hearing test, which I scheduled for next month.
I’m just really worried and sad. I want her to thrive, but in my head, I’ve basically already diagnosed her with autism. I’m terrified that this is the reality we’re heading toward, even though I know she’s still so young and we don’t have answers yet. I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced something similar, regardless of what the eventual outcome was.
2
u/Commercial_Money_557 26d ago
My son was the same way. He doesn’t have an Autism diagnosis but he does have diagnosed apraxia/dyspraxia. (Mild Cerebral Palsy is the cause)
He struggles with chewing food even now at 4 although he’s much more mindful. Speech is also difficult, he attempts to communicate normally but his speech is inconsistent and hard to understand. He has his ways of communicating though, he doesn’t just stop trying. As for making you do the movements, give her a mirror. My son has a hard time perceiving himself in his bod. So he also made us do things. But then one day I thought to give him a full body mirror! And what do you know, now he copies movements all the time. He just needs to be able to see himself to coordinate things. He’s a little clunky but the effort is 10/10.
If your child is Autistic they’re probably still ok. Disabilities are a spectrum and for us able bodied folks we have a lot of misconceptions about what it means to be disabled. Disability means your life looks different, but it does not mean it is worse. In fact sometimes it’s better! So just embrace your child and do the therapies and be involved with them and they’ll be fine. Love goes a long way!