We went in for DD's check-up today and every parent now has to fill out an autism questionnaire. Basically, because DD (at nine months) isn't walking along furniture or bending over to pick up toys while standing, she is borderline in gross motor skills. She exceeds in communication and fine motor skills, however.
This kind of bothers me. Why give a parent anxiety when there isn't any real concern? Has anyone else done this questionnaire? What do you think of it?
coconut / 8498 posts
What?! I haven't had to do this, but I hardly think not doing these things at 9 months points towards autism. That's just crazy to me.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@HLK208: Parental anxiety is definitely a downside of raising awareness... but on the other hand, early intervention can make a world of difference to kids on the spectrum. Mrs. Hide & Seek has blogged a lot about how her daughter benefited from Early Intervention for her PDD-NOS diagnosis.
You're right that in most cases, it will just serve to create parental anxiety... but in some cases, it will help identify issues that might otherwise go undetected for additional months or even years.
Given the huge and positive impact of early intervention, I'm ok with the tradeoff described above! 9 months does feel a little early though... but I don't have the data to know what age would be best to do such a screening...
nectarine / 2886 posts
@HLK208: No I've never heard of such a questionnaire, and when I told our pediatrician at LO's 9 month appointment that LO wasn't cruising yet, she said that it was perfectly fine!
grapefruit / 4681 posts
We had to fill these out also. Our pedi sort of brushed them off after they were filled out and just asked the more concerning red flag type questions on them during the exam and at the end off the appointment always goes back to say that he observed DS while talking and there is nothing of concern. I always got the feeling they were more of a formality and what was observed during the appointment is really what matters.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
Researchers have now found a few early indicators of autism. I'm sure some pediatricians are trying to capitalize on the research to do early identification. The earlier you pick up on the warning signs the better children do.
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
That is stressful! My new ped office seems very "go with the flow" and they didn't care that my son wasn't crawling at 9 month checkup
GOLD / papaya / 10206 posts
I think it's worth the trade off, though we don't have anything like that at our doc's office, and LO was just barely crawling at 9mos! lol!
eggplant / 11824 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: if you don't mind sharing, what are the general early indicators or warning signs?
We just had our 9 month checkup and my LO isn't crawling yet, or pulling up/walking/cruising. Our ped wasn't concerned at all and said they all progress at their own pace. He played peek-a-boo with her and held her and we talked about her progress.
What sorts of questions did the questionnaire have? Should a LO be pulling up by now?
pomegranate / 3890 posts
@yoursilverlining: my lo is 8 months and is the same way... glad to here your ped said it was normal. i was getting worried.
nectarine / 2132 posts
i personally take comfort when pediatricians are proactive in identifying early signs of autism. at our 6 month check up i had a few questions concerning autism (there have been studies that show that at 6 months babies can exhibit symptoms) and she took them very seriously. like @mrbee said, early intervention is so important and i'd rather be safe than sorry.
pineapple / 12234 posts
@yoursilverlining: it asked if LO was pulling herself up, walking along furniture, standing/holding onto items without leaning her chest against something. As for communicating, it asked if she was saying "dada", "mama", "baba", "gaga" toward specific things. It asked if she was able to sit unassisted as well.
That makes me feel better that DD isn't the only baby who is taking awhile in the gross motor skills area. I feel like she is very bright and now I'm questioning everything she has done now. It's just hard to think about. Our ped didn't seem concerned but hearing him question what she was able to do rather than examine her himself, worried me. He is retiring in a month and I don't feel like he gave us his time though.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@yoursilverlining: Regression of any kind is a concerning sign.
Others are:
-Not making eye contact
-Lack of a social smile
-Doesn't respond to name
-Doesn't point or wave hi/bye
-Doesn't follow your gesture when you point to something
-Doesn't respond to cuddling
-Doesn't share interests or enjoyment with caregivers
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@HLK208: Motor skills aren't really a part of early autism assessment except to identify regressions. I'm guessing there were other questions embedded in the questionnaire, perhaps?
And as busy office pediatricians, any screening questions that can allow us to focus on the most important items are very appreciated. My old office used to do a post-partum depression screening and it was very helpful and saved a lot of time!
pineapple / 12234 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: you always make me feel better! Can't you be our pediatrician!?
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@HLK208: Awww! You don't want me as your ped, though. These days I only take care of really sick kids. I've probably forgotten part of the healthy well child exam!
pineapple / 12234 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: there were some other questions but I don't remember them (or maybe because she was fine in those areas, I didn't pay much attention).
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@HLK208: I bet that's it exactly!
Oh and to make you feel WAY better, M never cruised and just started walking without ever having done it!
GOLD / nectarine / 2884 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: at what age do these indicators become important? (I am assuming 9 mos since that's what the post was about?). Scribble still isn't recognizing his name. He is 7 momths on the 22nd. But we are bad to give him little pet names too? He also barely does consonants!
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@Mrs. Sketchbook: It really varies and recognizing the name is not a true milestone 
For example, Lala did that at 4 months and M around 8 or 9. We nickname a lot which doesn't help.
cherry / 224 posts
MrBee and Mrs. Jacks couldn't have said it better. It is really about intervention and being proactive in identifying early on if a child might possibly have austism based on specific indicators. We have questionnaires in preschool to help parents identify concerns, too! We are lucky to have child psychologists on site who can determine if a child has autism or not.
I always tell parents that you will be your child's first advocate so if you have any concerns with your child's development, always research and read up on it. There are tons of information available online, just make sure the information you read is thoroughly researched on and backed up by a legitimate source.
pomegranate / 3314 posts
@HLK208: If it makes you feel any better, LO is 9.5 months old and just now started pulling herself up. I think our pediatrician was definitely looking for some of the signs that Mrs. Jacks mentioned, but there just wasn't a questionnaire.
eggplant / 11824 posts
@Mrs. Jacks and @HLK208: thank you for posting these lists! E is doing everything on this list, most of it for a while, although she just started waving hi/bye a couple of weeks ago (before then she would flap her arms when she saw us, haha). She just doesn't crawl at all or try to pull herself up; she seems confused about the mechanics of what to do with her legs. 
but, I won't worry too much about that just yet.
In the bath, she does use the tub edge to pull herself onto her knees, but that's it. She won't do that anywhere else, or go further than onto her knees.
Autism is definitely something I am concerned about, so it's nice to know some things to watch out for.
grapefruit / 4800 posts
Sounds like your pediatrician should have communicated a bit more information about the questionnaire. While early detection is great and all, the doctors office shouldn't become like Dr. Google where you input a fairly innocuous sign and come back with all sorts of off the mark diagnoses.
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