20 months ignoring or not responding when called all the time
Amandaluvs2Travel
member
So my son who will be 20 months in 3 days has been ignoring me lately and at daycare too. They mentioned it to me today that he doen'ts always respond when called too. But sometimes he does.
I made an appt for the 15th to have his hearing checked out. But in the mean time I will be reasearching all options and was hoping maybe some of you have had this concern and can share some experiences.
I feel like this is something that has come recently as his infant room has never mentioned to me a concern nor have I been concerned until recently. I actually have never been concerned int he past because his vocabulary has been higher than expected milestones. He is even putting words together like Thank you, All Done, Love you. He know animal sounds, body parts, and about 30 words or more.
But I have noticed if he is playing with a toy or when I pick him up from daycare I will call him and he keeps on playing. But if I was to drop something he does react and jumps and runs over to me.
I am also reading up on early signs of autism because not responding to name is a early sign but I feel his other communications skills are ok, such as eye contact, pointing, smiling, waving bye, peek a boo, huggin others and responding like "uh oh" if someone gets hurt or drops something or saying "aww" when he hugs or kisses someone, etc.
I was hoping perhaps some of you have anyone has experience with this or any other recommendations on things to explore. Thanks!
Re: 20 months ignoring or not responding when called all the time
Most of the time it's a normal kid thing when they're focused on something they enjoy. It's normal for kids (and adults!) to zone in on something they enjoy or they're focused on.
With that being said my DD is nonresponsive (think you could make a loud noise and she wouldn't turn around) but she doesn't have autism--she has auditory processing difficulties caused by middle ear fluid. A lot of kids with auditory processing problems have difficulties when there's lots of background noise (think daycare) but do better at home one on one.
I think your pedi will be able to give you some insight--if there's fluid in his ear which isn't too uncommon in toddlers and can present without any symptoms at all and can cause a child to be nonresponsive.
GL!
We had the same concern (and also that he didn't always respond to questions and commands) and I brought it up at my son's 18 month well check. We have had several evaluations, both private and through early invention, and he has been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. Basically, he hears and understands language just fine, but only if he is paying attention. Since he is sensory seeking and active all.the.time, he kind of tunes out the rest of the world. Our OT explained it as having 90% of his brain focused on, "got to move, got to climb, got to jump, got to dance, got to go,go,go" which leaves only 10% for everything else, and unfortunately, auditory processing gets put on the back burner. We are working with an OT and speech path once per week through early intervention.
Our developmental pedi told us that at 18 - 24 month, they look at language, social, and cognitive skills to diagnose autism. It's generally a combination of a delay in all 3 areas. Based on what you're describing, I don't think you need to be concerned at this point. I think that it's normal for most toddlers to not respond to their name 100% of the time if they are focused on whatever else they are doing at the time. However, the evaluation process can be long so if you have any concerns at all, you might want to get the process started.
I think every toddler I've ever known does this.
Usually it's because when Mom calls their name it's because she wants them to do something less fun than the current activity. Toddlers are smart, they know this and catch on quick.
Ask the pedi but if he's fine in every other area, he probably is fine.
Also, toddlers have a tendency to focus on one thing and nothing else. Their brains aren't developed enough to consistently multitask. Kind of like when they learn a new word the old ones go out the window for awhile but it all comes back.
Thanks for your responses. I will look more into the processing disorders. I haven't thought about those as options but it will be nice to read up on them while I am waiting for his appointment.
I am hoping that it is just a toddler trying to be sneaky and pushing boundaries, (he does love to do that, and I think that was my first thought until the daycare recommendated I contact my peds) but hopefully if it is something I can get early interventions. Thanks again!
Do you think he's trying to push or test his limits by ignoring you? I'd definitely mention it to the pedi bc the teachers mentioned it and well, they've been around toddlers to know this stuff. I think if it was autism, he would have some other signs. My cousin has autism... My dad pointed it out at 12 -15 mos bc he said it was obvious, he wasn't diagnosed until later. I thinks as moms, we freak out that something's wrong w our kids with only one symptom, ESP after a google search. PP mentioned her husband does it, but we would never say that he is delayed right? Good luck, hope your little guy is fine.