Worried about possible autism

Wont this little chap have his development stages measured by the HV - I think that's when things often show up isn't it. Hopefully you are worrying unnecessarily. My GD is quite high or is it low on the autism spectrum ( she is fine but cant deal with new people and crowds) sat on the floor at that age and just rocked continuously and didn't speak much at all until she was 5. She is off to university next week.

Oh Wow Teetime! Im so grateful for your reply, so reassuring and positive! Congratulations to your lovely GD who has done so well. Feel guilty for worrying, hopefully unecessarily now, perhaps that's what we grans do!

I think that many toddlers are shy and withdrawn when meeting a lot of new people or crowded places so I would not read too much into this.

Your gc is also bilingual which often means that talking comes later than with monolingual children as he is absorbing two languages and learning that one "thing" can have two names. Many bilingual children have passive language - ie they appear to understand what people say - before they develop active language.

Just to compare I brought up my children as an English speaking family in Sweden:
DD1 - not shy at all. Early language in English at but totally resisted Swedish refused to speak it at all until school age. Diagnosed with ASD at 6-7.
DD2 - very shy as a toddler. Very late speaking - hardly spoke at all until 2½-3 but then had two equal languages. Not ASD.

Ex-HV here (worked mostly with families who used moe than one language) although I know that development checks now vary from area to area, so won't advice on when one is due.

Way too young to see all but the most obvious of autistic traits, so I would not be concerned yet.

I became very aware that in a monolingual culture, such as large parts of the UK, we often perceive language development very differently from most of the world (and a good part of the UK).

Children brought up in bi-lingual families (talking broadly here as that covers many different ways of using language) are sometimes a bit later with 'expressive' language (ie: talking). At early language stages, they can also sometimes behave as you are describing as they process information.

I wrote about this on an earlier thread: whilst it is important to get early help for children with ASD, it often cannot be diagnosed early. What you are describing falls within normal development, so I would definitely advise 'watch and wait' whilst his development unfolds.

apologies for spelling mistakes, which I failed to spot in the preview!

GS3 has been brought up bilingual and his parents did worry that he seemed to be late talking. He's nearly 4 now and you can't shut him up in either language!

On the other hand GS1 who is on the spectrum talked very articulately from the beginning. He just has lots of other issues!

Children that age do have all kinds of odd behaviours. I think how he behaves with people he does know a better thing to focus on. Cousin of mine used to hide under table when visitors came. Seems to be a pretty normal 40 year old now.

My son did not say much at all until he was over two. but he clearly understood everything.
Then he saw the "big (drain cleaning) lorry with the light on top" and didn't look back. It gave him something to talk about.

I think people are going over the top 'looking' for autism nowadays
15 months is a baby he will do all sorts of funny things before you need imagining he is on some spectrum or other Don't look for problems Relax and let him be what's he will be There is so much pressure to do this that and the other at the same point or age as everyone else we are all individuals and things will happen differently for all
So in answer to your question No you don't say anything to his parents there is no way you can tell at 15 months so forget autism, ADHD, aspergers and every other possible 'spectrum' problem

Does he point to objects of interest using his index finger? (So for example if he sees a dog in the park, or a plane - would he point to it?)

That's a fairly key skill/indicator that should be in place by 18 months. If he's doing that you can relax.

She should relax anyway he's only 15 months old, a baby

19 months old. My eldest is severely autistic and TBH you tend not to relax if you spot something wrong. But as soon as my younger kids started pointing I did relax.

And 15 & 19 months is a big difference in terms of pointing at objects of interest!

I don't agree that you should be looking for things wrong at either 15 or 19 months old Especially when its so vague as not talking and being shy about meeting strangers for the first time ... my friends son is very autistic at 6 but he loves cuddles even with strangers, gives eye contact with no problem and has no walking on toes etc but his speech is only just starting to be understandable and he's also only just starting to understand toileting Even on the autistic spectrum it's can be very diverse

A huge thank you to everyone for all your wise words! It's been a big help in making me realise that A. it's not my job to speak to parents about any concerns; and B it's far too early to tell any way. I intend to enjoy every minute with my gorgeous GS, be considerate of his shyness and give him time to get used to the family. And yes, he does point to objects, so that's great!

