My 11mo son constantly shakes head... autism?
My son constantly shakes his head side to side at random times like a “no” motion, but it looks uncontrolled. Somewhat like this: https://youtu.be/gVMFJaaaQkU
We have no reason to believe he has autism as he responds to his name, smiles at us, reacts positively to strangers and plays with our dogs while giggling.
On the developmental side, he has started to finally pull up, almost standing on his own. He didn’t ever really crawl, only army crawl until recently.
Any thoughts and help would be appreciated 🙏
Jul 3, 2020
Parent Replies
There's not enough information to say your child does not have autism. If you're really concerned, talk to your doctor and don't let strangers on the internet convince you not to follow up.
That said, you absolutely want your child to crawl, it's one of the most impactful developmental skills for babies. Teach him to crawl, practice, play games crawling, get those crawl through tunnels or make a tunnel with boxes or furniture. Crawling is important and skipping that could be related to all sorts of later problems. Crawl!
The head shaking sounds like it may be self stimulation/self soothing (though "uncontrolled" make me wonder about possible seizures- not sure what you mean by that). That could be related to autism, sensory integration disorder, vision problems, or even within the range of normal (like babies that like to be rocked to sleep, it's not uncommon). But without more information, there no way to know if it's normal or a concern. Talk to your doctor, if you want more of an expert, a developmental pediatrician would be the expert.
Several moms in a group that I'm in reported same head-shaking behaviros around 10-12 months. My sons did this too, sometimes when he found it funny and sometimes when he's getting tired near bedtime. It went away after a month or so. Probably just a phase.
What a perfectly concise reply you already received, a summary of what would have been a ramble and not as clear from me. :)
Just wanted to agree 100% with that reply and also emphasis importance of crawling even if for a little bit. I would also say speak with your pediatrician, or just call directly as a parent, to have an early intervention screening. I work in EI and many families do that—trust those instincts as you know your baby best.
My son did this so much he rubbed all the hair on the back of his head off. The doctor said it was normal; he’s now a healthy, developmentally normal 2.5 year old. And he doesn’t shake his head anymore.
Both my sons have high-functioning autism. One shook his head as a baby exactly as you described, the other didn’t. I was told the head shaking sometimes occurs in kids without autism. Both my kids had motor delays. Physicians wouldn’t even consider a diagnosis before the age of 2 or so. I know from personal experience that it’s so hard to have an unknown like this. I found it helpful to just focus on engaging my kids and enjoying them as much as I could. In parenting, there’s always uncertainty. And, even if he does have autism, your lives will hopefully still have much joy. Best of luck to you, whatever the future holds.
I'm writing to second the previous response: if you have any concerns, speak with your pediatrician. If you do not feel the pediatrician takes your concerns seriously, find another one. Please do not look to the internet for something like this; trust your parenting instincts and follow up with a professional. Other parents' experiences can lend perspective, but cannot begin to address you and your child's unique situation.
For perspective, neither of my children crawled. One was an early walker (with a little support at 10 months and fully solo on the first birthday), the other scooted sitting upright on their bottom until they walked shortly after their first birthday. Both are now in their late teens (the older will be 20 next month). Our pediatrician was not concerned, and I don't believe the lack of crawling impacted their development moving forward.