Child Development Concerns

Back to:  Therapist Questions & Answers - Developmental Concerns

 I have an 18 month old baby boy. He was born at 32 weeks and only weighed 3 lbs, 15oz. He stayed in the NICU for a couple of weeks before he was able to come home. The first week and a half, he was in an incubator. He had to be on the jaundice light for a few days; he had to have an IV which they put in his head; they gave him antibiotics thru it; he also had a feeding tube. Up until he was about 10 months old, he developed very well. Some things he did before babies his age.

But at about 11 months, it seemed like he just stopped developing and he is now 18 months old. He is not walking alone; he won't let go and try. When he holds on to the furniture and stands or walks, it is always on his tip toes. He will not stand flat-footed. The only word he will say is Da-Da. He hollers and squeals at you as if he is trying to tell you something but no words, just sound. Sometimes when you call his name, he will respond to you but most of the time you don't get a response as if he doesn't hear you.

Most of the time it is as if he is in his own world. Also, he will sit and just stare for periods of time and you can get in front of him, wave in his face, clap your hands, or whatever and he won't even flinch. He will sit in front of the TV for hours at a time and watch animated movies or cartoons. If I turn it to something else or turn the TV off, he will sit on the floor in front of it and scream or cry. He has an older sister whom is 4 and she will try to interact and play with him but he'd rather play alone. He doesn't like to play with other children. When he was 9 months old, I would clap my hands and say "yeah for Chandler" and he would clap his hands but he won't do that anymore. When we start to leave somewhere, he will wave bye bye but he waves with both hands. Also, when he gets excited he waves and flaps his arms while smiling and making noises.

When playing with his toy tractors or trucks, he always turns them over and spins the wheels. He doesn't ever push them around. When playing with a ball, he spins it in circles with one finger, he won't roll it back and forth or throw it or anything like that. When I took him for his 12-month check up, I expressed the concern I had with him not trying to walk with his doctor and he thought it was because he was just being lazy and said he would check into more if he hadn't progressed by his 18-month checkup.

Last week he had his 18-month checkup and I expressed all of this to his doctor and he referred him to Early Intervention but they are backed up and it's going to be 2 to 4 weeks before they can even look at his paperwork and see about setting up an evaluation. Are there any other routes that we could go or any other doctors we could see for an evaluation? My family and I are willing to do whatever it takes to find out what is going on and try to help him.

It sounds like you have done all the right things by consulting with your son's pediatrician and going through with your referral to early intervention. Kudos to you for brining your concerns up to your doctor and seeking help for your son at age 18 months instead of waiting. From your description of your son, it sounds like he will qualify for services. It typically takes 2 weeks or so for your evaluation to get set up & scheduled with the agency who will provide it, hopefully it won't be 4 weeks. Early Intervention agencies are guided by a timeline, so once your referral is made, they generally have to get it scheduled and completed in a certain timeframe. Once the eval takes place, typically an IFSP (individualized family service plan) is also written within the next 2 weeks and then your therapist (s) will start coming to your home to provide therapy for your son. Often, other agencies that provide developmental screenings, such as hospitals or private practices (you might seek a referral to a child psychologist or developmental pediatrician) have a much long waiting list (3-6 months or more) than early intervention. Since I am not familiar with services in Alabama, I cannot give you specifics, but I did find this local resource which you could contact for more information.

Fran Heisner
Phone: 334-793-8714
Southeast AL Medical Center
Dothan-FASE, AL
email: fcheisner@samc.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Email: DothanNetworkingGroup@autism-alabama.org

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Back to:  Therapist Questions & Answers - Developmental Concerns