Aquafish you may find this recent thread useful.
www.gransnet.com/forums/grandparenting/1240051-Does-he-have-autism
I did have to speak up about my grandson's ASD, so there is a different perspective here. I didn't say anything until he was about four, but in the end I had to do the right thing for him, so that he could get the help he needed. As I suggested on the other thread, I would quietly keep notes of your observations in case they are needed later. My grandson is also bilingual and it does complicate the diagnosis a bit.

I spent sleepless nights worrying over GD's delay in talking and then all of a sudden at 2yrs plus she started speaking and it was as if she'd just absorbed everything that she'd heard in the past - no worries at all now.

I had the same problem, to say something or not. When my g/s was about 12 months my daughter sent me a questionnaire and asked me to do it. We both had the score for a child with autism. We had a hard time getting people's to take us serious but my daughter is like a bulldog, and with it in the family we got the referral when he was 18 months rather than the usual 24-36 months. If you feel there's a problem say something you son and daughter might have noticed something but as first timers aren't sure if this is OK. If your wrong happy days if your not you can get him referral. My g/s is fine in a school suited to his needs. We live in N.I. were there are waiting lists for everything so having an early diagnosis made all the difference.

DS spoke just before 1, but then shut up and refused to say a word. GGM (a nurse) diagnosed him as tongue-tied, later confirmed. We wondered if he had hearing difficulties, but didn't seem so. Eventually started making up for lost time until family trauma led to him being diagnosed as Aspergers. Still seen by some as a "bit of an oddity", but only a useful label in his case. I genuinely think that both DH and I (both only children and precocious) might well have been labelled as AS, had such existed in the 50s/60s!

My DGS has autism. The first sign was at your grandson's age which was him blanking people. There is a but here, he didn't walk until he was sixteen months and then on tippy toes. It sounds as if your DGS is walking normally. Also he was very late speaking and when he did, he would recite the script of a Thomas the Tank Engine story and not actually make conversation. I'd watch out for anything further that concerns you. I'm sure he's fine, but early intervention and help was invaluable once the HV got involved when he was two and a half.

I think it is important to keep the triad of symptoms in mind; problems with communication (not just language), problems with social interaction and repetitive behaviour. It is, of course, a syndrome from people who can function well in the world through to people who will never speak, have very little communication and can have very distressing behaviours.
I think the media tends to promote the idea of the brilliant person with Asperger's whereas the reality is far more complex and very difficult to deal with.
I feel so sorry for my son, DiL and my grandson because everything is such a struggle.

I can understand why you are worried aquafish but it is hard to tell whether children are simply shy. If he is still interested in everything it is very reassuring.
As teetime suggests, the Health Visitor should pick up a real problem in development tests. Once he goes to a playgroup or a nursery I hope that he'll become better at meeting new people, but if he doesn't it will be obvious and it is possible that the staff there will raise the matter.
My oldest daughter didn't speak properly until 3 years old, but then spoke in sentences within a week. I think that we had made the mistake of understanding what she meant without her needing to make an effort. When we visited a relative she couldn't make him understand and had to use real words to communicate with him.
My youngest GD still can't say many clear words at 3 but is obviously very friendly and animated so none of us are really worried, though she does see a speech therapist. She gabbles all the time but can't make aspirated sounds (sh, d, t etc.)

My 2 daughters grew up speaking engish and german, and as described above, there was a delay in their speaking. Both are now in their 30's with university degrees. The paediatrician had his doubts with my first daughter, but besides the speech, he could not find any other problems. With the 2nd child he seemed to realise that all would be OK.

Children that are brought bilingual, are slower in communication because they are processing 2 languages. You will finds suddenly they start talking in both.